Socrates: Soul Man
Intro (245 words)
"How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers,
I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was
- such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth.”
- Apology, 17A
So, as told by Plato, Socrates began his defence before an Athenian jury on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth of the city. However, the real aim of these accusations seems to have been to challenge the way in which Socrates had conducted his life—a life dedicated to the continuous debate of various ethical issues and the attainment of wisdom and truth. Indeed, Socrates’ importance to the development of philosophy, considered by many to be the greatest achievement of the Greeks, cannot be understated.
Socrates did not invent philosophy. There were several intellectuals and schools of thought before him that began the work of questioning the nature of life, fate, free will, the gods and human duty. However, it was Socrates who shifted the focus of philosophical inquiry from the natural world to the examination of man himself, which proved to be an remarkable advance, forever changing the purpose of philosophy. Therefore, it is noteworthy to identify the Presocratic Greek philosophers who have helped shape Socrates’ own philosophical inquiry. Equally important is to understand which intellectual traditions he was reacting against by virtue of his philosophical
Socrates was a Greek philosopher, who is one of the founders of western philosophy. Socrates never wrote down his ideas or thoughts; his student, Plato, wrote down his ideas and thoughts. Socrates was accused of expressing there were different Gods and he was brought to trial in 399.B.C.E. Socrates character, in the different passages I read, Euthyphro, Apology and Citro are a little contradictory. Also if the act of persuading the state is the only alternative to blind obedience, why did Socrates' in both of specifically in his defense and generally in his career make so little effort to persuade the people when they were acting unjustly? In this essay I hope to demonstrate how Socrates character contradicts in these different passages and
This text is a philosophical dialogue telling the story of Socrate’s defense against charges of corrupting the youth of Athens and Impiety. This text offers insights into the nature of justice, morality and explains the Socratic Method. In the society of ancient Athens intellectual discourse is stifled and dissent is punished, but socrates unwavering commitment to question everything around him as well the the authorities of Athens become a beacon of hope for those who challenge the prevailing orthodoxy. As Socrates interviews other fellow citizens, his methods of teaching create an intellectual awakening, encouraging others to question their beliefs and confront the hypocrisy of their
As a defender of civic virtue, the significance of obligation and authority of one’s representative government epitomizes the magnitude of respect that Socrates had for Athenian Jurisprudence, irrespective of the fact that he was prosecuted against. In the accounts of the Apology and Crito, there exists a plethora of evidence that demonstrate Socrates’s adherence of institutionalized authority. His loyalty of the Athenian State derives from his notion that the obligation to surrender to the law manifests a just society. One may ask, “how is it possible for a persecuted man to continue to profess allegiance to a polity that sought his trial and execution”? Though many would not have the capacity to sustain such integrity, Socrates had his reasons in
The Apology written by Plato, takes us on a journey of Socrates’s trial. The City of Athens presented charges accusing Socrates of impiety and for corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates defensive arguments take you on a trip, trying to show that the charges he’s being charged with are absurd. He goes on to defend himself by giving presumable facts as to why the prosecutors would want to condemn him setting up the argument to automatically show that these charges are unjust. Socrates then proceeds to address the charges brought against him addressed in the opening sentences. This paper will confront the two methods of defense in succession.
The shaky past of Athens, after the loss of the war against the Spartans and the overthrow of the democracy they loved and fought for caused suspicion in Socrates who had association to Critas, a bloodthirsty tyrant in an oligarchy called the “Thirty Tyrants” From a harmless town character Socrates influence on the youth of Athens was being questioned.
"How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was – such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth.” – Plato “The Apology”
Plato was one the Socrates’ greatest admirers. Socrates was a brilliant Greek philosopher at that time, whose philosophical works stand at the foundation of modern Western philosophy. Unfortunately, he never recorded his works. Nevertheless, most of our current knowledge about Socrates stems from Plato’s work. We find Plato’s thought mostly in the form of fictional dialogues, a very common literary style in ancient Greece. Most of these dialogues have Socrates as the protagonist, and primary interlocutor. Plato uses Socrates as a mouthpiece of his own views, and philosophical ideals.
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
Socrates, an Athenian philosopher, is on trial for three separate charges of corrupting the youth, undermining the democracy, and disrespecting the gods. By acting in this manner, he is ruining Athens and one may conclude that he hates the very idea of Athens. Socrates has put logic and reason over belief, rejected the traditional democratic government, set bad examples for the youth, and much more, and is therefore guilty of all three charges. The first charge that Socrates is guilty of is corrupting the youth because he is a shameful influence to those who follow him.
This essay will begin with a detailed explanation as to how Socrates was put into the predicament of being on “death row” as we would say today from the chapter ‘Apology’. The false accusations will be discussed as well as a brief insight into the reason as to why he might have gone along with the whole ordeal. Afterwards,
In Phaedo Socrates claims that the soul exists somewhere after the body dies. He uses the argument of opposites to make his claim. Socrates believes that for something to “be” it must have been something else before or come from something. He gives Cebes examples of thing that are generated as a result from its opposite. “when anything becomes greater it must inevitably have been smaller and then have become greater.” He uses this example to say that being “greater” is derived from having been “smaller” at some point; and that in between being “greater” and “smaller” there are a lot of variables. After giving several examples to Cebes and Cebes agreeing to most outcomes, Socrates asks Cebes if there is an opposite to living, Cebes responds
He claims that Death is not the end of all, being released from ones evil by death, for after death the soul is carried away to judgment. After getting a punishment, it returns to earth in the sequence of ages. The wise soul is directed through the world below, where as the impure soul wanders without a guide and is carried at last to its own place. The distinction between good souls and evil ones, Socrates recognizes that freedom of choice is given to each individual. Because he believes in the fairness of God, he is assured that a different fate for good and evil souls. Socrates is not certain but the idea of reincarnation in the teachings of the unknown religions offers a solution that he believes is at least something that will take place.
Since the dawn of man, the invariable love of knowledge has kindled the hearts of humankind. That true passion in the heart for mankind over the flux of time is the study of philosophy. One of the greatest embellishments to philosophy overtime is the lionized Socrates of Athens born in 469B.C. His life exemplifies a true philosopher’s life, and the aspect of wonder that has cloaked mankind since the beginning of time. Therefore, the philosophical significance of Socrates is strenuous to parallel for he: practiced systematic and logical reasoning, lived an undemanding life, and pursued truth and wisdom.
Socrates was a great philosopher of the Greek world. He was quite an atypical and distinctive person. Being different from all the other philosophers of the land, Socrates was teaching his students ideas totally out of the ordinary from what the society believed was right. As a result, he displeased many people so much that they decided to get rid of him. Socrates was put to trial, accused of spoiling the youth of Athens, tried and sentenced to death. His personal defense is described in works two of his students: Xenophon and Plato. Both of them wrote papers called Apology, which is the Greek word for “defense”. In this essay I used Apology by Plato as the main resource, since it contents a more full account of the trial of Socrates and
In ancient Greece, being a philosopher carried various implications, several of which were unfavorable. In a time when natural philosophers were accused for being non-believers in the traditional deities and sophists were defamed for selling their intellectual services for money, Socrates fit in neither category. Nonetheless, the moment Socrates decided to become an enquirer, or a philosopher of human nature, he was chastised. His enemies, men he had either insulted or embarrassed, sought vengeance and in their process to do so, tried to define him. Accused of being an atheist and a corruptor of the youth, Socrates was viewed harshly by the society he lived in, but, despite this, his true nature revealed itself through his words and Plato’s dialogues. His prosecutors aimed to vilify his name and profession, and ultimately sentence him to death, a goal they eventually completed, but the accusations were not definitive of who he was. Socrates was a philosopher, first and foremost, attempting to find the reasons for various phenomenon, but he was also a self-professed prophet, indirectly given a prophecy from the gods, determined to use dialectic to bring about self-awareness in his fellow citizens. His ideologies, thus, became the building blocks for the philosophers of the generations succeeding him.