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Socrates Trial In Plato's Apology

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In Socrates’ trial in Plato’s Apology, the court offers several different choices of punishment for his accused crimes. If Socrates were to accept any of these compromised consequences, it would mean that he would have to accept accusations that were brought on him, which is why he chose death. My analysis of Socrates’ argument from the Apology reveals that even if it means he will have to die, he will stand by his behavior and his beliefs because he believes that he is being obedient to God, which is essential to an overall understanding of the Apology because there are reoccurring themes of piety and not betraying one’s own philosophy throughout the text.
The author of the Apology, Plato, is known to be the ‘Father of all Western philosophy’.
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According to the Oxford dictionary, a gadfly is a fly that bites and agitates livestock. In Plato’s Apology, it is claimed that Socrates compares himself to a gadfly that is attached to the city of Athens (29e). Then, in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. mentions Socrates in his letter to the clergymen and compares himself to Socrates claiming, “so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society…” (89-90). In both passages, there is an importance to be a gadfly in society and by being a gadfly, both men are able to create a change in their societies.

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the Republic, Socrates argues that justice ought to be valued both for its own sake and for the sake of its consequences (358a1–3). His interlocutors Glaucon and Adeimantus have reported a number of arguments to the effect that the value of justice lies purely in the rewards and reputation that are the usual consequence of being seen to be just, and have asked Socrates to say what justice is and to show that justice is always intrinsically better than is acting contrary to justice when doing so would win you more non-moral goods. Glaucon presents these arguments as renewing Thrasymachus’ Book 1 position that justice is “another’s good” (358b–c, cf. 343c), which Thrasymachus had associated with the claim that the rulers in any constitution frame

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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”.

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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

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In Plato’s The Apology, Socrates defended himself against the two charges – corrupting the youth and ungodliness. Throughout The Apology, Socrates firmly defended his beliefs as he attempted to compel others to understand his wisdom. Although, his plea of defense was ultimately unsuccessful as he was sentenced to death, Socrates made strong attempts to formulate a proper view of death. After reading The Apology, a new view on death can be considered as Socrates’ influential thoughts have greatly impacted world literature today. When being tried, the question was raised as to if it was suitable for Socrates to receive death as a penalty for his actions.

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It was difficult getting to where I am currently with trying to understand who I was? And who I am? Why I was going through what I was going through? How to understand and interpret what felt almost alien. It wasn’t until after getting into the University of South Carolina as a Biology major that I knew that that wasn’t what I was meant to be doing.

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In Plato’s Apology, Plato records the trial and sentence of his teacher, Socrates, who is accused of corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates is tried and sentenced to death for his actions. Similarly, the Christian Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth is tried and sentenced to death for his actions. Through various similarities between the lives and teachings of Socrates and Jesus, the theme is established that new ideas are unlikely to be accepted in complacent societies.

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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.”

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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.

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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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“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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Despite the title of this historical piece of work, this speech, made by Socrates at his trial, was anything but an apology. Plato, who wrote Apology, was a student of Socrates and this is his account of the trial. Even though he was present at the trial, the colloquy may have been adjusted by Plato to reflect what he thought Socrates should have said or what he thought Socrates meant to say. Plato was very fond of Socrates, therefore the way he may present him can be bias. Socrates attempted to persuade the men of Athens of his innocence by presenting himself as a good man and an authority of knowledge, as declared by the Delphic oracle.

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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).

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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.

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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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