Socrates And Protagoras On Virtue

Through several dialogues Plato gives readers accounts of Socrates’ interactions with other Athenians. While some may think of him as a teacher of sorts, Socrates is adamant in rejecting any such claim (Plato, Apology 33a-b). He insists that he is not a teacher because he is not transferring any knowledge from himself to others, but rather assisting those he interacts with in reaching the truth. This assistance is the reason Socrates walks around Athens, engaging in conversation with anyone that he can convince to converse with him. An assertion he makes at his trial in Plato’s Apology is at the center of what drives Socrates in his abnormal ways, “the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being” (38a). Socrates, through aporia, looks to lead an examined life to perfect his soul and live as the best person he can be. This paper looks to examine the ‘unexamined life’ and the implications rooted in living a life like Socrates’.

" Socrates, a main character in the book, tries to convince Meno, another main character, that he does not know what virtue is, and therefore cannot determine if it can be taught. For example, Meno defines virtue in the following way: "Every age, every condition of life, young or old, male or female, bond or free, has a different virtue" (Plato, 37), or that virtue is different for each person. Sarcastically, Socrates replies, "How fortunate I am, Meno! When I ask you for one virtue, you present me with a swarm of them, which are in your keeping"

What arguments do Socrates and his interlocutors provide in these dialogues and what does their discussion suggest about the way in which virtue is in fact acquired? Socrates initiates the inquiries into this problem in each dialogue the same way, that is, to admit no knowledge of the subject at hand. He further admits that he could not possibly teach virtue without knowing what virtue is, “if I do not know what a thing is, how could I know what to teach?” (ho de me oida ti estin,

In this week’s reading, The Apology, Socrates expresses some strong views on wisdom and death. This essay discusses some of these views, specifically in regards to wisdom despite Socrates professions of not being wise. In Socrates professions of not being wise, he tells a story of his quest to find one wiser then himself. Socrates explains that as he has met with men of various professions that thought themselves to be wise and that were considered to be wise by others.

But after Athens lost her empire by losing the Peloponnesian War and had undergone two oligarchic reigns of terror at the hands of the gilded, Socratified rich kids, her patience with Socrates ended. Socrates was charged in 399 B.C. with "impiety against the gods of the city" and with "corrupting the young." He was guilty on all counts. Socrates' basic premise of government -- according to Xenophon's "Memorabilia" -- was "that it is the business of the ruler to give orders and of the ruled to obey." So the ruler should have total, unaccounted power. The second charge against Socrates, that he had corrupted the youth of Athens, was even more damning. The foremost examples of the gilded youth he led astray was Alcibiades and Critias, although Socrates' effect on the rich young aristocratic fops was already mentioned in Aristophanes' "The Birds," written in 414 B.C., fifteen years before he was called to account: Why, till ye built this city in the air, _____ line 1280 All men had gone Laconian-mad; they went __ [Spartan-mad] Long-haired, half-starved, unwashed, Socratified, With scytales in their hands; but Oh the change! They are all bird-mad now, and imitate ____ line 1284 Alcibiades was Socrates' favorite pupil. Socrates saved his life on a battlefield. But the lesson Alcibiades learned from Socrates was that the rulers have no duty to their country; that their

In 445a-b, Socrates convinces Glaucon that being a just person is desirable in itself and profitable for the individual, while it is less valuable for the individual to live in unjust ways. Socrates defends the value of being a just person by arguing that as long as the individual fulfills its proper roles, he or she is living justly— which leads to a life worth living. Specifically, Socrates believes there are certain parts of the soul that have roles to be satisfied in order to live justly. He claims that when these parts of the soul work together, there is an internal unity of the individual that will lead to a healthy condition of the soul, which is the most valuable way to live for the individual (443e). Although Socrates thoroughly explains

In the Republic of Plato, the philosopher Socrates lays out his notion of the good, and draws the conclusion that virtue must be attained before one can be good. For Socrates there are two kinds of virtue; collective and individual. Collective virtue is virtue as whole, or the virtues of the city. Individual virtue pertains to the individual himself, and concerns the acts that the individual does, and concerns the individual’s soul. For Socrates, the relationship between individual and collective virtue is that they are the same, as the virtues of the collective parallel those of the Individual. This conclusion can be reached as both the city and the soul deal with the four main virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice.

"Defense of Socrates" consists of anecdotes, questions, and truth; all of which, emphasis Socrates' stance of being wrongly accused of impiety. Socrates' usage of anecdotes and testimonies was an excellent tactic to justify his character. His questions to the allegers brought about contradictions in his charges to support his stance of being wrongly accused. The emphatic truth behind every word he spoke gave the jury a revelation. These three components made this speech a piece of wisdom, not just to its readers but also to the court (who possibly heard this speech in person). The wisdom enveloped in this speech was to defend yourself in an assertive manner by exposing the truth, rather than speaking against your prosecutors. Whether or not

Socrates lived in a democratic society, a society in which many gained the dominant power in politics, a corrupted political system.

Few names in history have withstood the test of time, remaining currently studied and discussed to the point of familiarity. Socrates is one such unique name. A man of ethics and reason, Socrates would change history forever, creating a love of reason and knowledge unestablished by his predecessors. Despite the admiration and respect Socrates found in most Athenian circles, his revolutionary methods and inquisitive mind would eventually be his undoing. Socrates pursuit of the truth directly conflicted with the ideas of moral and social conformity, ultimately leading to his conviction under the very laws he deemed fair and just. I intend to argue that Socrates, though unfairly

Meno was one of Plato’s earliest of dialogues, written in depth the book is founded around a central question: If virtue can be taught, then how? And if not, then how does virtue come to man, either by nature or some other way? Socrates addresses this inquiry by questioning a person who claims to understand the term’s meaning (Plato's Meno). The purpose of this essay is to relate the Socratic method performed by Socrates in Plato’s dialogue The Apology, to Meno, by illustrating its effect on the character Meno himself.

“Socrates’ positive influence touches us even today” (May 6) and we can learn a great deal about him from one of his students, Plato. It is in Plato’s report of Socrates’ trial a work entitled, Apology, and a friend’s visit to his jail cell while he is awaiting his death in Crito, that we discover a man like no other. Socrates was a man following a path he felt that the gods had wanted him to follow and made no excuses for his life and they way he lived it.

In Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses the idea of moral virtue. Aristotle emphasized the importance of developing moral virtue as the way to achieve what is finally more important, human flourishing (eudaimonia). Aristotle makes the argument in Book II that moral virtue arises from habit—equating ethical character to a skill that is acquired through practice, such as learning a musical instrument. However in Book III, Aristotle argues that a person 's moral virtue is voluntary, as it results from many individual actions which are under his own control. Thus, Aristotle confronts us with an inherently problematic account of moral virtue.

To further imply that virtue is not teachable, the conclusion is reached that if there are no teachers or pupils of a topic, the subject can't be taught. Then, after an involved conversation with Anytus, it is proved that virtue cannot be taught, and since it cannot be taught, it is later agreed that, in light of this, virtue cannot be knowledge. As Socrates sees it, since virtue is not knowledge, it must be that virtue is only present in those people who have acquired it from the gods.

Socrates’ sense of virtue, as established in Plato’s Apology of Socrates, Crito, and Symposium collectively, revolves around the pursuit of wisdom, knowledge, and justice, all in an effort to benefit the soul rather than the physical body. Given that this oftentimes contradicts standard values of honor and beauty, Socrates is targeted by many of those around him who oppose his ideas and ways of thinking, especially since the youth begin to criticize the elders’ concern for the trappings of honor and beauty rather than for interior virtues. Unlike Socrates’ case, Aeneas’ sense of virtue complies with the standard societal definition, emphasizing pietas, or respect for the gods and dedication to family and community. In his efforts to