The Apology Analysis

In Plato’s, The Apology, Socrates uses several tactics in attempting to prove his innocence. In an attempt to dispel the accusations bestowed upon him, Socrates enlists the use of analogies to prove his innocence. The horse trainer analogy is used to justify Socrates’ position and aid in his overall argument. The use of this analogy and the argument presented prove to be weak and insufficient causing his overall argument to suffer. Socrates is accused by Menelaus, a member of the Greek court, of corrupting the youth and being an atheist. He is charged with misleading the youth by teaching about false gods. According to Menelaus, everyone in the community is enhancing the development of the youth while Socrates is disrupting their growth. ”Can these people educate the young, and do they have an improving influence?...My goodness, what welcome news, and what a generous supply of benefactors you speak of!”.(25) Socrates states that he finds it hard to believe that he is the only person corrupting the youth. In …show more content…
Being that Socrates’ used heresy and reasoning to support his stance, that alone invalidates his position for it is untrustworthy. In addition, this analogy set up the remainder of his position causing his overall argument to suffer due to lack of a solid foundation. For example, a subpart of this accusation is that he intentionally is corrupting the youth. Menelaus believes he is guilty of this because he teaches the youth the explore and examine life’s unanswered questions rather than accept what they are being told. Socrates agrees that he does indeed teach this but argues that these teachings are not what’s corrupting the youth. Socrates downfall in this section was that too much emphasis was put on whether this act was intentional or unintentional. More explanation should have been given to support this viewpoint than the fact if it was done deliberately or