Defense on Socrates Essay

By now you should understand and expect what Socrates is doing to prove his innocence, which is why it was important for me to clarify his defence for corrupting the young because he uses the same technique the whole trail. The start of this defence also starts of by Socrates acknowledging the allegations against him, but this time he asks Meletus if he thinks that he is corrupting the young by not acknowledging the Gods of the state and teaching them about new spiritual beings instead, to this Metetus says yes he does. Keep in mind the original accusation because that is what Socrates uses, the next critical question Socrates asks what does Meletus mean by these charges, is he being charged with teaching about different gods which would mean he has acknowledged the Gods and cannot be guilty of impiety or that is really trying to say that he believes in no Gods and that he is teaching the same to others. Well after realizing that Socrates could not be guilty if he admitted that Socrates was teaching about some God just not the ones acknowledged by the city so he had to say that he did not believe in any Gods. With this Socrates questions Meletus with the new assumption that if he does not believe in Gods then he must not believe that the moon and sun are gods, and Meletus response to this that yes he does not believe

Socrates was a Western Ancient Athenian Greek philosopher who lived from 469 BCE until his death in 399 BCE. He was a student to another philosopher, Sophists, Socrates was different from most Greek philosophers he wanted to get at the truth and find out how one can truly be ‘good’ and moral in life. “To Socrates the soul is identified with the mind; it is the seat of reason and capable of finding the ethical truths, which will restore meaning and value of life” (ADD IN-TEXT CITATION SEMINAR). We continue to use many of Socrates teachings today, such as, ‘The Socratic method’, which is known as asking a question and within these questions you lead it to the answer you wanted to hear, many uses this as a teaching technique and is shown to be highly effective. A great number of Athenians looked up to Socrates and considered him the wise man of Athens, he had many followers whom would ask questions and seek answers. As popularity and following of Socrates grew so did accusations. The charges laid on Socrates by the Athenians were unjust and therefore his death was highly wrong in the eyes of true democracy that Athens was apparently known for. In this paper, I will discuss how Socrates was wrongfully convicted for the corruption of the youth despite having many young followers, introducing new Gods while still being considered an Atheist, and the main reason he was seen as a threat to Athens was that he brought change to the city.

O gentlemen of the jury, I am Plato, student of Socrates. This man that Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon are trying to place the blame upon is innocent. Some may have noticed that men like these constantly try to find a scapegoat for their jealousy, their envy when they realize, they are not the wisest of all and their ego is just an illusion. Furthermore, there has never been a law against freedom of speech and different beliefs. We support other people’s beliefs, but questioning other’s beliefs is still expressing that freedom. Moreover, the fallacious argument that Socrates corrupted the youth is false. This man has empowered the youth; not corrupted them. He encouraged them to think for themselves, question the “truths” they had been told. He

The charges against Socrates were brought upon him by a man names Meletus. Meletus was a young man that Socrates did not know very well. These charges brought on by Meletus caused the indictment of Socrates. One of the charges in the affidavit written by Meletus against Socrates is that he is "corrupting the youth." Another charge that is brought upon Socrates is that of he is making up new Gods and disregarding the old Gods the Athenians believe in. These were the charges brought on Socrates.

The Apology by Plato delves deep into the concept of wisdom and self-examination. Socrates declares that “the unexamined life is not worth living”. Putting this phrase into context, Socrates has been falsely accused by Meletus of corrupting the youth of Athens and believing in artificial gods that were not the same as the gods of Athens. Meletus represents the hypocrisy of the world, he, who is not guiltless in the face of accusation, has falsely accused Socrates of social wrongdoing. These accusations stem from Meletus’ steadfast insecurity of himself. Socrates exposes Meletus’ insecurity that he may be morally corrupt himself. These accusations fulfill that insecurity, that in falsely accusing Socrates of moral corruption, he is proving

The main argument in The Apology by famous ancient Greek philosopher Plato is whether, notorious speaker and philosopher Socrates is corrupting the youth by preaching ungodly theories and teaching them unlawful ideas that do harm to individuals and society. In his words Socrates quoted the prosecution’s accusation against him: “Socrates is guilty of corrupting the minds of the young, and of believing in supernatural things of his own invention instead of the gods recognized by the state.” 1 Further Socrates consistently introduces tediously compiled number of examples to provide valid and sound arguments to prove that he is innocent of the charges brought up against him to the court.

The portrayal of Socrates, through the book “the trial and death of Socrates” is one that has created a fairly controversial character in Western history. In many ways, Socrates changed the idea of common philosophy in ancient Greece; he transformed their view on philosophy from a study of why the way things are, into a consideration man. Specifically, he analyzed the virtue and health of the human soul. Along side commending Socrates for his strong beliefs, and having the courage to stand by those convictions, Socrates can be commended for many other desirable characteristics. Some of those can include being the first martyr to die for his philosophical beliefs and having the courage to challenge indoctrinated cultural norms is part of

To introduce, Socrates was placed on trial and charged with the crime of impiety. Impiety is the lack of reverence for the gods and other sacred things. As well another major claim was that Socrates was corrupting the children of Athens. He also was believed to be an atheist, even though Socrates claimed to have a strong belief in the gods; he even believed “The god has commanded me to examine men, in oracles and in dreams and in

Socrates begins by asking Meletus if he thinks that Socrates has corrupted the young by “teach[ing] them not to acknowledge the gods which the state acknowledges, but some other new divinities,” and Meletus agrees that this is the reason for his accusation. However, Meletus further states that Socrates is a complete “atheist,” meaning that he does not believe in god at all. This inconsistency in Meletus’ answers refute the entire accusation that Socrates is an atheist because Meletus already has established that Socrates teaches “other men to acknowledge some gods, and therefore that [he] does believe in gods, and [is] not an entire atheist.” This can also be presented as an argument in which our first premise is (P1) that Atheists do not believe in Gods, our second premise is that (P2) Socrates believes in God, and our conclusion therefore is that (C) Socrates is not an Atheist. This logically proves that Meletus is incorrect in his reasoning and that Socrates is not guilty of teaching the youth not to believe in Gods as a whole, but has only attempted to broaden their minds by introducing them to divinities outside of the state.

However, Socrates merely establishes that he is not an atheist; he does not rebut the formal charge against him—propagating the existence of other, non-traditional gods. In fact, towards the end of his defense speech, Socrates implicitly concedes his guilt; he rejects the notion that he is an atheist, and assert that he “believe[s]… [in gods] as none of [his] accusers does” (35d). Again, while Socrates passionately and convincingly repudiates charges of his atheism, he admits, right before the jury is to vote, that his belief in god or gods differs from the beliefs of those who hold power (i.e. “his accusers”) in Athens. Therefore, if Socrates openly acknowledges his belief in other diving beings, he surely is guilty of the latter part of the charge brought against him—“not believing in the gods whom the city believes”—and, being that he does not contest discussing his beliefs with the youth of Athens, Socrates is guilty of corrupting the city’s youth, under Athenian

Meletus’s next charge is that Socrates ‘believes in false gods’. Socrates says that he believes in Divine Spirits. Meletus takes this statement to mean that Socrates says that if Meletus believed in gods and goddesses, then he must believe in Divine Spirits. For they are the children of the gods. After hearing this statement Meletus changes his story many times saying that Socrates did not believe in any gods at all. Meletus is not sure which one it should be and continues to change it back and forth. Meletus’s action of contradicting himself, clearly showing that the charge had no validity.

In the book, Plato Republic, Socrates had a discussion with Thrasymachus and Glaucon about justice and unjustice. In this essay, I shall argue that Plato’s solution of the temptation of the ring is successful in a few ways. I will describe Thrasymachus and Glaucon’s idea about justice, and how Socrates discuss with them in terms of the justice of the city, justice of individual soul, his theory of forms and the importance of the knowledge of the good, and the sun analogy and the allegory of the cave.

Socrates makes a valid argument because most individuals, create beliefs based on oral traditions or hearsays; without critically analyzing each information for ourselves. I believe like Euthyphro we have no idea, as to what we truly believe and as a result we are ignorant as was in the case of Euthyphro. Socrates reminds us that in order to decipher the truth we have question our basic beliefs in order to derive to the truth.

Athenian citizens, I implore you to understand Socrates guilt within the matter of impiety. Impiety is lacking respect for a god or gods. Actions or words that go against the status quo of religious activity would certainly fall under the category of impious behavior. This includes the unnamed “divine” voice within Socrates head. Those that accused him may not have done so for the right reasons, but it does nothing to prove he is innocent of impiety.

According to his accusers, Socrates didn’t believe in the same Gods as the Athenians and that he made up different spiritual beings. This accusation is false for many reasons. First, Socrates stated many times in