Corruption In Socrates's Accusers

In Plato’s dialogue Apology, Socrates is standing trial for two crimes; impiety and corrupting the youth. During the three speeches Socrates delivers during his trial he discusses why he is fearless when faced with many of the things humans fear most, including being hated, accused of serious crimes, being threatened with punishment, and being put to death. Being Hated To begin, Socrates does not fear being hated because he understands that the reason why he is disliked is due to his attempt to understand the underlying meaning behind the Oracle of Delphi’s prophecy. When Socrates addresses the anticipated questions about his reputation, he tells the jury the story of his friend Chaerephon who went to the Oracle of Delphi and asked if

Socrates was a man that was in search of the truth about wisdom. However, it became more then just a search when it brought him to trail of accusations. As a philosopher Socrates was known to overdrawn ideas and to frustrate anyone he was talking to. He is always in search of a better idea and for anyone who has experienced Socrates could assume he is making up his own actualities. This becomes evident in “ Apology” written by Plato, where Socrates was brought in charges for corrupting the minds of the youth and not believing in the Gods.

According to the lecture, piety is a term that refers to what it means to be good or holy in the eyes of the gods. In the reading, Euthyphro gives several different definitions of the term piety. The definition that stood out to me the most was the one in which Euthyrphro says, “…what is dear to the gods is pious, what is not is impious” (Euthyphro, 8). This seems like a simple definition. However, Socrates objects this definition on the grounds that the gods disagree among themselves as to what is 'pleasing'.

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates was defending himself in front of a jury of Athenian citizens, facing execution. He did not act as someone in his position should if they wanted to make it out alive. Throughout his speech to the jury, he was smug and unapologetic. It was clear that he didn’t believe himself to be in the wrong, but rather than making a persuasive argument for why he should be let go, he proceeds to tell a long, rambling story with the intent to dismiss members of the jury as unwise. Obviously, it is not a smart move to insult and provoke the people that have your life in their hands.

Introduction The Apology was written by Plato, and relates Socrates’ defense at his trial on charges of corrupting the youth and impiety. Socrates argues that he is innocent of both charges. Plato reports the contents of three speeches delivered by Socrates in his own protection in court which has been arranged over him by the Athenian democrats and has terminated in the death sentence to the great philosopher. The word "apology" in a literal translation means "justification". Plato's purpose when writing "Apology" was to acquit posthumously Socrates from false accusation.

In Apology, Socrates faces possible execution as he stands trial in front of his fellow Athenian men. This jury of men must decide whether Socrates has acted impiously against the gods and if he has corrupted the youth of Athens. Socrates claims in his defense that he wants to live a private life, away from public affairs and teachings in Athens. He instead wants to focus on self-examination and learning truths from those in Athens through inquiry. Socrates argues that "a [man] who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if [he] is to survive for even a short time" (32a).

According to dictionary.com, Piety is defined as “reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations” (dictionary.com). There has been controversy about the exact definition of piety and how it applies. Some believe that it is more related to religion and others believe that it has more to do with morality. Piety vs impiety is the main topic of the first chapter, Euthyphro, in Plato’s The Trial and Death of Socrates. The chapter focuses on and follows the dialogue between the two philosophers as they delve into the true meaning of piety and impiety as a means to figure out how Socrates can defend himself in court.

In Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, the account of Socrates’ life during his time in jail until his execution, is told through Plato’s point of view. In these dialogues, Socrates shares his philosophical beliefs on many subjects –one of them being the obligations of the citizen. This belief is illustrated in Crito, which is a dialogue between Socrates and his longtime friend Crito. Along with Socrates is Martin Luther King Jr. who has also expressed his beliefs on the obligations of the citizen in his “Letter from a Birmingham jail”. Both Socrates and King create social tension in order for individuals to better themselves in the world they live in.

Socrates is known as one of the most eminent Greek philosophers, but history has also told that the man was primarily infuriating. Born in 471 B.C.E, Socrates followed the life of a traditional Greek citizen by working as a mason and a hoplite until he became a popular instructor of philosophy. The man was not fond of traditional religion, and began questioning concepts of life, such as justice, knowledge, and wisdom. This incessant questioning eventually led to his execution by the Athenian government in 399 B.C.E. Socrates gained many followers before his death, and the most renowned example is Plato. Much of what we know today about Socrates was originally recorded in 380 B.C.E. by Plato in his dialogue, The Republic.

The trial and death of Socrates is a book with four dialogues all about the trail that leads to the eventual death of Socrates. The four dialogues are Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. It will explain the reasoning that brought Socrates to trial in the first place and give us a glimpse into the physiological thought of this time, and in this paper will describe some of the differences today. The first of the four dialogues are Euthyphro.

Socrates defended himself well during the trial. I do not think that Socrates was guilty for anything. He was accused by Meletus for "corrupting the young”. However, there was no evidence of this. Socrates mentioned that there was no youth to testify that they were corrupted by him.

Tristan Courtney AP Lang Mr. Sontum 2/19/15 Apology of Socrates Rhetorical Analysis The Apology of Socrates has many rhetorical devices and he uses each of them to appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos. He uses these to defend himself against the ridiculous accusation of not believing in the gods recognized by the state and also of corrupting the youth in Athens, and also to prove that their acquittal or absolution does nothing to him.

The version of Socrates presented in both The Apology, Crito, and The Republic could very well be two different versions of Socrates as presented by Plato. However, both versions of Socrates have one thing in common: they both value the importance of philosophy and they both defend philosophy as something that is important to humanity. The Apology is Socrates defending not only himself, but also philosophy as an area of study that could be useful to the city of Athens. Socrates is trying to defend himself and his study and he tries to distance himself from the sophists in that they charge for money.

Moreover, Socrates’ claims that escaping from prison will “break the covenants and agreements” (37) between him and Athens, and argues that complying with injustice will cause moral harm to himself and to his state, Athens. In Crito, when Crito asks Socrates, that why comply with such crowning absurdity. Socrates answered, “do we ought to follow the opinion of the many and to fear them, or the opinion of the one man who has understanding?” (33). Socrates further explained that disobeying the state laws, by escaping from prison, is a compliance with injustice, rather than agreeing to an unjustified sentence.