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Socrates Defense Of Plato's Apology

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In Plato’s Apology, the speech is not an apology, but Socrates attempting to use his wisdom to justify his teachings and beliefs. Socrates’ defense offers valuable lessons, and new ideas, and addresses real-world problems.
Socrates faced serious charges in ancient Athens for corrupting the youth and disregarding the gods, both considered serious offenses at that time. The accusations of corrupting the youth were linked to Socrates' practice of leading philosophical conversations with younger people that some citizens thought was harmful to their established beliefs. Similarly, Socrates refused to normal religious practices and challenged the regular views of gods, leading to accusations of not believing in them. Socrates argued in his defense that he sought knowledge by talking with the youth in philosophical discussions, and he spoke the truth, “I have a convincing witness that I speak the truth, my poverty” (Plato 35c). which he believed was proof of his beliefs. …show more content…

However, whether it effectively refuted the charges is a two-sided argument since his counterpoints were based on his personal beliefs and experiences. Socrates refused to compromise or change his philosophy to avoid punishment, showing a commitment to his ideas that could be seen as admirable. Yet, Socrates' defense might have sounded arrogant or dismissive regarding the jury’s concerns which could have been the reason he was convicted. Socrates argued “Meletus is lying and that I’m telling the truth” (Plato 38b). This may come across as arrogant because he is so sure of himself. Ultimately, it’s difficult to know how effective Socrates' defense was since he was not acquitted. Nevertheless, his defense remains a great example of standing up for your beliefs and remaining true to yourself, even in the face of

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Socrates defended himself well during the trial. I do not think that Socrates was guilty for anything. He was accused by Meletus for "corrupting the young”. However, there was no evidence of this. Socrates mentioned that there was no youth to testify that they were corrupted by him.

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277 Words | 2 Pages

The Apology mostly consisted of Socrates giving his defense in court against his three accusers, mainly replying to Meletus since he was the only one who spoke during the trial. Meletus had various arguments or accusations against Socrates yet they could all have been counteracted as the arguments did not seem to be made from factual points. As a result, Socrates was often able to find several contradictions in Meletus’s words. For example, one of the first formal charges that Socrates addresses is corrupting the youth and he gives a decent defense that no person would intentionally corrupt another person. He also calls Meletus out for not clearly thinking of the upbringing of the youth.

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Reflection 1 Liuying Huang Part I: Q1: what are the accusations against Socrates in the Euthyphro and Apology? There is more than one layer of accusations against Socrates in Euthyphro and Apology, where he was charged with: 1) Impious, for not worshipping or acknowledging the gods of Athens. Instead, Socrates went for a different set of “divine” new ideas created by himself and got charged for introducing new gods.

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He was proving this because throughout his speech, he made it seem like the idea of knowing the truth and having real knowledge about a subject wasn’t needed in order to achieve the goal of persuasion. In Socrates’ speech he stated, “...if I say that the unexamined life is not worth living, you’ll believe me even less... you think I’ve been convicted for lack of arguments that would have persuaded you…” Socrates never specified or went into details about his beliefs that he was presenting to the court which, revealed to them that he did not know anything. He wasn’t able to strengthen his claims by providing evidence meaning his use of logos was faulty. However, Socrates’ goal was not to gather evidence to make it seem as if he was putting all his efforts in saving his life.

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In the Apology Socrates defends himself against the charges brought against him by his prosecutor Meletus in two ways. In the first way Socrates describes his method and

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Socrates was a man that was in search of the truth about wisdom. However, it became more then just a search when it brought him to trail of accusations. As a philosopher Socrates was known to overdrawn ideas and to frustrate anyone he was talking to. He is always in search of a better idea and for anyone who has experienced Socrates could assume he is making up his own actualities. This becomes evident in “ Apology” written by Plato, where Socrates was brought in charges for corrupting the minds of the youth and not believing in the Gods.

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In this statement, Socrates mentions that even he started to fall for the accusers’ manipulative explanations, but he knows-and points out- the fact that they are lying. In addition, Socrates says he will use simple language so the jury can completely understand him, rather than larger, more complex words that the jury may think they know, but don’t fully understand. Unfortunately, the jury doesn’t take this into account and becomes biased, based on the accusers’ manipulative case, therefore charging Socrates unjustly. Socrates had been questioning things, seeking for the truth and getting people to think for themselves for his entire life.

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“Plato Apology” relates the trial of Socrates (469-399) B.C.E known as the father of Western Philosophy. Socrates, a son of sculpture and the midwife had a queer with most Athenians due to his point of view on values and beliefs. Charged with impiety and corrupting the Youth, Socrates’ defends himself by persuading the jury of his innocence with tangible reasons which made his arguments effective.

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On Socrates’ journey to determine the wise and reveal those who are not wise to the gods, young men, sons of the rich, began to follow his crusade and examine people on their own accord. The questioned became angered with Socrates and accused him of “corrupting the youth”. Their accusations against Socrates stem from the idea that he corrupts the youth although they are unable to answer the question, what is it that Socrates is doing/teaching? Thus, to avoid feeling foolish, they attack the philosopher aspect of Socrates saying that he does not believe in gods and makes weak arguments stronger through persuasion. To sum up, Socrates provides a defense against the accusers on the basis that he has not taught or done anything but follow the path of aiding the

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One day there was an old man named Aetos Dios with long gray hair and brown eyes. Aetos Dios said,” that he wanted to be younger so he can still protect the village from the enemies. Which would steal the people's stuff at night when they are sleeping in there wooden beds. One morning, one of the younger men appears in the room asked, what did you like to do, “ask a young man?” Aetos Dios said,” I liked to play with the village kids outside, and smell the bread cooking, like I could taste it, but now I can’t because I have to stay in bed all day long.”

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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).

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713 Words | 3 Pages

Apology: Socrates Assignment In Apology, Socrates intent was not to apologize for his ideas and beliefs to the people of Athens, his purpose was to defend his practices by confronting his accusers, which put him on trial. Socrates charges consisted of inventing new deities, not recognizing the states Gods, and corrupting Athens youth minds. Socrates began his trial by speaking of his old accusers and the famous book The Cloud, acknowledging that people disagreed with him in his teachings. He then continued by turning from his old accusers to the current ones, more specifically Meletus.

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1070 Words | 5 Pages

His personal defense is described in works two of his students: Xenophon and Plato. Both of them wrote papers called Apology, which is the Greek word for “defense”. In this essay I used Apology by Plato as the main resource, since it contents a more full account of the trial of Socrates and his words. Despite the fact that the philosopher attempted to defend himself and explain the reasons for saying and doing the things he did, it did not do any good for his justification. On the contrary, Socrates’ words seemed to make the jury harden their hearts and condemn him.

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1535 Words | 7 Pages

Socrates’s official new charge “asserts that Socrates does injustice by corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel” (24b, p. 73). By looking deeper into the dialogue of The Apology and Euthyphro, one can see how passionately Socrates strives to express to the Athenian people his innocence in teaching the youth and worshiping of the gods. Socrates maintains his innocence in teaching the youth for three reasons. Primarily, there is no proof or evidence from past examples in which Socrates has taught the youth because no one has come out and said so. Socrates brings up a valid point that his so-called ‘teachings’ haven’t changed over time and therefore if he is accused

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I believe that Socrates is innocent because he defends himself truthfully with effect. He uses sound arguments and he is passionate about philosophy. Socrates did nothing to gain in life and did not want a high social standing. Socrates is fair and uses correct methods of arguments by uncovering the

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