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Analysis Of Plato's Apology

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There is no part of the human experience that the ideal of Justice does not permeate. Our morals define us as people, as well as our greater society. The way we implement our beliefs into a structured system may not always be the same, and not always been seen as just by all. Thus, Justice is a concept still undefined and debated even since ancient Greece. In one of founding works of this modern day debate is Plato’s The Apology. Within the greater work, The Trial and Death of Socrates, Socrates’ own defense against the people of Athens begs the questions of whether Athens was a just society. Punished to death, Socrates’ is forever a martyr for his ideals and his debate unjust death begins Plato’s exploration into Justice. Through The Apology, Plato explains how the silencing of Socrates is a harsh injustice due to the democratic nature of his trial that strips the moral absolution from Justice as well as shows that Athens, as society of individualist justice, has failed in instilling order that allows for greater unity as a perfect Whole. Plato elects to transcribe the final defense of Socrate so to highlight why exactly Socrates’ death was unwarranted. To Plato, Socrates was a hero; furthermore, his service to the city of Athens is irreplaceable. Socrates articulates that he is “upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size an needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly” (33). The imagery channels both the power of a steed and its

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