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.
My story “Apologies All Around” by Jeff Soesbe, is about a robot who forces people to apologize to someone they hurt emotionally or physically. That is why I think the theme of the story is to always apologize even if it is hard to do or if something small you did. One thing that shows the theme of the story is when Karl said his apology for not getting Winston the job he wanted because Karl spread a rumor around the work saying Winston was impossible to work with because Karl was older and “Winston was younger and more of a hot shot,” said Karl then him so Karl spread the rumor so he could get the job and not Winston. Then once Winston read it he was mad at first but then he forgave Karl.
In Jacoba Urist’s “The Art and Science of Apologizing” which was published in The Atlantic in 2016, he talks about what is the best way to make an apology perfect. There are many factors that people don’t think about when they are about to apology, which includes: the moment in which they are going to apologize, repetition, and making sure the person you are apologizing to actually accepts the apology. After reading Urist’s essay and then going to read Harvey Weinstein’s apology that he wrote after being accused of sexual harassment against multiple women, which was published in The New York Times, one could see the significant differences that Weinstein’s apology should be like as compared to how Urist says one should be. Weinstein’s apology has more weaknesses than it does strengths and the many problems, which includes apologizing too early, not acknowledging the women that were assaulted and not showing responsibility and remorse are all wrong according to Urist’s paper on how an apology should sound. Al of these issues causes Weinstein’s apology to be a sad attempt of an apology that will not be accepted by society.
In The Apology by Plato, Socrates is being accused of three things; “he busies himself studying things in the sky and below the earth; he makes the worse into the stronger argument, and he teaches these same things to others” (19b). Socrates begins his defense immediately criticizing his accusers of being dishonest and speaking no truth in their case. He then begs for the jury’s forgiveness for not speaking the correct style of language, being unfamiliar with the type of dialogue used in a law court, since it is his first time at the age of seventy. He explains that this is not the first time accused, but that he has had to defend himself against lying accusations for years. He addresses that his reputation and wisdom all started because of
Forgiveness Forgiveness in “Voices from the Wall” was about Kim Phuc, who was in a infamous picture from the Vietnam War when she was a girl. She had napalm ( a devastating weapon ) dropped on her village and were forced to flee. Her clothes then burned off and left major burn damage to her skin. Later on in life, she said she had no anger to the man who dropped the napalm and would forgive him if she ever got the chance to meet him. After reading this, I thought we should all follow her example when we are needing to forgive a person.
With the Apology, and the Crito, Socrates comes to delve into his many teachings and finds himself put to death with the words of wisdom that have been passed down generation after generation. Socrates for many in this present day is a man of many words and great teachings, but anyone but Socrates thought differently, in Athens people thought of him as an annoyance rather than an integral part of society. As Socrates stood in front of the counsel of judges, he stood for what he thought was right and never changed opinion of himself or of his words. That’s why Socrates is still talked about in classrooms everywhere today.
No great hero goes down without a fight. Typically, when one hears the word “hero,” images of a great soldier, military leader, or even their favorite Avenger comes to mind. Yes- those are all heroes, but it can also be any person who stands for courage and holds onto their true beliefs through good times and bad. The great Socrates is the true epitome of a hero; this is most evident around the time of his death. While reading Plato’s “Apology” in The Trial and Death of Socrates, it is almost impossible to not be inspired by his bravery and tenacity.
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.”
It would seem that the reasoning that Socrates uses about halfway into the Apology (just after he has finished speaking with Meletus) for why it would be illogical to fear death should also work inversely. That is to say that the very same reasoning would also seem to suggest that it would be illogical to look forward to death. Therefore, when Socrates suggests, towards the end of the dialogue, that he is actually looking forward to dying, one might be tempted to conclude that he is contradicting his own logic. However, on closer examination of the wording and the context of these two discussions of death, one can see that he has, in fact, not contradicted himself, after all.
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.
I have decided to leave and move back in with pops. I apologize for any trouble I have caused during my stay or any frustration my stay has onset. It is not appropriate for me to live in your living room consistently and take up space, disrupt the quiet, eat your food, and accumulate a mess: I placed my textbooks and papers on the kitchen table, covered the living room table with my electronics, and disarrayed the backroom with my studio. I have been enrolled in an OCHM class at the University of California (Irvine), am currently assisting Juanita in GCHM, studying AP Multivariable Calculus, and more; these are superfluous and are personal aspirations and hobbies that I partake in. Thus, I apologize for the redundancy and radicalistic nature of my studies.
Apologies if my assumption of prefix is incorrect. Personally I believe it to accurately portray my reasoning for this email. I can only estimate the number of students you have taught over the course of your career; therefore it is inconsequential that my name hold any meaning. Formalities aside, Thank you. Thank you for the bizarre, unforgettable learning experience.
Taylor Diebert 820074652 4 February 2018 Short Essay: Plato’s The Apology The Apology is a speech presented by Socrates in court in defense against accusations facing him, formal and informal. The Apology is an interpretation of what happened in the time of the trial and who Socrates was and what his duty was in life. In this essay, I will carefully explain section 30e-31b and Socrates analogy of a gadfly and how it relates to the text as a whole. I will explain Socrates role in the city and why if he is killed, the city will be doing themselves a greater injustice than they will be doing to Socrates by killing him. I will also be explaining how the Socratic Method is used by Socrates in the trial to help against his accusations how he could
Socrates was a great philosopher of the Greek world. He was quite an atypical and distinctive person. Being different from all the other philosophers of the land, Socrates was teaching his students ideas totally out of the ordinary from what the society believed was right. As a result, he displeased many people so much that they decided to get rid of him. Socrates was put to trial, accused of spoiling the youth of Athens, tried and sentenced to death.
Running Head: APOLOGY STRATEGIES 1 APOLOGY STRATEGIES 12 Name: Institution: Course: Date: Introduction Apology is termed as a key character that humans possess; it is always human to apologize and when one fails to do so it is always doubted whether the person is human or not. However in order to apologize one must always have a strategy (Blum-Kulka, 1989).
