The Apology by Plato, which is Greek for defense, is the story of Socrates on trial being put on trial in front of the Athenian jury, which eventually led to his death. Throughout his life Socrates was believed to be associated with a class of people known as sophists. These sophists were philosophers much like he was however they had a bad reputation among the people of Athens. The sophists were looked down on because they charged for their teaching, they often claimed to be much more knowledgeable than they actually were, and they also tried to use their words and rhetoric to confuse people during an argument. While Socrates and the sophists did superficially appear the same, Plato’s Apology clearly shows there were actually many differing …show more content…
However, Socrates claimed to know nothing in countless instances throughout this book. One of these instances is when Socrates seeks out the Oracle at Delphi, who tells him he is the wisest (26). This statement by the Oracle leaves Socrates in shock, he replies, “ I am very conscious that I am not wise at all, what then does he mean by saying that I am the wisest” (26.) Socrates could possibly being feeding the Athenian jury a story, trying to dumb himself down, but then why would he go and try to obtain as much knowledge as possible trying to prove the Oracle wrong and find someone wiser than he. While Socrates is denying himself of this prestigious honor from the Oracle sophists are claiming they are the wisest so they can charge more than their counterparts. Throughout this endeavor to find someone wiser Socrates goes to all men with the reputation of being wise: politicians, poets, writers, dithyrambs, craftsmen, and even sophists. He concluded, “each of them… overshadowed the wisdom they had” (27). This basically means that the sophists were too full of ignorance, thinking they could be wise in all aspects, to be as wise as they claimed they truly