In modern society, the definition of wisdom is: the quality of having experience, knowledge, and moral judgment; the quality of being wise. However, Socrates had the idea that wisdom was knowing oneself. Socrates’s was beyond brilliant compared to the average Athenian; he was self-aware and just. Although Socrates tended to meddle in the affairs of others, he consequently had the ability to spark enlightenment among the people in Athens. To Socrates, philosophy is the study of humans, and he highlights this in The Apology when he goes from social group to social group searching for the wisest of all the land. This is of course in response to when the Oracle of Delphi addresses the fact that Socrates is the wisest of the entire known world.
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In 399 B.C., Socrates was in the midst of being tried for multiple charges such as: treason, corrupting the youth, and spreading teachings concerning false gods. The Apology grows immensely impressive since death stares Socrates in the face, and Socrates decides to scold death and exclaim to the Athenian people how they need him. The Athenian people could undoubtedly wonder why they would need Socrates, this unpleasant looking, pesky, old man, but he is the wisest of all the lands. He seems to speak extemporaneously, but his language of persuasion is unequivocally remarkable and unique. Throughout a trial, the accused usually bends and becomes quite malleable to the will of the jury as to have their charges dropped but not Socrates. At one point, he says, about himself, “Surely, if you weren’t in fact occupied with something out of the ordinary, if you weren’t doing something different from most people, all this rumor and talk wouldn’t have arisen.” (24). Socrates calls upon an appropriately valuable argument that does nothing but damage his defense. This is because he knows, for a fact, that if the people of Athens value intelligence they will spare …show more content…
The Oracle of Delphi almost exclusively speaks in riddles, but when asked is there any man wiser than Socrates the Oracle responds: no. Journeying to speak to a well respected politician, Socrates’s experiences went like, “…I tried to show him that he thought himself wise, but wasn’t. As a result, he came to dislike me, and so did many of the people present.” (25). This is an exquisite exchange because Socrates notices that he, in fact, is wiser than this politician. Next, Socrates interviewed the poets, some of the greatest men at the pinnacle of rhetoric, and he questioned them to expound upon their poems as to see their wisdom and learn something. Socrates then tells the jury, “Well, I’m embarrassed to tell you the truth, gentlemen, but nevertheless it must be told. In a word, almost all the people present could have discussed these poems better than their authors themselves.” (26). Yet again, Socrates finds himself above the poets in terms of wisdom. Finally, Socrates has a discussion with the craftsmen, and the craftsmen believed that they were not only great at their jobs, but they were also great at everything. “I’d prefer to be as I am, not in any way wise with their wisdom nor ignorant with their ignorance, or to have both qualities as they did.” (27), is the quote that exemplifies Socrates finally believing he is the wisest man in
In 399 B.C., Socrates was in the midst of being tried for multiple charges such as: treason, corrupting the youth, and spreading teachings concerning false gods. The Apology grows immensely impressive since death stares Socrates in the face, and Socrates decides to scold death and exclaim to the Athenian people how they need him. The Athenian people could undoubtedly wonder why they would need Socrates, this unpleasant looking, pesky, old man, but he is the wisest of all the lands. He seems to speak extemporaneously, but his language of persuasion is unequivocally remarkable and unique. Throughout a trial, the accused usually bends and becomes quite malleable to the will of the jury as to have their charges dropped but not Socrates. At one point, he says, about himself, “Surely, if you weren’t in fact occupied with something out of the ordinary, if you weren’t doing something different from most people, all this rumor and talk wouldn’t have arisen.” (24). Socrates calls upon an appropriately valuable argument that does nothing but damage his defense. This is because he knows, for a fact, that if the people of Athens value intelligence they will spare …show more content…
The Oracle of Delphi almost exclusively speaks in riddles, but when asked is there any man wiser than Socrates the Oracle responds: no. Journeying to speak to a well respected politician, Socrates’s experiences went like, “…I tried to show him that he thought himself wise, but wasn’t. As a result, he came to dislike me, and so did many of the people present.” (25). This is an exquisite exchange because Socrates notices that he, in fact, is wiser than this politician. Next, Socrates interviewed the poets, some of the greatest men at the pinnacle of rhetoric, and he questioned them to expound upon their poems as to see their wisdom and learn something. Socrates then tells the jury, “Well, I’m embarrassed to tell you the truth, gentlemen, but nevertheless it must be told. In a word, almost all the people present could have discussed these poems better than their authors themselves.” (26). Yet again, Socrates finds himself above the poets in terms of wisdom. Finally, Socrates has a discussion with the craftsmen, and the craftsmen believed that they were not only great at their jobs, but they were also great at everything. “I’d prefer to be as I am, not in any way wise with their wisdom nor ignorant with their ignorance, or to have both qualities as they did.” (27), is the quote that exemplifies Socrates finally believing he is the wisest man in