Joshshena Bonds, ECC, HST 101 - World Civilization – Section OL1, Socrates Paper, October 9, 2016
In 399 B.C., the great Socrates, a man whose philosophy transformed Western culture, was accused and subsequently, died for his core beliefs. He was accused by Meletus, speaking on the behalf of the poets, Anytus, speaking for the craftsmen and politicians, and Lycon, speaking for the rhetoricians/orators. I believe these men slandered Socrates’s name by accusing him of corrupting the youth of Athens and not believing in Athenians Gods, but his own. Based on my reading of Plato’s Apology, I argue that Socrates is innocent of these accusations and should not have died in the name of them, but even in death, Socrates voice has become stronger …show more content…
Upon receiving the wiser man label from an oracle in Delphi, Socrates believe he does not really know anything, so sort out men to prove this status untrue. First he visited the politicians, then the poets, and finally the artisans of Athens, and the results from his conferences were that these highly regarded individuals really did not know anything. Socrates stated, “…they say many noble things, but they know nothing of what they speak’, when Socrates was describing his interactions with the poets. (Plato, 1909-14) When conversing with the craftsmen, Socrates highlighted this interaction by noting that they did have knowledge that he was unaware of, but instantly sparked more questions from Socrates. It was from these series of questions that concluded that craftsmen did not know everything. In the end the poet doesn’t know as much about poetry then he thinks, the politicians really doesn’t know about justice, and the artisans aren’t as business savvy as they claim. From this, this help Socrates comes to grips of what the Oracle of Delphi believed. The main conclusion from these interactions was that these men claimed that they know everything and that is false. It was out …show more content…
Socrates quickly and eloquently began to discuss about his idea and how he is willing to die for this idea. Socrates stated so powerfully, “If you think that by killing men you can prevent some one from censuring your evil lives, you are mistaken… the easiest and the noblest way is not to be disabling others, but to be improving yourselves.” (Plato, 1909-14) This statement along describes how powerful Socrates was then and still is today. This wise man, which refused any payment for his teachings, was a direct conflict with the Athenian government. Once he stated that if he was released of all the accusations against him based on the conditions that he would remain quiet and no longer question Athenian society, he would say, “I, men of Athens, salute and love you, but I will obey the god rather than you; and as long as I breathe and able to, I will certainly not stop philosophizing.” So Socrates would rather die than be silent and walk the earth.
In conclusion, Socrates real charge should have been questioning the status quo in Athens and inspiring people to start to question people about their qualifications. Led by Meletus and other wealthy people in Athens could not allow this man to unravel their society, and Socrates had to go because of it. However, in killing Socrates, they created a legend, whose beliefs would
In 399 B.C., the great Socrates, a man whose philosophy transformed Western culture, was accused and subsequently, died for his core beliefs. He was accused by Meletus, speaking on the behalf of the poets, Anytus, speaking for the craftsmen and politicians, and Lycon, speaking for the rhetoricians/orators. I believe these men slandered Socrates’s name by accusing him of corrupting the youth of Athens and not believing in Athenians Gods, but his own. Based on my reading of Plato’s Apology, I argue that Socrates is innocent of these accusations and should not have died in the name of them, but even in death, Socrates voice has become stronger …show more content…
Upon receiving the wiser man label from an oracle in Delphi, Socrates believe he does not really know anything, so sort out men to prove this status untrue. First he visited the politicians, then the poets, and finally the artisans of Athens, and the results from his conferences were that these highly regarded individuals really did not know anything. Socrates stated, “…they say many noble things, but they know nothing of what they speak’, when Socrates was describing his interactions with the poets. (Plato, 1909-14) When conversing with the craftsmen, Socrates highlighted this interaction by noting that they did have knowledge that he was unaware of, but instantly sparked more questions from Socrates. It was from these series of questions that concluded that craftsmen did not know everything. In the end the poet doesn’t know as much about poetry then he thinks, the politicians really doesn’t know about justice, and the artisans aren’t as business savvy as they claim. From this, this help Socrates comes to grips of what the Oracle of Delphi believed. The main conclusion from these interactions was that these men claimed that they know everything and that is false. It was out …show more content…
Socrates quickly and eloquently began to discuss about his idea and how he is willing to die for this idea. Socrates stated so powerfully, “If you think that by killing men you can prevent some one from censuring your evil lives, you are mistaken… the easiest and the noblest way is not to be disabling others, but to be improving yourselves.” (Plato, 1909-14) This statement along describes how powerful Socrates was then and still is today. This wise man, which refused any payment for his teachings, was a direct conflict with the Athenian government. Once he stated that if he was released of all the accusations against him based on the conditions that he would remain quiet and no longer question Athenian society, he would say, “I, men of Athens, salute and love you, but I will obey the god rather than you; and as long as I breathe and able to, I will certainly not stop philosophizing.” So Socrates would rather die than be silent and walk the earth.
In conclusion, Socrates real charge should have been questioning the status quo in Athens and inspiring people to start to question people about their qualifications. Led by Meletus and other wealthy people in Athens could not allow this man to unravel their society, and Socrates had to go because of it. However, in killing Socrates, they created a legend, whose beliefs would