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The Philosophies Of Greece And Socrates

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There were many great philosophers that came from Greece, and Socrates was one of the greatest. His personality was quite unique in his thinking than anyone one else who was alive in his era. He brought up ideas that strayed away from all social norms and what society thought was the right way to live. His ideas didn’t make him popular among all of Greek people, in fact the Greeks wanted to banish or execute him. To do so, the people of Athens took him to trial. He was being accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and not believing in the gods in which Athens believes in, which are both punishable by death. In the Apology his defense was described by one of his students named Plato, rather than himself. It was written after the fact but Plato …show more content…

The jury was indecisive on Socrates position. He starts his defense by pointing out that it is Meletus’s own opinion “That is what I say, that you do not believe in the gods at all” (31). He continues to say that Meletus’s answer was “highly insolent and uncontrolled” (31). Meletus is basically contradicting himself by saying Socrates is guilty for not believing in the gods but at the same time believing in the gods. Before, he was trying to prove that he is the wisest man because god made it so. “He is a god, and cannot lie; that would be against his nature.”. (26) So how can they claim he is an atheist? He continues with saying that if he ever encountered a man that was actually wiser than him, he would go to the gods and refute his position. He said, “Here is a man who is wiser than I am; but you said that I was the wisest”. Socrates continues by stating that a man that admits to know nothing than the next is the wisest amongst his peers. This was insulting to the jury because the statement was applicable to everyone and the jury felt Socrates was undermining their intelligence. Socrates stood by his opinion and didn’t budge throughout the trail. Socrates continues and proposes his own punishment for his charges. That was to be that Athens would provide free meals for him till the day he died. He also mentions how he is not financially capable of paying the fines due to not accepting fees for his lessons. Socrates didn’t have the best chance to win over the jury after his apology. Therefore Socrates was sentenced the death penalty that would result in him drinking poison in an Athenian

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305 Words | 2 Pages

He also refuted Meletus’ claims that he didn’t believe in any god by questioning Meletus and leading him into a self-contradiction. It is clear to us that Meletus’ accusations are false. I believe that the sole reason Socrates was found guilty during the trial was because people hated him (Socrates even mentions this in the beginning of his speech), not because he did anything wrong. Socrates actually wanted to help the people of Athens by encouraging a new way

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Later in his argument, he asks the jury to excuse his ordinary language and rather to “consecrate your attention on whether what I say is just or not, for the excellence of a judge lies in this, as that of a speaker lies in telling the truth” (Plato 18a). By demonstrating that he does not speak with eloquence or enticement, Socrates proves to speak with honesty and plainness, which shows that he considers truth a virtue. Here he also reveals why it is so important for both a speaker and a judge to focus on the truth; in a court, both are under an oath: the speaker to be honest, and the judge to be just based on the speaker’s actions. By asking the jury to ignore the eloquence of words he uses and focus on the truthfulness of what he is saying, Socrates shows that he is confident that the facts and correctness of his argument will lead the jury to see his innocence and the slander of his accuser’s claim. However, the jury do not seem to adhere to Socrates’ plea and gives its verdict of guilty, and Meletus asks for the death penalty.

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684 Words | 3 Pages

Socrates is guilty of refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state, and of introducing new divinities. The jury found him guilty. By his own argument, however, Socrates could not blame the jury, for it was mistaken about what was truly in the interest of the city (cf. Theaetetus 177d-e) and thus required instruction. Socrates is found guilty by a narrow margin and is asked to propose a penalty.

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961 Words | 4 Pages

Meletus must have a very poor opinion of the judges at this trial if he thinks they will not be aware of his mistake. Furthermore, Socrates figures out that Meletus has involved himself in a self-contradiction: he accuses Socrates of introducing new and strange divinities and at the same time asserts that he is an atheist who does not believe in any

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1650 Words | 7 Pages

This will display he will avoid the penalty of the law to his convenience when he had followed it for his entire time in Athens, which will further many people’s belief of his bad character. However, the Athenian justice system was flawed. It is not right for Socrates to accept his death as his punishment when many people did not comply with the requirements of the jury to uphold the law because they decided to convict an innocent man to his death with no strong evidence needed. The laws are established with the sole purpose to establish justice. Instead of establishing justice, many people in the trial let their personal judgments of Socrates establish him as the criminal when he was innocent.

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560 Words | 3 Pages

This charge states that Socrates does not believe in the gods of Athens, but instead practices “ new spiritual things” . Meletus has accused him of being an atheist. “ I can not be sure whether you mean that I teach the belief that there are some gods- and therefore I myself believe that there are gods and am not altogether an atheist, nor am I guilty of that- not, however, the gods in whom the city believes, but others,and that is the charge against me, that they are others.” (Apology31) Socrates then questions him asking how can he be a atheist but practice new spiritual things at the same time, you can not practice both as they are incompatible.

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1598 Words | 7 Pages

While defending himself, Socrates told the jury that matters of life and death come secondary to matters of justice, stating, “If you suppose that a man…should take into account the danger of living and dying...but whether his actions are just or unjust, and the deeds of a good man or a bad.” It is here that Socrates stated that if he had a duty to the gods to die and the jury acquitted him, there would be injustice on their part. Socrates wanted to act justly no matter the circumstances and wanted the jury to do the same thing, that justice ultimately would be to acquit Socrates as he harmed no youth and believed in the gods, making the charges false. Finally, after a vote, Socrates was found guilty with only a thirty-vote margin. He was then invited by Meletus to provide an alternative punishment to the death penalty, Socrates asked, “Is it not clear that it should be whatever I am worthy of?” Socrates, true to himself, desired only a just punishment, and at the end, he accepted his fate knowing that death has caught up to a seventy-year-old man and knew following the law of the polis was ultimately just.

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740 Words | 3 Pages

Socrates attempted to make a logical argument of the accusations when he questioned his accuser, Meletus. Then, to ensure his acquittal, he tried to appeal to the emotions of the judges. While Socrates’ defense was thought provoking, his inflation of self-importance worked against him in his trial, as he failed to persuade the court of his innocent ignorance. Socrates opening statement to the court was not only to build upon his character as favorable but also to lower the character of his accusers. He stated “I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was - such was the effect of

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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.

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1140 Words | 5 Pages

Socrates sees himself as wiser than other men including the politicians, craftsmen, and poets because he did not go around thinking he knew what he did not know. As a result of this, his character reflected someone who saw himself as superior to others and instead of feeding that ego, he could have been a joined politics and have an influence on the Athenian democracy. If he had done this, people like Meletus and his later accusers would have taken his criticism in a positive way. Socrates has the right to criticize the democracy of Athens because, in his perspective, verdicts are passed in the court by jurors with respect to whoever seems good to him. The democracy of the people was biased because, even if a person was wrong in court, he would not receive the right punishment her deserved because of his relations with the jurors.

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908 Words | 4 Pages

Meletus wants Socrates to be executed because Meletus has crossed Socrates at some point in time before the trail. Socrates accuses of Meletus of breaking his oath by lying to the courts. I learned that before the trail, the jury has an opinion upon one-man’s thoughts with no concrete visual evidence towards the defendant. Socrates did not have visual evidence, only the accusers that wanted the “wise” man convicted. The 21st Century Judicial system is very different than the Athenian period Judicial period.

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1595 Words | 7 Pages

He is given the opportunity to choose an escape, and live his life never being able to return back to Athens. He completely opposes the idea and decides to live out the consequences of his trial, ultimately dying. Socrates made it his mission to live a virtuous life, which he did, right to his death. To life a virtuous life it would have gone against his own belief if he did escape his conviction, making this aspect very important in his philosophy. “To do so is right, and one must not give way or retreat or leave one’s post, but both in war and in courts and everywhere else, one must obey the commands of one’s city and country, or persuade as the nature of justice.

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1021 Words | 5 Pages

Through becoming a teacher of the young men who followed him in Athens, Socrates effectively began to enter the public life. He was able to influence others through sharing his conclusions of justice, self-examination, and piety, and by asking relentless questions. Socrates effectively showed that an individual can live a private and a public life, even if Socrates was not directly involved in the policy-making in Athens. An individual can combine these two aspects of life in a productive way allowing her/him to live a full existence. These individuals can become teachers, politicians, and activists who use their focus on justice and piety in their private lives to advocate and create laws that promote true justice for the rest of the

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1070 Words | 5 Pages

One of the charges brought against him was corrupting the youth of Athens. Accordingly to the words of those who complained at

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969 Words | 4 Pages

Meletus tells Socrates that he does not believe in gods at all. Socrates shows that a person cannot believe in divine activities but not in divinities. He cannot be contradicted; he cannot believe in the gods and not believe in the gods. Socrates uses reasoning and logic throughout his trial.

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