What Is The Moral Of Plato's Apology

The Apology and Phaedo by Plato are two different books describing what is like to be a philosopher per Socrates believes. These two books take place in two different scenarios in Socrates’ life, The Apology takes place in a court room where Socrates is to defend himself from false charges brought to him by Meletus who is acting as the prosecutor. Phaedo, on the other hand, takes place in a prison cell post judgment on the day of Socrates execution. Hence, The Apology and Phaedo appeared to display different philosophies: The Apology, Plato presented Socrates as wise for he knows that he knows nothing, hence he is seeking wisdom by questioning those who think they know more or something, just to find that they don’t know anything, therefore Socrates makes it his duty to make them look ignorant/stupid. Phaedo, Socrates focuses primarily on death and the immortality of the soul, hence he is seeking knowledge by devoting his final hours picking the minds of his friends to explain the role of a philosopher, which is preparing for death. Consequently, these two views are really the same, yet presented differently by Socrates, for in one he is defending his freedom and life using philosophy, hence he has only done what the Gods expected of him. From the other view, he resigned to his fate, for as a philosopher, he knows his soul will finally become liberated from the evils and limitations of the body to come to its divine state.

In this reading Plato tells the story of Socrates and his trial which ultimately lead to his death sentence. Socrates was a 70 year old man at peace with his own mortality yet willing to face his accusers with an almost definite possibility of death to maintain his own integrity and beliefs and morality. He fully understood from the beginning of his trial what the sentence handed down would be yet on a level of honor and courage not seen in abundance in modern society he maintained his stance and delivered a compelling and convincing argument. He openly stated that he knew his actions had offended Meletus and

Socrates implies that the true nature of this charge was, in fact, vengeance carried out on the part of the power-holders of the Athenian society; the politicians, the poets, the manual artisans.  Socrates, unwillingly made fools out of these people by exposing their speeches as mere rhetoric than actual wisdom and knowledge.  These men who were seen as the wisest and the most enlightened, but in fact, by believing that they are most knowledgeble is what keeps them from real wisdom.  Socrates is also being charged with attacking the Athenian society by corrupting its citizens, mainly the youth.  He defends himself by claiming that either Meletus beleives that Socrates does not corrupt the youth or he does corrupt them but involuntarily.  Socrates bring to light that "if I corrupt them voluntarily, the law does not call upon you to procecute me for an error which is involuntary, but to take me aside privately and reprove and educate me" (33).  Socrates goes on further to say

In the year 399 B.C., Socrates was put to trial for impiety and corrupting the youth. During the trial, Socrates had to deliver his defense speech, called an apology, which derives from the Greek word apologia which means to ‘speak in one’s defense’. There are two accounts of Socrates’ apology; Plato’s and Xenophon’s. The main difference between the two accounts is that Plato was present during the trail and paraphrased what was said. Xenophon, on the other hand, was not present but instead based his on Hermogenes’ reports before, during, and after the trail. Although both show Socrates to be incredibly pious, just, and accepting of death, they have many differences.

In Plato’s Five Dialogue Apology section, Plato records the actual speech that Socrates delivered in his own defense at the trial. Basically, Socrates is accused to the action of corrupting youth, which he taught norms and value to many people and charge a fee for it (19d6). He is also accused to the action of teaching spiritual things, for not believing in Athens god, and last but not least, Hubris, the question of human wisdom. Socrates, in fact, provides brilliant responses towards all accusations that are charged against him, saying that not one of them is true (19d5). Among these accusations, I will try to prove that Socrates is not guilty against the accusation that is charged to him in terms of the human wisdom, in which Socrates is accused of claiming to be the wisest man of all, a student of all things in the sky and below the earth (18b6).

At 21d Socrates says: "…when I do not know, neither do I think I know; so I am likely to be wiser than he to this small extent, that I do not think I know what I do not know." (Plato, 23)

Socrates was an orator and philosopher whose primary interests were logic, ethics and epistemology. In Plato’s Apology of Socrates, Plato recounts the speech that Socrates gave shortly before his death, during the trial in 399 BC in which he was charged with "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, also being a busybody and intervene gods business". The name of the work itself is not mean what it is appeared; here, Socrates is not apologizing, but merely speaking in defense of his beliefs and actions – the word apology is used in the context of its original meaning. During this apology, Socrates attempts to explain himself and the decisions

The Apology is a Plato’s version of the speech Socrates presented when defending himself against two official charges and two “old charges”. The official charges are the only charges the jurors are to worry about, while the “old charges” are informal charges. These informal charges are rumors made about Socrates that Athenians have heard their whole life. These charges were brought to the courts attention by three accusers. The three accusers were Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon.

There are many different concepts and thoughts that can be taken from Plato’s The Apology. It is my personal opinion that Socrates’ views on wisdom, or more specifically, human wisdom, are among the most paramount of points that should be taken and understood by the reader. Throughout his defense, Socrates uses the concept of human wisdom (or the lack thereof) as an argument for his acquittal. According to Socrates human wisdom has little value, and the only reason he is wiser than most men is because he knows that he lacks human wisdom. Throughout the apology it would seem that wisdom is not merely a single entity, rather, there are multiple types

In the passage from Plato’s Apology, Socrates is on trial for a number of criminal charges, including, impiety and corrupting the youth. In this dialogue, he is presenting his own defense against these criminal charges, before

The accusers are Meletus, Lycon, and Anytus, the very same people that brought him forth on trial in the first place. Socrates begins by interrogating Meletus and picking apart his reasoning for putting Socrates forth on trial. Socrates claims that Meletus himself lacks the understanding of the trial and criticizes his reasoning behind the statements made against him. Regarding his accusation of corrupting the youth, Socrates presents a convincing point to the reader that Meletus’ claims are flawed. Socrates continues by using a horse breeder analogy on Meletus, asserting that his reasoning is illogical in a sense that a single man can corrupt the majority.

The Apology by Plato is an account of the speech Socrates makes at his trial. He was charged with not acknowledging the gods that the government recognized, inventing new deities and corrupting the youth of Athens. The speech is not an apology, however, it is more of a defense. In the beginning of his speech Socrates explains that he has no experience in courts and he will speak informally. He then explains that his behavior is heavily influenced by a prophecy told by an oracle which stated that he was the wisest man. Socrates knew this couldn’t possibly be true in the traditional sense, however he concludes that the way he must be wiser than other men is that he knows that he knows nothing. Socrates thinks that his duty is to expose ‘wise’ men’s wisdom as ignorance. As a result, his actions earned him a lot of admiration among the youth of Athens, as well as a lot of contempt from the people he exposed as stupid. He explains that their anger is the reason he is on trial in the first place. Socrates then interrogates Meletus, the man primarily responsible for Socrates being on trial. This interrogation, however, is more directed at embarrassing Meletus than actually finding the truth. Socrates argues that his influence is necessary, however annoying it may be, for the state to be productive. Socrates is found guilty by a small margin and is asked to suggest a penalty for himself. Socrates jokingly suggests that he be served a great meal for being such a service to the state,

The Apology is Plato’s version of what Socrates said in the court when facing a public prosecution against the charges of not believing in the city’s gods and corrupting the youths of the city, Athens. He lived during the time of Peloponnesian War, in which Athens was defeated by the hands of Sparta. The term “Apology” is a greek word that means to defense, in the book, Socrates defense his actions and beliefs. From the book, it seems that Socrates led a simple life, kept a distance the politician life and preferred to gather crowds to engage them in conversation about philosophy. He had a great influence among the youths of Athens. In 399 BC Socrates was bought on jury of around 500 Athenians. In Athenian Legal system, all verdicts are based on simple majority vote, has no judges or lawyers, and the court decisions must be reached within 24 hours. The author of Apology, Plato was one of the Socrates admirer, and he devoted himself in teaching Plato philosophy. In this dialogue, Plato has presented his mentor, Socrates as an honest and sympathetic person. Presumably, Plato aimed to defend Socrates in some points. Therefore, I think Plato’s depiction in Socrates trial presents the concept of “Hubris-Ate-Nemesis” of Greek tragedy.

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. His defense is ultimately unsuccessful, and he is convicted and sentenced to death. Socrates concludes the Apology by arguing that a just man should have no fear of death.

Dictionary.com defines a gadfly as “any of various flies… that bite or annoy domestic animals.” To most people- farmers, horseback riders, and even the occasional pool goer- gadflies are seen as a nuisance. They wreak havoc on livestock and humans alike, with seemingly no purpose to them other than to annoy and disrupt. However, Socrates sees the gadfly as more than just a pest. In Plato’s “Apology”, he compares society to “a great and noble horse” and himself to a gadfly. In his eyes, society has turned sluggish, losing values that once made them great while adapting a loose moral code. Socrates believes that by biting the noble horse, he can awake it from the unmoral glaze that seems to be permanently stuck behind the animal’s eyes.  This simple metaphor suggests that philosophies value is more or less to enlighten society and awake individuals from a perpetual, sluggish slumber.