Plato: The Apology Of Socrates

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

It is generally believed to be the most reliable record of the event that has been preserved. Nevertheless, people must bear in mind that there are certain limitations necessarily involved in all historical writing. History is never a complete and exact account of what has taken place. It is necessarily Plato interpretation of the event as it is viewed from the perspective of the time and place of the writing, which does not mean that the historical account is unreliable but only that it partakes of certain limitations that cannot be entirely avoided. Finally, the account in the Apology was in harmony with the reports given by Xenophon and other writers, and was also consistent with references to the trial found in the other Platonic

Instead, he addressed himself to the larger implications involved in the so-called crimes of which he had been accused. As far as corrupting the youth was concerned, Socrates made it plain that he had never attempted to indoctrinate his listeners or to coerce them into accepting a set of ideas. The charge that Socrates had corrupted the youth was based in part on the fact that some of the ones who had been associated with him had committed acts that were offensive to the state. This may have been true, for these persons were all free moral agents and, therefore, responsible for whatever they might do. Any misconduct on their part could not be attributed to Socrates. In fact, he was ready to summon the parents and elder brothers of the young men who have been associated with him as witnesses that none of them have been made worse by his companionship. As far as they have been influenced either by his teachings or his example, it has always been for the