Moriah R. Emrick
Dr. Miller
Philosophy 1301.906
13 February
Plato’s Apology - Analysis In Plato’s Apology, one of the big ideas discussed by Socrates is his role as someone who asks searches for answers regardless of the consequences. At the beginning of Plato’s Apology Socrates explains his bad reputation and starts by talking about how he angered some important people. Socrates explains what started this journey by explaining how a friend of his, Chaerephon asked the oracle in Delphi if there was anyone wiser than Socrates and the oracle stated that there was no man wiser than him. When he found out that the oracle of Delphi declared him the wisest man he wanted to find out whether or not this was correct so he searched to find a man wiser
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Plato’s Apology is a somewhat long piece of text and it can be easy to get lost as to what is happening in the story. This passage is a good landline to help the reader remind the main subjects being addressed in the trial. The big ideas discussed in the paragraphs above are shown in this passage. Socrates' inquisitive and challenging nature is shown in how he pushes against his accuser's biases against him. Socrates also shows his lack of fear in freely saying what he believes is true even at the cost of death in the way he mocks his accusers. He especially mocks Meletus throughout the whole of the text which can be seen also in the key passage where he facetiously says “not that I mean to say anything disparaging of anyone who is a student of natural philosophy. I should be very sorry if Meletus could lay that to my charge” (Plato, pg. 3). Socrates' lack of remorse for telling the truth is also likely a factor in his being condemned to …show more content…
The basic idea of the play is that Antigone the main character by the same name gives her brother a proper burial even at the cost of her own life against the orders of her uncle king Creon. Antigone’s brother Polynices and his brother Etecoles fought over the throne in Thebes but both died leaving Creon as king. Creon refused to let Polynices be properly buried or grieved because he considered him a traitor for marching against Thebes to try and take the throne from Etecoles. Antigone went against her uncle's orders despite the threats of death by stoning to do what she thought was morally right. Antigone gets caught by a guard trying to bury her brother and Creon tries to plead with Antigone but she will not budge or feel remorse for what she has done. The story ends tragically with a majority of the characters dying in the end, however, the crux of the story is not the ending but the moral
In the Greek literary work Apology written by Plato, Socrates was convicted for refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state, introducing new divinities and corrupting the youth. It is believed by many critics that Socrates knew he was going to be sentenced to death so, he was able to use his defense as an opportunity to clear his reputation, confront his accusers, but most significantly instruct the Athenians. He wanted them to look into themselves and seek virtue and wisdom before looking into personal interests. We notice throughout Socrates’ defense that there is a continued theme of wisdom and teaching towards the Athenians.
People are often averse to the truth. Plato wrote “The Apology” in order illuminate the hostility towards real truth because he believed he had an obligation to reveal how easily thought could be manipulated. Plato documents Socrates’s final address to the jury before he is due for execution. Socrates had been accused of using such embellished language throughout his explanations that he had caused a severe confusion to the people and then an eventual embarrassment; thus, allowing the people to reject what Socrates had been trying to preach. This creates a dismissal of Socrates’ ideas throughout the people and generates an even greater divide of thought.
The Apology mostly consisted of Socrates giving his defense in court against his three accusers, mainly replying to Meletus since he was the only one who spoke during the trial. Meletus had various arguments or accusations against Socrates yet they could all have been counteracted as the arguments did not seem to be made from factual points. As a result, Socrates was often able to find several contradictions in Meletus’s words. For example, one of the first formal charges that Socrates addresses is corrupting the youth and he gives a decent defense that no person would intentionally corrupt another person. He also calls Meletus out for not clearly thinking of the upbringing of the youth.
Taylor Diebert 820074652 4 February 2018 Short Essay: Plato’s The Apology The Apology is a speech presented by Socrates in court in defense against accusations facing him, formal and informal. The Apology is an interpretation of what happened in the time of the trial and who Socrates was and what his duty was in life. In this essay, I will carefully explain section 30e-31b and Socrates analogy of a gadfly and how it relates to the text as a whole. I will explain Socrates role in the city and why if he is killed, the city will be doing themselves a greater injustice than they will be doing to Socrates by killing him. I will also be explaining how the Socratic Method is used by Socrates in the trial to help against his accusations how he could
Socrates claims that with Meletus and the issue that he had with him he could easily solved them himself but instead choose to take extreme measures to deal with an insignificant problem and you see this when he says “You, however have avoided my company and were unwilling to instruct me, but you bring me here, where the law requires one to bring those who are in need of punishment, not of instruction. ”(Apology, 26a). In this section of the dialogue he speaks of instruction as apposed to punishment which essentially means that he doesn’t deserve any of the punishments they’re threatening him with but instead would have
In “The Apology,” Socrates stands blamed for corrupting the young people of Athens and teaching the false divine beings, charges that eventually lead to his conviction. All through his defence, Socrates eagerly denies these allegations and declares that his activities are driven by a profound love for Athens. Accordingly, this paper is to dissect Socrates’ defence against the allegations introduced in “The Apology” and assess whether he really loved Athens by drawing bits of knowledge from both “The Apology” and “The Symposium.” In “The Apology,” Socrates justifies himself by using a mix of rationale, reason, and irony to address the allegations set out against him.
Socrates once again finds a way to embarrass Meletus, while Meletus contradicts his
For this week's journal entry, I would like to bring up the idea of "wisdom" in reference to Plato's Apology. Personally, I find that the way in which Socrates defends is wisdom is admirable, and although it leads to the verdict of him being killed, I think that this decision and the reaction by Socrates helps define wisdom. Socrates, in essence, says that he does not fear death because he is wise. No one knows what death is -- perhaps it may be the best thing a person gets to experience. However, a person that is unwise would approach death into thinking that it is the worst thing that can happen in life.
The term “apology comes from the Greek word apologia which means to defend. In this essay I would like to explain why I believe that The Apology by Plato should be classified as pity and fear, in regards to Greek tragedy. I believe that this is true because I can personally empathize with Socrates; this will be discussed later on in this essay. A tragic hero is considered to be an individual with an intellectual flaw or error, Socrates fits this description; Socrates failed to understand that he could not empathize with the jurors because they simply wanted him to acknowledge his prior offenses, while he only sought out telling the truth and not sullying his own moral code. Socrates should be considered a tragic hero because he had an intellectual error, not an ethical one.
Apology: Socrates Assignment In Apology, Socrates intent was not to apologize for his ideas and beliefs to the people of Athens, his purpose was to defend his practices by confronting his accusers, which put him on trial. Socrates charges consisted of inventing new deities, not recognizing the states Gods, and corrupting Athens youth minds. Socrates began his trial by speaking of his old accusers and the famous book The Cloud, acknowledging that people disagreed with him in his teachings. He then continued by turning from his old accusers to the current ones, more specifically Meletus.
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.
His personal defense is described in works two of his students: Xenophon and Plato. Both of them wrote papers called Apology, which is the Greek word for “defense”. In this essay I used Apology by Plato as the main resource, since it contents a more full account of the trial of Socrates and his words. Despite the fact that the philosopher attempted to defend himself and explain the reasons for saying and doing the things he did, it did not do any good for his justification. On the contrary, Socrates’ words seemed to make the jury harden their hearts and condemn him.
Socrates was a greek philosopher who found himself in trouble with his fellow citizens and court for standing his grounds on his new found beliefs from his studies about philosophical virtue, justice, and truth. In “Apology” written by Plato, Socrates defended himself in trial, not with the goal of escaping the death sentence, but with the goal of doing the right thing and standing for his beliefs. With this mindset, Socrates had no intention of kissing up to the Athenians to save his life. Many will argue that Socrates’ speech was not very effective because he did not fight for his life, he just accepted the death sentence that he was punished with. In his speech he said, “But now it’s time to leave, time for me to die and for you to live.”
In the Apology by Plato, Socrates defends himself against his accusers in court, and begins by declaring that he is not an especially great speaker but that he only speaks the truth. In this, he tells his accusers that they should not fear him but only the truth itself. In the depiction of Socrates' last speech, he makes a bold claim that he has been deemed the wisest man in Athens by the god of Delphi ( Plato, ., Jowett, n.d. ). He goes on to explain that while he searched for those that thought themselves wise,
In the reading of “Plato Apology”, Socrates’ vindicates what he values and beliefs to a jury to prove his innocence. Indeed, Miletus a poet, Anytus a craftsmen and Lycon a politician brought an oral charges against Socrates’ attested him of impiety and corrupting youth, required him to appear before the King Archon the legal