Platos Apology Importance

In the retelling of his trial by his associate, Plato, entitled “The Apology”; Socrates claims in his defense that he only wishes to do good for the polis. I believe that Socrates was innocent of the accusations that were made against him, but he possessed contempt for the court and displayed that in his conceitedness and these actions led to his death.

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

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 the Apology Socrates is a very simple man he is Plato’s favorite character based on his personality of appearance. To convey his ideas about honesty and rightness. The peculiar of a method applied in Apology is about an argument which Socrates used to expressed by Plato in The Apology (Steven 29p) uses to defend himself in the course of a court-martial. Plato’s Apology is an example of how Socrates speech makes at the trial in which he is charged with not recognizing the gods recognized by the city, The complaint of Socrates is based on fear people of the man’s thinking which inspires the youth by original ideas and exposure of the ignorance and corruption in the unawareness and dishonesty in the upper circles of the state. Socrates

Socrates was a pompous man who believed that he was wiser than most, if not all, Athenian men of his time. He is also credited as one of the fathers of western philosophy, his own philosophy revolving around the welfare of one’s soul and reflecting on what the good life was. He was told by an oracle that he was the wisest of men and spent a great deal of time trying to prove it false, he decided that he was considered wise for accepting that he knew nothing, and never claimed to know anything that he questioned. In Plato’s text “Apology” Socrates is depicted as a man who was arrogant, hypercritical of others, and fixed on his ways no matter the consequences. He had the qualities of a man who saw no error in what he was doing because he

The Apology of Socrates was a famous account, which serves as a protest against the practice of worshipping “state” gods. In this account, Socrates was the main character who was brought to a trial because he was being impiety to gods, inventing new divinities, claiming the wisest man, and corrupting the youth of Athens (Plato’s Apology 16). Therefore, one will notice Socrates was not apologizing for anything; instead, he was defending for himself (Plato’s Apology 11). Socrates was accused of being impiety to the gods of Athens because he disbelieved the gods whom the state worshiped (Plato’s Apology 21). Along with being atheist and introducing new deities, Socrates was charged of declaring the wisest man.

Plato’s Apology chronicles Socrates’ trial and sentencing, as he faces the formal charge of “corrupting the young” (24b). Socrates’ trial raises two important questions, both of which I intend to address in the following paragraphs: 1) What exactly did Socrates do to warrant the charges brought against him and 2) is he, in fact, guilty of “corrupting the youth?” Though I disagree with Athenian law and take issue with the criminal trial process outlined in the Apology, it appears that Socrates did, in fact, break the law. What exactly did Socrates do to warrant the charges brought against him?

The Apology is a written work by Plato. It is considered a realistic account of Socrates’ defense speech in court. Plato was a student and admirer of Socrates. Due to this, Plato was present at Socrates court hearing, and it can be concluded Plato probably wrote accurately about Socrates’ defense speech. The Apology detailed Socrates’ rebuttal to the charges brought against him. These charges included Socrates manifesting new gods, teaching and corrupting the youth, and teaching how to skillfully win an argument using clever rhetoric. Throughout Apology, Socrates used his persuasive speaking skills to influence the emotions, feelings, and mental state of his audience, the people of Athens.

When reading Plato’s Apology, a central theme is found; religion. Religion played a key role in society, in fact, society was wrapped around religion. Athenians felt threatened by Socrates when he started claiming that there were other explanations for what the Athenians believed was the Gods’ works. Meletus of the second class accuses Socrates of being a “doer of evil, who corrupts the youth; and who does not believe in the gods of the state, but has other new divinities of his own”. Meletus’ claim is the severest of them all, because religion is so important to Athenians. Religion is taken seriously, and unlike the United States today, Athenians did not get to choose what they worshipped and believed in. Socrates defended himself by saying

Plato’s Apology is a written dialogue of Socrates and the court in which he is on trial. Socrates is accused of corrupting the youth with his radical ideas about life as well as being impious and not believing in the Gods. Throughout the dialogue, Socrates reveals that he has some strong opinions regarding death and harm. In this paper, I will show that, based on the Apology, Socrates will agree that Shelly has harmed Audrey and that Audrey would be wrong to fear her own death. I will also use various parts of his dialogue on death and harm to support my thoughts as to why he would think that.

Plato’s Apology, is the Greek philosopher Plato’s account of the trial of Socrates. In the Apology, Socrates is confronted with the charges of corrupting the youth of Athens, and of not believing in the Greek gods. The charges were presented by a jury of five hundred Athenians. Throughout the trial, Socrates presents a series of arguments to the jury, proclaiming his innocence.

One of the first dialogues that Plato ever produced was the Apology, the emotionally charged account of Socrates speech defending himself against the accusation of impiety and corruption of the youth. It was the trial and death of his mentor that implored Plato to question ‘how should I live?’ The initial spark that lit a fire that still burns today. Shortly within the opening of the Apology we are introduced to the notion of wisdom, and its limitations pertaining to humans. Socrates prosecution was brought upon by his quest for wisdom.

Socrates, the protagonist of The Apology believes he is providing wisdom to the city of Athens, which is his service to God. Though, very simple, Socrates professes his own ignorance to the jury through out his “apology”. What is quite interesting about his wisdom is the fact that he does not know what he does not know. Furthermore, Socrates believes that he is the greatest philosopher of all time and therefore, must never stop philosophizing. In relation, Socrates goes on and on about virtue and happiness, which is what he believes makes him the greatest philosopher of all time.

The Apology is Plato's recollection and interpretation of the Trial of Socrates (399 BC). In this dialogue Socrates explains who he is and what kind of life he led. The Greek word "apologia" means "explanation" -- it is not to be confused with "apologizing" or "being sorry" for one's actions. The following is an outline of the 'argument' or logos that Socrates used in his defense. A hypertext treatment of this dialogue is also available.