Socrates lived in the fifth century, was a contemporary of Plato and is credited as the founder of Western philosophy. Sentenced to death by the Athenian Democracy for his non conformity, Socrates worked hard to stimulate thinking – promoting thinking among individuals, thus his well known habit of asking his students many questions to encourage, even antagonize them to think and to re-think their views on virtually everything so they came in their own minds to a solid understanding of whatever the discipline or subject may be.