In Apology and Crito the readers get to learn about the last couple moments of Socrates before he is given the death sentence. In Plato’s Apology, Socrates is brought to trial and accused of many crimes. In his defense, Socrates uses his usual technique of questioning people’s actions and at the end of the trail he gets convicted for corrupting the youth and not believing in the gods. In Plato’s Crito, Socrates is requested by Crito to run away from jail, and ultimately avoid his death. Instead, Socrates chooses to question Crito’s request and comes to the conclusion that it is best for him to stay. After reading Plato’s Apology and Crito, I can conclude that according to Socrates human virtue is knowledge (wisdom). In this paper I will present two disputes that’s Socrates uses to prove what human virtue is.
In Apology, one argument Socrates makes is that he is not wise. Socrates starts this off by explaining how Chaerephon went to the god Delphi, and Delphi asked if he knew any man that was wiser
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At this point Socrates is already convicted and is given the option to counter his punishment. Instead of begging for his life, Socrates believes that the greatest good of man is to converse about virtue and examine both him and other. In Apology section 29d-30b, Socrates states that he will continue his service to god and he does not plan on stopping his questions. He will meet strangers and question them about their obsession with possessing as much wealth, reputation, and honor while forgoing the truly important things in life, such as wisdom and truth. In this argument, Socrates wants people to stop caring about wealth and the artificial things in life, but rather to focus on body and soul. Moreover, this ties back to Crito because Socrates believed that if he gave up philosophizing he would be abandoning the examined life, and without wisdom or self-knowledge he would be better off