In Plato’s work The Trial and Death of Socrates, Socrates demonstrates his role as a hero of Athens by pursuing the wisdom the Oracle at Delphi asserted that he possessed, as well as using political philosophy to encourage Athens itself to reflect upon its character in order to ensure that future generations will continue to uphold Athenian values of Justice and understanding. These actions and ideals prove that philosophy must have the role of upholding the integrity of Athens and saving future generations from the corrupt leaders that have taken charge of the once great city.
In Plato’s Apology, Socrates shows himself as a hero at his trial and through political philosophy reveals the truth about wisdom, his charges, and the weak state
A: III. The Apology of Plato: what was Socrates saying? A comparison and contrast of the rhetorical strategy of Socrates in FS 11, Plato’s Apology to the rhetorical strategy of the speaker in the Athenian law court speech you read for your report. Find all you can that is unconventional and counter conventional in what Socrates says.
In Plato’s Apology, Socrates is charged with not recognizing the gods recognized by corrupting the youth. Socrates defends himself, but his defense does not work. He loses the trial which leads to him be sentenced to death, and he has to face death. Throughout his defense, he brings up the subject of death and constructs a proper view of death.
The play, Plato’s Apology and Oedipus the king explains how both men have good intentions on improving life for mankind, but due to their actions both suffer from terrible consequences. Plato’s Apology is the story of the trial of Socrates; he is being accused of corrupting the youth, challenging the belief system of the Athenians. The play Oedipus the King by Sophocles, explains how Oedipus unwillingly committed patricide and married his mother. As a result, this leads to his downfall.
In Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, the account of Socrates’ life during his time in jail until his execution, is told through Plato’s point of view. In these dialogues, Socrates shares his philosophical beliefs on many subjects –one of them being the obligations of the citizen. This belief is illustrated in Crito, which is a dialogue between Socrates and his longtime friend Crito. Along with Socrates is Martin Luther King Jr. who has also expressed his beliefs on the obligations of the citizen in his “Letter from a Birmingham jail”. Both Socrates and King create social tension in order for individuals to better themselves in the world they live in.
Yet, Plato’s Apology shows another side of Athens; they are closed off to change and punish those whose ideologies differ from those guiding the people. To consider what Pericles might have felt about the changes in Athens in “The Apology,” how people and new ideas were put on trial, he would likely be ashamed the society he once held so high.
It would seem that the reasoning that Socrates uses about halfway into the Apology (just after he has finished speaking with Meletus) for why it would be illogical to fear death should also work inversely. That is to say that the very same reasoning would also seem to suggest that it would be illogical to look forward to death. Therefore, when Socrates suggests, towards the end of the dialogue, that he is actually looking forward to dying, one might be tempted to conclude that he is contradicting his own logic. However, on closer examination of the wording and the context of these two discussions of death, one can see that he has, in fact, not contradicted himself, after all.
In Plato’s “The Apology, Socrates is on the verge of execution and must convince the jurors to make a just decision. Socrates conveys the justness of his actions through examples of what is just to the jurors as individuals, to society as a whole. He must convince them that it would be unjust to society to convict him of impiety and corruption, rather than to himself. Just actions will be analyzed with examples of courage in grave danger, how just decisions can be altered due to the irrational fear of death, and whether Socrates’ basis of his actions truly is just and compelling.
In the dialogue Apology by Plato, Socrates who was Plato’s teacher was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens. The author talks about what happened at his mentor’s trial. This dialogue is one of the most exact when it comes to what happened in the courtroom, for Plato was present there, and he saw everything. After the jury decided that Socrates was guilty they sentenced him to death; however, they offered Socrates to be exiled as an alternate punishment. Socrates talks about how he believes in spirits, how he does not get paid to speak, and how he is not responsible for what others decide to believe or follow; in order, to defend himself against the two charges.
This essay is about Socrates in the Apology. Socrates was a philosopher, a religious fanatic and a man of reason who lived to questioned why things are the way they are, due to his occupation of questioning and reasoning he was later brought to court on charges of corrupting the young and encouraging people not to believe in godly things that are recognized by the state as said by his accusers. During his trial he said quite a numerous things in the Apology and he was found guilty by the juries and was sentenced to death. So, in this essay I will be explaining why he thinks that death should not be always avoided during his trial on apology. And I will be explaining my position regarding what Socrates has said that we shouldn’t always avoid death.
While reading Book 3, I was struck by Socrates’ views on what constitutes acceptable poetry in his ideal city, which would “expunge all that sort of disparagement [of death]” (386c). Socrates explains that this censorship is necessary in order to inculcate an ideal form of justice, claiming that some kinds of poetry “should [not] be heard by men who are supposed to be free and to fear slavery more than death” (387b). Here, I think Socrates means to say that we should have the strength to uphold our rights/principles of freedom, instead of fearing the unknown nature of death, which he also articulates in Plato’s Apology – “Well, now it is time to be off, I to die and you to live; but which of us has the happier prospect is unknown to anyone but God” (42a).
In Plato’s Apology, Socrates uses religious appeals, proof by contradiction WC and various examples to argue for his innocence in court. Socrates is forced to argue for the sake of his life to prove that he is not guilty. Socreates’ speech, however, he is not apologizing for anything instead, the word comes from the Greek word “apologia,” that translates to a speech made in defense. Socrates begins his argument by stating the reason he thinks he is being accused is because of his reputation with the citizens of Athens.
Comparing Socrates words in the Republic for the philosopher to rule to the words of the Apology where philosophy is viewed as something that is punishable by death, this is where the defense or importance of philosophy is realized. For if the philosophers were the ones to rule, nobody would question whether or not what they were doing was right or wrong because the philosopher-kings make the rules through wisdom and knowledge. Plato wants to paint a portrait of the philosopher as not only something the city should want to have, but also as someone who would be fit to rule above all others. This contrasts, again, to the points made by the jurors to Socrates in the Apology for they saw Socrates as someone who brings the city
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.”
The importance of “The Apology” and Socrates is that he served as a symbol towards the fundamental question of the “why” in life. Socrates argues that in a society like Athens where the ability to ask these types of questions are denied, the overall happiness of its citizens will eventually perish. The reason being that material objects can only satisfy the soul for so long. This is why Socrates felt that it was his duty to remind the leaders of Athens of the importance of their humility. He chose to seek wisdom within himself
The Apology Reflection In The Apology by Plato, Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher, is put on trial for “corrupting the youth of Athens” and charged with heresy against the Greek gods. In this paper, I will argue that Socrates should have played a better game of politics with the jury and Meletus, as doing so could possibly have saved his life. However, I do believe that, regardless of his defense, the Athenian jury would still have found him guilty, for this would be the easiest way to permanently remove Socrates from Athens. For the most part, I believe that they found him guilty simply because he was considered a nuisance around town.