Was Socrates Justified

Throughout human history, prominent leaders who have changed society for the better by standing up against injustice, have always been asked the same question in the midst of their inevitable ending: Is one willing to die for what one believes in? This question has separated ordinary men from those who have been immortalized in human history for taking a stand and not compromising their beliefs just to satisfy external parties. In The Dialogues of Plato, Socrates is confronted with this problem, for it is his unwillingness to compromise his lifestyle and beliefs that ultimately brings forth his tragic demise. Some would argue that his defiance to compromise was unnecessary, but Socrates’ unwillingness to compromise his beliefs was justified …show more content…
Despite his life being in jeopardy, Socrates’s justification is reasonable when one follows the argument of being obedient to the gods. If the gods played a part in the creation of humans, then it should follow that the gods have also had influence in creating a humans purpose on Earth as well. Staying true to his purpose in life, which was told by the Oracle of Delphi, (ultimately given by the gods), of being a philosopher who converses with others, (preferable “wise” members of Athens), in order to deem whether they are wiser than he is shows his “…devotion to the god” (Plato, and Erich Segal 9). If Socrates compromised his purpose, which was given by the gods, then that would, “…be a disobedience to the God” (Plato and Erich Segal …show more content…
Just as other good men who died or sacrificed for a cause greater than their own lives, such as civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. (advocated for equality in the Jim-Crow Era) and heavy-weight boxer Muhammed Ali (refusal to fight in the Vietnam war), Socrates has proved why he is the father of Western Philosophy and among the good men of human history. It’s because of his defiance to compromise even if meant