1. Socrates
What is truth? What is good? What is evil? These are questions I would have asked you if you were one of my students. I was a Greek philosopher and teacher. I was born and lived in Athens. I was determined to understand the concepts of truth and goodness. I liked to ask questions, and that is how I taught the people who listened to me. In fact, they named my method of teaching after me, it is called the Socratic Method. Ever hear of it? Here’s how it works. Let’s say I want you to understand that stealing is wrong. I could just tell you “stealing is wrong, don’t do it”. But, I want you to understand and agree that stealing is wrong. I would ask you a series of questions designed to bring you to agree and understand that stealing is wrong. A lot of people in Athens didn’t like me, because they thought I asked too many questions. But the way I look at it, how can you learn anything if you don’t ask questions? People who don’t ask questions are pretty ignorant if you ask me. Anyways, the leaders of Athens really thought I was a challenge to their authority. They put me on trial, charging me with corrupting the youth (my students) of the city. I could have avoided trouble if I had just told them what they wanted to hear, but I stuck to my guns and stood up for what I believed in. They sentenced me to death. I was forced to drink poison and died in 399 BC. To be honest with you, I was ready to go. My wife was a real grouch, and very hard to live with, so at least I got away from her.

2. Plato
Hello, I was also a philosopher and teacher. I too was born and lived in Athens. I came from a very influential family, and originally, wanted to be a politician. However, after my “democratic” government killed my beloved teacher, Socrates, I lost faith in government and politics. Instead, I started a school called the Academy. That’s a name you probably still use today for some of your schools. Some historians believe this was actually the world’s first university. I wrote many books, including one called The Republic. It was the world’s first political science (government) book . In it, I wrote about the different types of governments that existed, and what I thought were the advantages and disadvantages of each. Believe it or not, I disliked our direct democracy. Most people aren’t smart enough to make educated decisions, so they should not be allowed to participate in government. Socrates probably would not have been killed if only our best and brightest would have been asked to make the decision. I also wrote down the teachings of my mentor, Socrates. If it weren’t for me, the world wouldn’t know much about him, because he never wrote any of his thoughts down. He was too busy asking questions! I also had a very famous student, his name was Aristotle. Oh, one more thing. When you are done playing with me, put me back in the can so I don’t dry out. Thank you.

3. Aristotle
I was a Greek philosopher, teacher, and scientist. I wasn’t born In Athens, but moved there to go to school. I attended The Academy and was a student of Plato. I was Plato’s favorite student - probably because I kept him good company - I studied at The Academy for 20 years! I came up with what is called a syllogism. A syllogism is a form of reasoning. Here is an example: All humans die. I am a human. Therefore, I will die. See how I used the first two facts to come to a conclusion? I can see you’re amazed! I studied biology extensively. I was the first to classify, or group different plants and animals together based on their similarities. For example, cats, lions, and tigers, can be grouped together as felines. Like Socrates, and Plato, I too had a famous student. However, he was a warrior, not a philosopher. His name was Alexander the Great, and I was his tutor. Since Alexander later conquered the Greeks, I became a little unpopular, since I was friends with their conqueror. I left Athens near the end of my life, as I didn’t want the people of Athens to deal with me like they did Socrates.