“Socrates is a doer of evil, and corrupter of the youth, and he does not believe in the gods of the state, and has other new divinities of his own” (Apology, 5). Clearly Socrates was not admired by the one who spoke these words. Although Socrates was admired by many, the poor reputations of the sophists combined with Socrates’ disbelief in the Athenian gods led to the city fearing and mistrusting philosophy, ultimately prompting Socrates’ downfall.
The city of Athens feared and generally mistrusted philosophy. Socrates’ arrest makes this clear. The leaders of the city did not want Socrates out in the streets and teaching people to think like him, so he was arrested. Where did this distrust of philosophy come from? The city of Athens was progressive, …show more content…
So why did the city seem to have a particular dislike for Socrates? Three specific charges were brought against him. The first, that he “teaches […] doctrines to others”, specifically the young men of the city, and the second, that he “made the worse appear the better cause” (Apology, 2). Socrates remarked upon the first charge by addressing his accuser Meletus. Socrates did not say that he never taught the young men. Instead, he offered his services to all, without accepting payment. Socrates also mentioned that nobody would intentionally corrupt someone. Corrupting someone would be sabotage to yourself, because the individual is just as likely to harm you as anyone else. Further, Meletus accusing Socrates of being the sole corrupter of the youth proves that Meletus knows nothing about corruption, because, as Socrates says, “happy indeed would be the condition of youth if they had one corrupter only.” (Apology, 6-7). To close his argument on this topic, Socrates alluded to Aristophanes’ play The Clouds, where Socrates was portrayed in a highly unfavorable way, and suggested that if the jury were to find him guilty, they would be the ones who had been corrupted. Socrates then tackled the second accusation. He declared that he has no interest in being eloquent, and had no need to manipulate words to win an argument, instead
The city of Athens feared and generally mistrusted philosophy. Socrates’ arrest makes this clear. The leaders of the city did not want Socrates out in the streets and teaching people to think like him, so he was arrested. Where did this distrust of philosophy come from? The city of Athens was progressive, …show more content…
So why did the city seem to have a particular dislike for Socrates? Three specific charges were brought against him. The first, that he “teaches […] doctrines to others”, specifically the young men of the city, and the second, that he “made the worse appear the better cause” (Apology, 2). Socrates remarked upon the first charge by addressing his accuser Meletus. Socrates did not say that he never taught the young men. Instead, he offered his services to all, without accepting payment. Socrates also mentioned that nobody would intentionally corrupt someone. Corrupting someone would be sabotage to yourself, because the individual is just as likely to harm you as anyone else. Further, Meletus accusing Socrates of being the sole corrupter of the youth proves that Meletus knows nothing about corruption, because, as Socrates says, “happy indeed would be the condition of youth if they had one corrupter only.” (Apology, 6-7). To close his argument on this topic, Socrates alluded to Aristophanes’ play The Clouds, where Socrates was portrayed in a highly unfavorable way, and suggested that if the jury were to find him guilty, they would be the ones who had been corrupted. Socrates then tackled the second accusation. He declared that he has no interest in being eloquent, and had no need to manipulate words to win an argument, instead