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Viety And Corruption In Plato's Apology Of Socrates

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Charges of impiety and corruption of the youth were brought against Socrates and he had to desperately defend himself to try and prove his innocence. Although, with a deeper look into his arguments in Plato’s Apology of Socrates a different conclusion for the purpose of his speech arises. Certainly, Socrates is a passionate philosopher and master at ethics; however, he admits he is not afraid to continue to philosophize or even die for his cause. Socrates even proposes that his punishment be only a small fee when the jury convicted him as guilty. Thus, with further analysis of the speech; it can be concluded that Socrates planned his own death. “I will certainly not stop philosophizing, and I will exhort you and explain this to whomever of you I happen to meet, and I will speak …show more content…

However, it is not in a way that successfully brings the jury to believe in his innocence. Socrates is a clever speaker, even getting Meletus to agree to his logic. He says in the beginning of his apology speech that he is not a clever speaker, however that is disproven with the logic he uses to argue his case. Although, even as a clever speaker, Socrates does not truly attempt to prove his innocence. He understands that he is being charged in a depth deeper than just Meletus charging him, he is against the entire towns values. “And this is what will convict me, if it does convict me: not Meletus or Anytus, but the slander and envy of the many,” (section 28a). He is readily admitting that he would have to change the values of all Athens, something that he is unable to do as just one man. He also states that he is not a Sophist, and will not speak to influence emotions he will only speak the truth. This alludes to that Socrates believed he could persuade his innocence if he spoke to the jury’s emotions. With only speaking the truth of his beliefs, Socrates knew he would be

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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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1209 Words | 5 Pages

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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He has passion for his beliefs and values, and would rather die than give them up. When presented with the idea of the jury releasing him he states “as long as I draw breath and am able, I shall not cease to practice philosophy” (Plato 32). This shows that Socrates does not believe what he has done and what he believes in is wrong; he will continue to do what he had been put on trial for if released. This is the exact opposite of what one would say to appease the jury. Socrates is on trial because some believe what he was doing was wrong, by refusing to acknowledge that he was wrong, this speech contradicts our modern day idea of an apology.

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1297 Words | 6 Pages

The trial starts out with Socrates talking about his accusers, almost making him forget that what they said wasn't true. He also said that he was surprised by one of the things they said and this was that the jury he is talking to should be on their guard because of the power of his words. The trial goes on and the jury listens to him. One of the beliefs that Socrates had was that you should look for knowledge rather than take things at face value. Another

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If Socrates were to be proven guilty of the “crimes” that these men are accusing him of, he worries that this would influence his wiseness and decline the abilities that he is able to do, such as teach philosophy to the young. Throughout this entire book, I noticed how hard Socrates was fighting for his innocence, not for himself, but for the good of the other people around him. Socrates states that if he is proven guilty, then the young would not have a mentor in their lives teaching them ways to become wise. Socrates continues to fight

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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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Therefore, since Athens has a part to play in corrupting Socrates’s life as well as his mistaken visual of the truth, Socrates must understand that by obeying the state, he has done injustice to his soul for it will not be in true harmony. Furthermore he will be doing an injustice to the state because Plato would have established that, objectively, Athens laws are unjust and even if Socrates thinks that they are just, it is only because Socrates has been corrupted by

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Socrates claims that he did not consciously corrupt the youth of Athens, and he gives many reasons why he is not at fault for these actions. In his defense to the jury, he tells them that by looking at the facts, they will see Meletus is accusing him of something that is not true. The way Socrates defends himself is well-thought out and logical. He ask Meletus a serious of questions and Meletus answers, Socrates then moves on to the next question to support his claim.

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In the reading of “Plato Apology”, Socrates’ vindicates what he values and beliefs to a jury to prove his innocence. Indeed, Miletus a poet, Anytus a craftsmen and Lycon a politician brought an oral charges against Socrates’ attested him of impiety and corrupting youth, required him to appear before the King Archon the legal

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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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2117 Words | 9 Pages

Anyone familiar with Socrates’s reputation would emphatically declare that he was wrongly accused and prosecuted. He was a philosopher of the most pious and truthful nature. He sought truth, with no regard for the material world, and without any hidden agendas. How could a man whose life’s mission was the attainment of knowledge and the pursuit of a just life, be convicted of harming his society? A conviction, punishable by death.

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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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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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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

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