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An Analysis Of John M. Cooper's Edition Of The Trail And Death Of Socrates

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There are several dialogues that provide different perspectives of the ancient trial of the philosopher Socrates, which offer alternative written interpretations of his defense and final days which resulted in his unexpected execution. Some of this literature can be argued to define this untimely death as a tragedy. Using these dialogues and secondary sources such as John M. Cooper’s edition of the Trail and Death of Socrates, Robert J. Bonner’s paper on the legal settings of the Apology, and Robert S. Brumbaugh’s philosophical understanding of Socrates trial, this paper will assess to what extent, if any, is Plato’s “Apology” or Socrates’ death tragic. Although some might argue that Socrates was wise and an established war hero, his death should not be considered tragic. Socrates entertained the idea of his death with humor, stayed true to his beliefs by challenging his opposition, and chose to stand trial versus fleeing or lighter sentence which ultimately led to his demise. …show more content…

Towards the end of his life after sentencing, he acted jokingly around those close to him. In the account of Phaedo, there are several examples of this including taking the poison cheerfully, joking about being buried, and owing an offering of a bird to a mythological God. How can someone who takes his own death so lightly, have it be described as a tragedy when the victim himself doesn’t seem to be suffering in any way imaginable. His humor in death helps defend the idea that his death is not a tragedy, and more so of an irony. This same type of humor was seen in the challenging of his opponents in the

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In “Apoligy” Socrates refused to admit his accusation, but in “Crito” he chose to accept the death instead of escaping. His value towards justice can be reflected by much of his word that “justice” is not limited to individuals but at a higher level; it is like a shared value inside all human being. When Crito said his worry of “shameful reputation” of spending money for friend”, Socrates asked him why he needed to consider other people’s opinions. “The best people, who are more deserving of our attention, will believe that the matter was handled in just the way it is.” (44c)

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In this paper I will examine why Socrates did not attempt to appease the jury in his Apology. Socrates is put on trial for corrupting the youth and believing in gods other than the gods of the city. I believe he chose not to appease the jury for three reasons: he is a man of pride, he does not fear death and additionally finds it shameful to fear death. Socrates is a man of pride.

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In this paper I will argue that Socrates’s argument at 50a-b of the Crito would be not harming his fellow citizens by breaking the laws. Based on the readings from Plato’s The Five Dialogues, I will go over the reasoning of Socrates’ view on the good life. I will then discuss the three arguments Crito has for Socrates regarding his evasion of the death sentence including the selfish, the practicality, and the moral arguments. I will deliberate an objection to the argument and reply to the objections made in the paper and conclude with final thoughts. Socrates argues in the Crito that he should not escape or disobey the law because it is unethical.

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Socrates was a greek philosopher who found himself in trouble with his fellow citizens and court for standing his grounds on his new found beliefs from his studies about philosophical virtue, justice, and truth. In “Apology” written by Plato, Socrates defended himself in trial, not with the goal of escaping the death sentence, but with the goal of doing the right thing and standing for his beliefs. With this mindset, Socrates had no intention of kissing up to the Athenians to save his life. Many will argue that Socrates’ speech was not very effective because he did not fight for his life, he just accepted the death sentence that he was punished with. In his speech he said, “But now it’s time to leave, time for me to die and for you to live.”

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In the Apology Socrates defends himself against the charges brought against him by his prosecutor Meletus in two ways. In the first way Socrates describes his method and

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In this essay, I will present an argument that shows that Plato will convince Socrates to reconsider his decision to receive the death sentence. Plato would show Socrates that his three reasons for staying to receive his sentence is unjust because his action is fuelled by injustice. I will also show that Socrates will agree with Plato about the unjust consequences that his actions may bring after Plato reasons why Socrates is doing an injustice. Finally, Plato would then proceed to show Socrates that his decision to stay cannot result in happiness and justice which in turn will cause Socrates to re-evaluate accepting his death sentence according to his own ideals of a happy and just life.

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“Plato Apology” relates the trial of Socrates (469-399) B.C.E known as the father of Western Philosophy. Socrates, a son of sculpture and the midwife had a queer with most Athenians due to his point of view on values and beliefs. Charged with impiety and corrupting the Youth, Socrates’ defends himself by persuading the jury of his innocence with tangible reasons which made his arguments effective.

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Part A- Socrates In thinking of Socrates we must recognize that what we have is four secondhand sources depicting him. That of Plato, Xenophanes, Aristophanes, and Aristotle. All having radically different accounts on Socrates and his views. Out of all them we consider Plato’s to be the most possible account, even though we face a problem of different versions of Socrates.

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Plato believes that his teacher, Socrates, was trialed because he was “evil” and needed to be killed from society. The “apology” Socrates presents himself as respected and mistreated due to the emotions of the Athenian

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The trial and death of Socrates is a book with four dialogues all about the trail that leads to the eventual death of Socrates. The four dialogues are Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. It will explain the reasoning that brought Socrates to trial in the first place and give us a glimpse into the physiological thought of this time, and in this paper will describe some of the differences today. The first of the four dialogues are Euthyphro.

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“Apologia” "is an account written down by Plato that showcases the speech of the legal self-defense of Greek philosopher Socrates while he was under trial. The author Plato is a known classical Greek philosopher, a teacher of Aristotle and was a prize student of Socrates. He is one who is known by the world today for laying the basis of classical philosophy and one who kept account in writing of Socrates fundamental ideas since Socrates didn’t leave any writings of his own. Just like in the past Plato continued to take in and write down in detail of Socrates thoughts and ideas. In Apologia, Plato wrote down his exposition of Socrates speech showcasing his defense while under the charges during his trial of “corrupting the youth”

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The book written by Plato: The Apology of Socrates, takes its name from Plato’s version of the defense speech given by Socrates at his trial. The date of its composition is unknown, but the work is believed to have been composed after the publication of Polycrates’s Accusation of Socrates. It consists of three parts: the defense proper, Socrates’s response to the guilty verdict, and a pair of speeches directed respectively at those who voted for the death penalty, and at those who voted against it and Socrates. Two dialogues also are set after the Apology; However, readers should bear in mind that Plato had been both a scholar and an ardent admirer of Socrates, and for this reason his version of the trial may have been somewhat biased in favor

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Taylor Diebert 820074652 4 February 2018 Short Essay: Plato’s The Apology The Apology is a speech presented by Socrates in court in defense against accusations facing him, formal and informal. The Apology is an interpretation of what happened in the time of the trial and who Socrates was and what his duty was in life. In this essay, I will carefully explain section 30e-31b and Socrates analogy of a gadfly and how it relates to the text as a whole. I will explain Socrates role in the city and why if he is killed, the city will be doing themselves a greater injustice than they will be doing to Socrates by killing him. I will also be explaining how the Socratic Method is used by Socrates in the trial to help against his accusations how he could

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The term “apology comes from the Greek word apologia which means to defend. In this essay I would like to explain why I believe that The Apology by Plato should be classified as pity and fear, in regards to Greek tragedy. I believe that this is true because I can personally empathize with Socrates; this will be discussed later on in this essay. A tragic hero is considered to be an individual with an intellectual flaw or error, Socrates fits this description; Socrates failed to understand that he could not empathize with the jurors because they simply wanted him to acknowledge his prior offenses, while he only sought out telling the truth and not sullying his own moral code. Socrates should be considered a tragic hero because he had an intellectual error, not an ethical one.

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His personal defense is described in works two of his students: Xenophon and Plato. Both of them wrote papers called Apology, which is the Greek word for “defense”. In this essay I used Apology by Plato as the main resource, since it contents a more full account of the trial of Socrates and his words. Despite the fact that the philosopher attempted to defend himself and explain the reasons for saying and doing the things he did, it did not do any good for his justification. On the contrary, Socrates’ words seemed to make the jury harden their hearts and condemn him.

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