ipl-logo

Response To Plato's Apology

915 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The human experience in literature

Plato’s Apology Response Paper

Introduction

The response paper on The Apology will discuss the various ideas that Socrates came up with in his book. First and foremost, the essay will discuss his philosophy regarding human traits such as human wisdom, an excellent speaker, death and unexamined life. The above
Socrates ideas are significant in human lives, and therefore I will explain my opinion relating to them. In the climax, the response paper will discuss how these ideas and teachings have affected the world at large, having read the book.
Socrates Ideas, Values and Meanings
Socrates philosophy talks about several values accredited to human beings. He based them on the people who accused him concerning his teachings. For example, Socrates …show more content…

For instance, Socrates that the people who accused him considered him to be wiser because he always refuted things from other people. Furthermore,
Socrates asserts that the people who become cognizant of truth are worth nothing.
Mortality or Death
There are some facts concerning human mortality according to Socrates in Plato’s
Apology. According to Socrates, no one know if death might be the best of all good things that happen to human beings; despite their feat for it. He says that people fear death as if it is the evilest thing that can happen to a person during his entire life. According to Socrates, people with little benefits should not only take into account the consequences of their actions such as

ALMARRI living or dying; but should only consider if these actions are just or unjust. Socrates means that death penalty should not hinder people from doing something they perceive to be justifiable. For example, he says that man should not risk living with something shameful, but would rather take into account death or something else if stationed by a ruler or another man.
Unexamined …show more content…

Furthermore, people still fear death as it takes their lives. The reason why people mourn and are grieve of death is the belief that death is the worst thing that happens to human beings.
Despite this fear, death remains a mystery as no full examination done to it. If human beings heed these writings of Socrates, fear of death and unexamined things will come to a halt.

ALMARRI
The real nature of human beings still applies to human life in the present. Most people diminish others as they perceive to be more knowledgeable. For example, the level of education has been mostly used to rank human beings. The people who have studied to higher levels of education such as the doctorate level in the university are believed to be wiser than the rest.
Conclusion/ My Opinion
From the above teachings, it is worth to say that all the things that Socrates addresses to his supporters concerning his accusers still exist in the society in the present. Wisdom, real nature of human beings, death, excellent speakers and unexamined life is still a major concern to present human life.

ALMARRI

Work Cited

Burnet, John. "Plato 's Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, and Crito."

Show More
Related
1373 Words | 6 Pages

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,

Read More
835 Words | 4 Pages

Anish Yonjan Philosophy 1301-73426 Prof. Marcos Arandia Feb. 19, 2017 Explain and evaluate Socrates' claim in the Apology that "the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being," and briefly analyze and discuss the particular method he uses to discover the truth (i.e., dialectics or the Socratic Method), using at least two examples from Plato's Euthyphro and/or Apology. Do you agree that a human being cannot live a fully satisfying life if he or she remains ignorant, like the slavish prisoners in Plato's cave? Why or why not? In the Plato’s Apology, Socrates claims that the “unexamined life is not worth living for a human being”.

Read More
1077 Words | 5 Pages

Death is something that will eventually happen to everyone, but there are so many different ways of people that deal with death around them. There are some people who don’t deal with death well, so they become mentally and emotionally unstable for their entire life. On the other hand, there are people who accept death for what it is and take the necessary steps to become more tolerant to it. In Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande, he speaks about the various aspects (such as the cost of taking care of elderly people) that surround death that people often neglect. Death can be a very taxing area of discussion, but once people accept its cruel nature they can overcome the burden it brings.

Read More
376 Words | 2 Pages

Plato’s Apology is in the words of Socrates. The apology explains what Socrates though of death as he awaited his death after being condemned for not believing in God. He believed after death, one would either go to another world or be in a state of nothingness. He had the theory of death being a place where one would learn about life and talk to people that no longer walk the Earth. He supports his argument that death is a gain by explaining that he, Socrates, will get to speak to famous poets and past heroes.

Read More
1314 Words | 6 Pages

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.”

Read More
961 Words | 4 Pages

Introduction The Apology was written by Plato, and relates Socrates’ defense at his trial on charges of corrupting the youth and impiety. Socrates argues that he is innocent of both charges. Plato reports the contents of three speeches delivered by Socrates in his own protection in court which has been arranged over him by the Athenian democrats and has terminated in the death sentence to the great philosopher. The word "apology" in a literal translation means "justification". Plato's purpose when writing "Apology" was to acquit posthumously Socrates from false accusation.

Read More
1434 Words | 6 Pages

The first reason Socrates gives for accepting his death sentence is the fact that Athens has provided him with education. (Crito page 15) Although Socrates thinks this is a just reason, Plato would disagree because Socrates could have become corrupted and bad without proper education. According to Plato, Socrates would have the traits of a philosopher king. Socrates loves the truth, hates the false, is moderate and courageous. (The Republic 485a-486b)

Read More
298 Words | 2 Pages

For this week's journal entry, I would like to bring up the idea of "wisdom" in reference to Plato's Apology.  Personally, I find that the way in which Socrates defends is wisdom is admirable, and although it leads to the verdict of him being killed, I think that this decision and the reaction by Socrates helps define wisdom. Socrates, in essence, says that he does not fear death because he is wise.  No one knows what death is -- perhaps it may be the best thing a person gets to experience. However, a person that is unwise would approach death into thinking that it is the worst thing that can happen in life.

Read More
947 Words | 4 Pages

Here is another piece of evidence to support my point. “Because I’m well aware that wherever I go, the young people will listen to what I say, as they do here. If I antagonize them, they’ll drive me out by persuading their elders to do so.” (Lines 142-144) In this quote, Socrates is saying that even if he approaches the young ones with his ideas and philosophies, at a certain point they will come to a dislike of him and try anything at any cost to drive him away.

Read More
1115 Words | 5 Pages

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates is put into trial because he is accused of corrupting the youth with his teachings that deviate from the established beliefs of the Greek society. Although he justifies that he is only doing what he believes is his duty, he reasons that even if he is given a death penalty, death is nothing to be feared. He raises multiple strong and effective arguments that explain to his audience that it is illogical to fear death. All of these arguments revolves around the central idea that death is not evil and that “no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death” (Apology, 41c). The first argument that Socrates presents during his trial is the idea that death is not the most important thing to worry about in

Read More
912 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
747 Words | 3 Pages

We deny the progression of humanity by denying a condition that makes us human. Which is the ability to evaluate and question life through our own eyes. An ability that Socrates argued for which ultimately led to his death. In this paper, I will highlight the importance of “The Apology” and how it contributed to its field as well as why it is still relevant today.

Read More
1595 Words | 7 Pages

Socrates is quoted as stating, “An unexamined life is a life not worth living” (38 a). Socrates was a founding figure of western philosophy, and a stable for many ideas. He lived in Athens, Greece teaching his students, like Plato, questioning politics, ethical choices, and many other things in Greek society. In the Trial and death of Socrates: Four Dialogues by Plato, it explores the abstract questioning Socrates had towards many of the normal social properties, which led to his trial, resulting in his death. The most important aspects discussed in the dialogues is the questioning of what is pious and impious, what it means to be wise, and good life.

Read More
1021 Words | 5 Pages

In Apology, Socrates faces possible execution as he stands trial in front of his fellow Athenian men. This jury of men must decide whether Socrates has acted impiously against the gods and if he has corrupted the youth of Athens. Socrates claims in his defense that he wants to live a private life, away from public affairs and teachings in Athens. He instead wants to focus on self-examination and learning truths from those in Athens through inquiry. Socrates argues that "a [man] who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if [he] is to survive for even a short time" (32a).

Read More
1376 Words | 6 Pages

The term “apology comes from the Greek word apologia which means to defend. In this essay I would like to explain why I believe that The Apology by Plato should be classified as pity and fear, in regards to Greek tragedy. I believe that this is true because I can personally empathize with Socrates; this will be discussed later on in this essay. A tragic hero is considered to be an individual with an intellectual flaw or error, Socrates fits this description; Socrates failed to understand that he could not empathize with the jurors because they simply wanted him to acknowledge his prior offenses, while he only sought out telling the truth and not sullying his own moral code. Socrates should be considered a tragic hero because he had an intellectual error, not an ethical one.

Read More

More about Response To Plato's Apology

Related Topics

Open Document