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Who Was Socrates In Plato's Apology

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In Plato’s Apology, Socrates was defending himself in front of a jury of Athenian citizens, facing execution. He did not act as someone in his position should if they wanted to make it out alive. Throughout his speech to the jury, he was smug and unapologetic. It was clear that he didn’t believe himself to be in the wrong, but rather than making a persuasive argument for why he should be let go, he proceeds to tell a long, rambling story with the intent to dismiss members of the jury as unwise. Obviously, it is not a smart move to insult and provoke the people that have your life in their hands.
I feel that there is only one explanation for why Socrates failed to appease the jury. It could only because he actually wanted to be executed or rather did not want any other alternative fate. I think it is fair to say that Socrates was a very smart individual who could've …show more content…

Socrates was clearly very committed to philosophy and aimed to help others to question things and use logic. He must’ve also wanted his ideas to live on well past his own demise. By becoming a martyr, he not only demonstrates his own commitment to philosophy by paying the ultimate price for it, but he also causes his legacy to be remembered along with his ideas. Let’s not forget that he had young followers who would become empowered and continue fighting for philosophy in order to celebrate and commemorate the life and legacy of Socrates. Socrates knew that dying for his cause would make it more powerful.
His age is another notable factor. The text mentioned that Socrates was a seventy-year-old man. He was already approaching the end of his life and preferred to die for philosophy than to just die an ordinary death. This is magnified by his ideas about death. He was not afraid of dying, in fact, he believed that “there is good hope that death is a blessing” (Plato,

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For example, his demeanor in the face of near certain death seems unshakable. Although his death is foreshadowed many times, including in dreams, Socrates does not seek to avoid his fate. He is a firm believer in justice and the rule of law and order. He believes in these concepts to the extent that he does not seek to run and hide or seek any kind of protection in the face of certain death, rather he believes that he should accept whatever judgment is bestowed upon him because it is the just thing to do.

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No matter which path death is, death is a gain. One will either be a peaceful sleep, or a journey to another world filled with intelligent people and knowledge. He had support to his theory, but only talked about conversing with people from the past. The apology is repetitive in the last two paragraphs because Socrates desired to talk to all these different people. He did not clarify as to why living on Earth was cruel and that death was the only answer.

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He reminds Crito “no human being should do injustice in return, whatever he suffers from others”(Crito, 49c). Socrates argues even if the jury's decision was unjust, it is never permissible for him to do injustice in return and therefore he will not try to escape. In essence, even though Socrates is offered the opportunity to

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He would never avoid punishment that results from his undertaking the right course of action because what matters to him is his principles and upholding them. "… kill [Socrates], or perhaps banish or disfranchise [Socrates], which [Meletus or Anytus] and maybe others think to be great harm, but [Socrates does] not think so." (Apology, 30d). Socrates has decided to live a life of rationality and to present facts rather than making the attempt to compel people to like him and in turn living life selfishly. He claimed that as a citizen of Athens he had a duty of defending its innocence regardless of the others opinions may be because he knows that he has done no wrong but instead had done them a justice.

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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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Even when facing death, Socrates choices to follow his sentence and not disobey the law. Prior to this action, Socrates does go against the popular opinion regarding the trial of the soldiers. Instead, of giving one trial to the group as the nation desired, Socrates went against it. Socrates remained loyal to the laws of Athen by stating there must be a trial for each person individually. Because of this loyalty to the laws, Socrates almost lost his life as he’s about to lose it in the present.

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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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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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Apology: Socrates Assignment In Apology, Socrates intent was not to apologize for his ideas and beliefs to the people of Athens, his purpose was to defend his practices by confronting his accusers, which put him on trial. Socrates charges consisted of inventing new deities, not recognizing the states Gods, and corrupting Athens youth minds. Socrates began his trial by speaking of his old accusers and the famous book The Cloud, acknowledging that people disagreed with him in his teachings. He then continued by turning from his old accusers to the current ones, more specifically Meletus.

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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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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.

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Philosophical thinking uses three acts of the mind: understanding, judgement, and reason. In order to have a sound argument all of the concepts must be applied. Socrates didn’t want to please the people by saying or doing what they wanted him to say or do. Socrates thought it was not important to seek wealth or fame; he was concerned with truth and virtue. He wanted to create an impact on humanity by relying on the truth and shining a light in people’s lives, even if they put him on trial.

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