Since the day of the judgment between Athens and Socrates in 399 year B.C. many historians, philosophers, and students wonder to know whether Socrates was Guilty. Philosopher was accused in corrupting the youth, not believing in the recognized gods and introducing new divinities and in the rejection of civic life in democratic society. It is very difficult to answer on this question, may be even impossible. In my opinion, there are three types of people: 1.
He claims that is he voluntarily corrupted the youth, as Meletus said he does, then the youth would harm him back. But Socrates claims that he did not intentionally corrupt the youth and therefore he should have been informed and warned about this rather than punished, ‘you ought to have taken me privately, and warned and admonished me’. Socrates then moves on to the claims of Impiety made against him. He questions Meletus again asking him can one believe in human things but not humans and similar questions which again Meletus fails to answer, ‘Did ever a man believe in horsemanship, and not in horses? Or in flute- playing, and not in flute players?’ Socrates then begins to explain how he believes in spiritual agencies, he then questions Meletus again saying’ If I believe in divine beings, I must believe in spirits or demi-gods.
Forcing them to think differently, to question things, pushing his strange ideas upon them. This was the considered to be the main reason for his trial, but in truth the assembly just wanted to rid society of Socrates, he was considered a threat for Athenes. Thanks to his ideals, the youths of Athens realised how Athenian democracy was lacking and how weak it was. Socrates’s words “ To start of the trial, Socrates went on to say that he will deal with one accusation at a time, and immediately he pointed out one of the accusations, “be careful not to be deceived by an accomplished speaker like me” (The Apology. Plato.
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
He wanted to create an impact on humanity by relying on the truth and shining a light in people’s lives, even if they put him on trial. Socrates defended himself and showed the truth by standing up for what he believed in. By doing this, he was put to death. Socrates effectively used the three acts of the mind to rebut the charges made against him at trial. Socrates used the first act of the mind: understanding.
Socrates was endlessly determined to question as many people as possible, and even more so determined in aiding the questionee to achieve non biased logic in their thinking, while showing that what the claim to know, they do not really. For example, when Socrates was questioning Euthyphro about how he concluded what’s pious and what’s not, he kept asking what Euthyphro meant meant by his responses: “So you did not answer my question, you surprising man” (Euthyphro 8a). In saying that Euthyphro didn’t answer his question, Socrates was essentially asking yet again for him to clarify
His ignorance was very helpful, giving him an immense advantage when paired with the Socratic method. With the Socratic method being a philosophical question and answer form of style, the ignorance Socrates perceived to have helped him to avoid any strife that his subjects could possibly give to him. Given that Socrates gave none of his subjects any
In Plato’s Apology, Socrates is charged with not recognizing the gods recognized by corrupting the youth. Socrates defends himself, but his defense does not work. He loses the trial which leads to him be sentenced to death, and he has to face death. Throughout his defense, he brings up the subject of death and constructs a proper view of death. Socrates regards death as not being a bad thing.
He fears the majority and what they can say about him favoring money over friends. Crito then continues to say that Socrates should not fear the implications his escape can have on his friends. Then he goes on exclaiming that letting himself die for nothing is unjust, Socrates would be betraying his sons and what he is doing by staying is not only evil but also shameful. Socrates does not believe so. Socrates exclaims that “whether we should act in this way or not, as not
I am convinced that Socrates believed that the purpose of life was to acquire knowledge and understanding of oneself and the world. In order to arrive at this conclusion and understand the essence of his statement I had to consider the life of Socrates and the events leading up to his death. Socrates lived in Athens during the Golden Age of Ancient Greece, and is known as the father of western philosophy. Socrates believed in the pursuit of