Socrates Lessons In Plato's Apology

Throughout the rise of Socrates and his philosophies, he had many accusers. Many who used his own words against him, catching him in a contradictory position. Plato was one these accusers, alongside Meletus, Anytus and Lycon. Plato had a very well known philosophy called the Apology. In order to understand the governing question that is being raised here: Is Socrates guilty or not guilty of the charges brought against him by his accusers (Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon)? We have to understand what the First set of Accusations had been made against Socrates, through Plato’s Apology. There are two charges in The First set of Accusations, The first charge contains this quote, “Socrates commits injustice and is a busybody, in that he investigates

The first defence was against the claim that he had corrupted the youth, “[I]t’s Meletus who is guilty of playing around with serious matters, of lightly bringing people to trial, and of professing to be seriously concerned about things he has never cared about at all” (Plato, Apology, 24c). By saying this is, Socrates addresses his opinion on Meletus, that Meletus is somebody who knows nothing about a situation, yet brings people to trial and pretends to be concerned about things, when in reality- he never cared. The second defence was against the claim that he philosophized cosmology. Meaning, he studied the earth, emphasizing that he never believed in a God, which made him look as if he lacked impiety. Socrates defence against this was, “You aren’t all convincing, Meletus, not even, it seems to me, to yourself. You see, men of Athens, this fellow seems very arrogant and intemperate to me and to have written this indictment simply out of some sort of arrogance, intemperance, and youthful rashness.” (Plato, Apology, 26e) Socrates believed that, “Meletus has brought his charges based on prejudice alone- without any reasoned or evidentiary basis” ( Rick, Class 5, Slide 17). Socrates continued to believed that Meletus claims against him were a preconceived idea and that he had no actual proof of where Socrates has said that he does not believe a higher power. Socrates contains to say, “But if, when the God

In reality, the one thing the Jury wanted him to do was to stop philosophizing on things that made him look as if he was an atheist, even if there was no actual proof that he was one. They believed that he was corrupting the youth and society by perceiving himself as one. Knowing that he might be sentenced to death, he told the jury “If you put me to death, you won’t easily find another like me. For, even if it seems ridiculous to say so, I’ve literally been attached to the city, as if to a large thoroughbred horse that was somewhat sluggish because of its size and needed to be awakened by some sort of gadfly. It’s as just such a gadfly, it seems to me, that the God has attached me to the city- one that awakens, cajoles, and reproaches each and every one of you as a never stops alighting everywhere on you the whole day” (Plato, Apology, 30e-31a). Until the end of his death, Socrates believed he was innocent and was dying wrongfully, but was never afraid of death. With a lot of thought, I have also come to the conclusion that no, I would not convict Socrates, as he is harmless. However, it is also important to understand the time he lived in was much different than now. Atheism was not accepted, as everyone was to believe in a God. Now, you can freely believe in anything you want. I think Socrates was an individual who valued his opinions and theories so much that he was not afraid of dying for