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
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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,