One of Socrates’ friends, Chaerephon, asked if there was anyone wiser than Socrates, to which the oracle replied, “no one” (21a, 85). Socrates, knowing he was not very wise, sought to investigate the claim (21b, 85). Already, the reader can begin to understand how an examined life, is a good life. Socrates is unwilling to accept something as truth, just because it is said by a person in a position of power and respect. He chooses to investigate the claim, to find an understanding of how it can be that someone believes he is the wisest person.
In the Apology by Plato, Socrates defends himself against his accusers in court, and begins by declaring that he is not an especially great speaker but that he only speaks the truth. In this, he tells his accusers that they should not fear him but only the truth itself. In the depiction of Socrates' last speech, he makes a bold claim that he has been deemed the wisest man in Athens by the god of Delphi ( Plato, ., Jowett, n.d. ). He goes on to explain that while he searched for those that thought themselves wise,
Reflection 1 Liuying Huang Part I: Q1: what are the accusations against Socrates in the Euthyphro and Apology? There is more than one layer of accusations against Socrates in Euthyphro and Apology, where he was charged with: 1) Impious, for not worshipping or acknowledging the gods of Athens. Instead, Socrates went for a different set of “divine” new ideas created by himself and got charged for introducing new gods.
In this play the Socrates here doesn't sound like the Socrates from the Apology or the real life Socrates. The real Socrates doesn't actually teach per say, he teaches in a way that makes you yourself use your brain. He makes you question everything and understand things based on your own perception. The writer of this play clearly felt as if Socrates was a major problem in his society for allowing people to actually try to think outside of the box and ask questions. He most likely enjoyed the fact that everyone were robots and all thought alike and believed in the same thing because it brought no need to bring out discussion.
He claims that in his ventures to find someone wiser than himself, he began examining everyone; friends and strangers. He claims that every person whom he met who was not wise only supported further the oracle’s claim of his superiority and so he found it is his duty to show that person that they were not wise. He claims that he did this, not for his own benefit, but to be a devout follower of the gods. Socrates then begins to explain how the young boys who were rich and had much free time enjoyed standing around, watching him cross-examine the pretenders, exposing their ignorance.
Socrates claims that his "accusers say I'm clever, but no, I'm just honest" showing the difference between him and them(17b). Socrates declares that "my only wisdom is admitting what I don't know" even after he earned the reputation for being wise(21d). When he is convicted and charged with the crime of corrupting the children even after he says "I don't corrupt the young, or only do so unintentionally" he told his accusers that "I do not reject my conviction because I expected it(25e+35e). While Socrates was free he was known for questioning people so after being convicted he told them "I could question the dead in Hades to find wisdom" realizing that he would not be able to find it where he is(41b). Again showing how death did not fear him, and how Socrates thinks that he will join the underworld as one of the greats.
The ‘character portrait’, Socrates must show that a philosopher seeks truth in wisdom. In the informal charges being laid, Socrates denies the claims of natural inquiries and making weaker arguments appear stronger. The first claim was denied because Socrates says he is a moral philosopher and the
"I found that the men most in repute were all but the most foolish; and that others less esteemed were really wiser and better" (lines 70-71). Circumstances like these lead Socrates to the conclusion and understanding of who is really wise. He comprehended that ones who are deemed wise are not and vise versa. This understanding accommodates and is applicable to most of the Athenian community and one can understand this from Socrates’ many devoted years of inquisition. He did this for a desired deduction of peoples wisdom, mentality, and grasp of personal beliefs. ”
Socrates was a man that was in search of the truth about wisdom. However, it became more then just a search when it brought him to trail of accusations. As a philosopher Socrates was known to overdrawn ideas and to frustrate anyone he was talking to. He is always in search of a better idea and for anyone who has experienced Socrates could assume he is making up his own actualities. This becomes evident in “ Apology” written by Plato, where Socrates was brought in charges for corrupting the minds of the youth and not believing in the Gods.
Socrates states in this quote that even though he was not to most people’s liking in Athens, he believed that he should put that thought aside and focus on the mission the
Making enemies and becoming the topic of conversation, the Athenians began to view Socrates as a threat to their beliefs and way of life and sought to end it. In order to end this, Socrates was accused of blasphemy (Mod1SlideC7). Socrates’s accusers took him to court and after Socrates did not play their game by asking to be sent into exile, and in the end, he was sentenced to death. After reading the textbook and Plato’s writing influenced by Socrates, I realized that in the period of his life Socrates was indeed truly a threat to the Athens society, because he looked for answers that no one else bothered to find which challenged their culture.
Stephen Edwin King, a horror author, earned his fame due to his experiences skillfully crafting his books, making him a person whom all authors envy and admire. Starting with King’s young life, he constantly moved and his father abandoned them, shaping his career. These experiences as a child are the frame of his many of his books, such as his most famous book, Carrie, which is about a high school girl who realizes she is different and is repressed by family and society. This book became a hit when it came out, and he was announced to have created one the best horror books ever written. A mixture of supernatural flowing with the truth in his works entices readers from the start.
Ironically, Socrates has been charged with corrupting the youth of Athens by challenging the accepted rules of knowledge in Athenian education. The Athenian Court defines certain instances in which Socrates questions the existence of the Gods, or that he questions the role of academic leaders in the community. This is perceived as being a danger to the stability of Athenian society, but Socrates defends his position by acknowledging the benefits of dialogues that question the truth. More so, Socrates never makes any claim to “teaching” the children of Athens because he admits he “does not know” enough knowledge to be an educator. This definition of the humility theory of wisdom is put forth against Socrates, yet he countermands these charges by accusing the Sophists of misleading the Athenian
Socrates provokes the ideas that the city has of him as an individual as to being a harmful human being and argues that it is not in human nature to go against his own
Socrates was a great philosopher of the Greek world. He was quite an atypical and distinctive person. Being different from all the other philosophers of the land, Socrates was teaching his students ideas totally out of the ordinary from what the society believed was right. As a result, he displeased many people so much that they decided to get rid of him. Socrates was put to trial, accused of spoiling the youth of Athens, tried and sentenced to death.
