The Corrupted In The Trial Of Socrates By Plato

The Trial of Socrates by Plato, chronicles the last days of Socrates as he is sentenced to death for supposedly corrupting the youth with his philosophies. The story follows Socrates from trying to wrangle a definition of piety from his friend Euthyphro, a renowned religious figure in the Athenian community, to defending himself against allegations of not believing in the gods and corrupting the youth through his examinations of the logic of the people and world around him, to him being put to death for his values. Throughout the story Socrates discusses the dangers of a majority persecuting other beliefs and challenges to the status quo, especially a majority that has been indoctrinated with certain values from childhood, this danger later

Through Socrates’ unjust persecution, the story shows that justice comes not from abiding by the rules of the majority, but by following the rules of an “absolute good”. This is emphasized in “Euthyphro” by the title character declaring that “It’s ridiculous not to see that the sole consideration should be whether the killer killed justly or not” (Plato 7) and by Socrates when he tells Crito that “anyone who undermines laws might very well be considered a corrupter of young and ignorant people” (Plato 76). By showing both Euthyphro and Socrates positively throughout the story, similar to the sympathetic portrayal of Ruth in the Book of Ruth, the Trial of Socrates makes readers align with these characters' values and thus teaches that justice is absolute. The right thing is the right thing, circumstances do not matter, and even if it is at yours or a loved one’s expense you do the right thing because that is

Justice to me comes from being a good person. If a person is kind, respects others, and does their best to be a good person, surely their actions will reflect that and be just. This is what the Trial of Socrates taught me. Justice is not the binary of Libra’s scales, or what others tell you it is. True justice comes from effort and accountability, from cross-examining the origins and merits of your own beliefs and perceptions as Socrates cross-examined the court and striving to be better. Socrates sought not just to follow the masses and bow to the majority, but to truly understand the world around him, learn what he did not know, and make just decisions from wisdom he gained through experience. I think that by following Socrates’ example of constantly learning, growing, and questioning everything, from who we are to why our society is the way it is, we can form our own every-changing idea of justice that positively impacts ourselves and the world around