Virtue And Justice In Socrates

Undeniably, the first wrong referred to above pertains to Socrates’ sentence on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth, being wronged by the men (not the laws) of Athens 54c. Although he explains the nature of his job, always concerned with justice and clarifies he is not intending to corrupt the youth and if he is indeed corrupting them it is not on purpose, given that corrupting the neighbor would result in then being exposed to a corrupt neighbor who might turn around and harm him, in which case an instruction would be appropriate, not a formal charge in court. Yet, as explained by Socrates, the charges are very difficult to counter, not because he is at fault, but because the jury is already convinced before even entering the courthouse …show more content…
We can also appeal to his idea of living a good life, and that “virtue and justice are man’s most precious possession, along with lawful behavior and the laws?” (53c,d). So strong is his belief in good and just that he notes “you are wrong if you think that a man who is any good at all should take into account the risk of life or death; he should look to this only in his actions, whether what he does is right or wrong, whether he is acting like a good or a bad man” (28b). This further supports his commitment to good actions, even in the face of death, as is the case with the …show more content…
He presents his reasoning: “Your country is to be honored…you must worship it, yield to it, and placate its anger….you must either persuade it or obey its orders, and endure in silence whatever it instructs you to endure, …you must obey. To do is right, ….one must obey the commands of one’s city and country, or persuade it as to the nature of justice. (51b,c). By going to the courtroom and presenting his Apology, Socrates is using this last opportunity as a large stage where: he can present his message of being good, use this opportunity to teach the jury: “I do not think it right to supplicate the jury,…but to teach and persuade them…”(35c), and lastly, as an opportunity to persuade the laws of Athens towards justice, as is his duty per his agreement. Socrates explains that this agreement comes with the responsibility of obeying, and from the position of the laws, a citizen who remains in the city “has in fact come to an agreement with us [laws] to obey our instructions. We say that the one who disobeys does wrong…because in spite of his agreement, he neither obeys us nor, if we do something wrong, does he try to persuade us to do better. (51c). Therefore, his ultimate