Socrates is a philosopher known for his teachings in Athens. He taught his entire life, where no one would bother him. Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth and inventing new gods at the age of seventy. For varies reasons which will be discussed later, the city of Athens chose to wait till this age to prosecute and execute him. Socrates chose to accept his fate instead of escaping to avoid execution.…
[Topic sentence] Despite Socrates’ claim that his method of argument amounts to a disinterested pursuit of truth, at certain points in his discussion with Gorgias, he relies on rhetorical appeals to gain an advantage in the debate. [transition to more specific point] These often take the form of ethos appeals directed at the crowd of young men watching the debate. [Set-up/context for quote] For example, at one point, Socrates interrupts the discussion about the function of rhetoric in order to remind Gorgias that there is more at stake for him in their conversation than merely winning or losing:…
Although Socrates prepared his speech in the Apology to be used in his defense trial, it seems as if Socrates also subtly promoted a manifesto of values that are quite comparable to the values listed in Connecticut College’s Mission Statement and Values. It may be argued that this is purely coincidental, however, Socrates’ speech in the Apology has been and still is a tremendous philosophical influence, thus, it appears more so that Socrates’ speech influenced the Connecticut College’s Mission Statement and Values. However, it is worth mentioning that the College’s Mission Statement was constructed for a unique purpose, thus, certain aspects of the College’s values are uniquely different from that of Socrates. Connecticut College wrote their…
In this essay I aim to present both the Cyclical and Recollection arguments proposed by Socrates in the Phaedo, to prove the immortality of the soul. I will discuss the criticisms of the first to demonstrate its fallibility as an account for the soul’s immortality. The weaknesses of the second argument will also be mentioned. In evaluating which of the arguments better proves the soul’s immortality, the responses to the criticisms of the Recollection theory will indicate why it holds as the prominent argument over the Cyclical.…
Five Dialogues & Symposium: Socrates’ Search for Knowledge In Five Dialogues and Symposium by Plato, Socrates the Ancient Greek philosopher challenges his fellow men about the notion that they do not posses knowledge. The role of a philosopher is to reflect on life and ask existential questions because curiosity is innate in all humans. In Apology, Socrates expresses to the jury and judges at his trial, “they have been proved to lay claim to knowledge when they know nothing” (Apology, 23d). Though humans claim to have knowledge, Socrates believes human wisdom is worthless because it is unattainable.…
Striving For The Truth: An Academic Essay on Socrates Dialogue and How it Relates to Contemporary Education SITI SARAH BINTE NUR SAIDY BACHELOR SCIENCE OF EDUCATION AY14/15 AED 105-CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES OF EDUCATION TUTORIAL GROUP 12 TRAVINAH KAHNG Sarah Nur Saidy 1 Over the last millenium, education has been greatly influenced and developed through historical formation. From different eras, countries and cultures, it has come to an agreement that knowledge is vital in ones life. In this context, Socrates a renowned Greek Teacher and Western philosopher believed in developing ones…
Near the end of Apology, as Socrates approaches death, he presents a rather complex argument concluding that death must be a blessing. This paper focuses on the reconstruction of Socrates’ argument, analyzing its quality, and ultimately concluding whether or not it has merit. After observing two examples of faulty arguments, the reconstruction of Socrates verbal logic is presented and each assertion is examined carefully. This examination will focus on each assertion individually and will thoroughly justify any logical gaps through the use of unstated premises. From this careful examination of Socrates propositions, one can conclude that Socrates put forth a faulty argument.…
Today is one of the most important days in my life, for I was chosen to be a member of the jury deciding Socrates’ fate. Meletus and other two people accuse Socrates is an evil-doer (Plato, Apology,p.234). They bring up 2 main accusations to Socrates First, Meletus accuses Socrates has corrupted the youth; Second, Meletus accuses Socrates does not believe in god, he is an atheist. Here is how Socrates defends himself.…
Unit 3 - Synopsis of Reading "Socrates: A Life Examined", Pgs 61-91 In chapter 3 of Socrates: A Life Examined, author Luis E. Navia introduces us to a second Socratic testimony written by another one of Socrates’ contemporaries, Xenophon. Within this chapter we discuss some major bibliographical details of Xenophon and his involvement with Socrates. As well as his most important Socratic works, their significance with the Socratic problem, and their differences with writings of other contemporaries, such as Aristophanes. Most importantly, Xenophon’s Socratic contribution helps shed light on the reason why Socrates seemed to choose death over anything else.…
Alcibiades’ speech can be understood as a confession of deep love of a young admirer for an esteemed Greek philosopher in the form of several accountable praises. The reasons of this love have been dispersed throughout the speech, giving us glimpses of the consistent perception he held of Socrates. The continuity in this monologue serves as a connection between their varying audiences which is the foundation for this essay. This writing deals with organizing and categorising the different causes of Alcibiades’ devotion, the links between them and focuses on Socrates’ teaching about love while exploring my personal thoughts and experiences. The beginning of Alcibiades’ speech is strikingly similar to its conclusion; hence its rational to arrange the two together.…
The podcast deals with the dialogue “Plato’s Republic” written around 400 BC, which discusses the meaning of justice and what it truly means to be just. Firstly, a background in ancient Greece’s politics was offered, speaking of the appeals and brutal regimes of government prior to democracy being restored. The major issue addressed in the podcast is the execution of Socrates by the majority of Athens for the corruption of youth in and the introduction of gods that the Greeks did not once believe in.…
One must constantly go through the process of introspection in order to live an examined life to not be swayed by popular opinion but instead become knowledgeable of the world around them and the self. For Socrates, to care for the soul is the most crucial responsibility in life because of his belief that the soul of an individual is the true being of who a person really is. Throughout the book of Plato’s Five Dialogues, Socrates constantly questions society’s ethics and emphasizes how important it is for one to question and examine the world around them in order to care for the soul. Those who choose to live an unexamined life are losing the chance of attaining knowledge and becoming corrupted by choosing to live blindly based on popular opinion instead of their own beliefs. In order for people to live the good life,…
The purpose of the Theaetetus is to examine how the mind accounts for knowledge by seeking an answer to the question Socrates poses to Theaetetus, what is knowledge? (146A). After a few failed attempts at answering, Theaetetus posits that knowledge is true opinion (187B). Socrates responds that in order for one to know what true opinion is, he must also account for false opinion in the mind. Ultimately, while the dialogue produces no operative definition for knowledge, Plato employs this dialogue to sharpen his arguments for what are and are not the brackets of knowledge.…
In Plato’s Republic, the images of justice are perceived differently between several characters in this novel. Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus, all present contrasting ideals of justice compared to the one envisioned by Socrates. Using the art of rhetoric, Socrates utilizes argumentation to identify the faults in each individual’s vision of justice, and how his unconventional perception of justices can change their entire society. The first vision of justice discussed in The Republic was Cephalus. Cephalus describes justice as honesty.…
‘The Apology’ written by Socrates most famous student Plato, is a Socrates dialogue where he is defending himself from the accusations of corrupting the youth and not believing in the gods of Athens. He tells the court that these accusations are false and he does believe in the gods of Athens. He also tells them that he did not corrupt the youth, in fact the youth followed him on their own free will. According to Socrates the problem was that people who called themselves wise were not actually very wise, their knowledge was based on ignorance thinking that they were wise and he wanted to help them see that true knowledge was knowing nothing rather than believing that they know everything. As philosophy is based on questioning everything,…