The Role Of Socrates In The Apology

In the recent discussions about Socrates in The Apology, a controversial issue has been whether Socrates should be considered Man Thinking, as termed by Emerson. On one hand, some argue that because Socrates was unable to use his ideas to act and become powerful in his time, he cannot be considered Man Thinking. From this perspective, Socrates is not Man Thinking because he only thought but did not act upon his ideas, being more like the scholar than Man Thinking. On the other hand, however, others argue that because Socrates was Man Thinking because he did stood by his ideas until the very end. According to this view, the fact that Socrates stood up for his ideas is action enough for him to be considered Man Thinking. In sum, the issue is whether Socrates did enough to be considered Man Thinking. My own view is that Socrates’ actions, as shown in The Apology, were sufficient to categorize him as Man Thinking. Though I concede that Socrates may not have been in a powerful position in his time, I still maintain that power should not be the sole judge of action and ability and as such, Socrates can be considered Man Thinking, as he was depicted in The Apology. To get an idea of what Man Thinking is, we need to go to Emerson and his essay The American Scholar. In this essay, Emerson …show more content…
However, it is when actions get taken into account that ideas start to differ. According to Emerson, Man Thinking must be able to take actions because “action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is essential. Without it, he is not yet man. Without it, thought can never ripen into truth” (Emerson 5). This statement, in which Man Thinking is called man, states that man must have both ideas and actions to be man. That man must be as dexterous with his hands as he is nimble with his mind and then, only then, will they be Man