Socrates Apology Analysis

Similar to many philosophers of his time, Socrates was considered one of the greatest and most influential founders of Western philosophy. He was widely followed by the Greeks, yet he was indicted and sentenced to die for corrupting the minds of the young. His disciples saw this as a tragedy, but it was within his last days that Socrates’ philosophy revealed several important themes regarding one’s relationship with the gods and what is pious, the value of philosophy to man, the existence of one’s soul, and the significance of death in one’s existence. Socrates illustrates these points through meticulous dialogue with his followers and close friends. He identifies the inconsistencies of seemingly known facts and delves into what he believes

Again, he reveals his way of thinking about the world through questioning others and allowing them to reveal it for themselves. During Socrates’s trial in Apology, he does not try to sway his audience in his favor in any way, he approaches his defense with the same composure that he would approach any sort of philosophical discussion with his peers. He simply presents the facts that are useful and relevant to his defense and he does not beg or plea or use complex rhetoric; it appears that Plato was trying to paint Socrates as something of a martyr for his cause. The way Socrates is portrayed standing noble and loyal to his teachings show that Plato clearly thinks Socrates was not in the wrong, and it is evident that Plato wants history to convey that too. He also reveals that if given the option of philosophy or death, he would choose to die. He says, “My point was that, if you let me go on these conditions, I’d say to you … ‘So long as I breathe and so long as I am able I shall never stop doing philosophy, exhorting you all the while.’” (p. 48) This contributes heavily to the value that Socrates places on philosophy because he believes that philosophy is the way one eventually discovers truth and wisdom. On the surface, it appears that Socrates is simply staying devoted to his practice; however, once Socrates is eventually convicted sentenced

During this talk, he reveals important notions regarding the existence of one’s soul and what happens to that soul after death and before life. The friends of Socrates are devastated about his death, but Socrates tells them that he welcomes the thought of death, as any great philosopher should. He explains that only after death can a man obtain wisdom, for it is only after death that the soul is free from the distractions of everyday life. His friends are skeptical of the soul’s persistence to live after the body has died, so to dispel their doubts, Socrates reveals several key points to prove the existence of one’s soul and the fact that it will live on after death. First, he identifies that contraries are generated from their contraries. For example, sleeping is generated from waking and waking is the contrary of sleeping; swiftness is generated from slowness, and slowness is the contrary of swiftness. This remains true to life and death; death is generated from life, so life must be generated from death. In addition to his initial argument, Socrates also believes that we learned about abstract things (equality, fairness, beauty, etc.) through a past life. He says that since there are no perfectly equal things in this world, yet we possess the understanding of what a perfect thing should be, our soul must have existed before our life to gain this knowledge. Socrates then defends the notion that the soul