The Irony Of Socrates

Socrates' response (another question) clarifies his epistemology: "how can anyone answer who knows, and says that he knows, just nothing??" What Socrates' knows is incommunicable other than to say that he knows nothing. His philosophical speculations embody a process rather than a philosophy. That is, Socrates' method is in accord with the nature of inquiry and of intellectual exploration itself: he is his style. And, acutely aware of this fact, Socrates repels every temptation toward dogma, characterized by Thrasymachus' complaints.

Socrates starts his defense with an appeal to pathos as he apologizes for his informal way of speaking. Early in “The Apology,” Socrates claims that “the most astounding of the many lies [my accusers] told came when they claimed that you needed to take care not to be deceived by me, because of my artfulness as a speaker” (17a-17b). He therefore claims that it is not him who speaks artfully, but his accusers. He then compares his plain speech to the deceitful speech of his accusers. Thus, the beginning of Socrates’ defense sets the tone for the remainder of his speech as he

Although Socrates violates the absurd and appeals to oracles and divine beings, there are lessons to be learned through a close reading of the text when using absurd logic as a tool. It would be fallacious for a reader to dismiss the philosophical ideas Socrates is delivering, based on him negating the absurd. For example, in the Apology, Socrates introduces Socratic Irony and the Elenchus. Socratic Irony as mentioned earlier is the idea that one knows that he does not know, and the Elenchus or Socratic method is a form of a cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, which is still used today in education and courtrooms. Although Socrates commits philosophical suicide, it remains important that a student of liberal arts be aware of the importance of Socratic thought. A close reading through absurd lenses allows one to comprehend these important Ideas.

Socrates went on trial for allegedly disrespecting the gods and corrupting the youth of Athens, even though he was very religious. It is clear from the Apology that Socrates’ real “crime” was severely embarrassing Wealthy and Important people in the Athens by his habit of questioning them in public places with respect to matters about which they claimed expertise, exposing them as frauds, while providing amusement to the onlookers who gathered to see the supposed experts confounded. Socrates regularly insisted that he was merely a philosophical inquirer after truth asking those who supposedly knew the answers. In this insistence he was only half sincere. He was pursuing the truth, but he knew that his shallow debaters would fall victim to his superior logical and rhetorical skill. He chose the questioning method as an effective way of developing and presenting his own philosophy.

The Innocence of Socrates Socrates, an Athenian philosopher, is being accused of corrupting youth, disrespecting the gods, and undermining democracy. One might ask, ‘Why these charges?’ but Socrates is not guilty. Why would a full time philosopher who only asks questions have these accusations? Socrates is a very wise man and he does not deserve the charges that he is being accused of.

are being taught concerning by who may not be as wise as they appear, Socrates at his old age

Socrates compares himself to a “gadfly” that “stirr(es)” up the city because he believes he must continually goad the citizens to keep them on their toes and aware that they are not as wise as they think they are. A gadfly is compared to a human being that criticizes another to provoke him while a gadfly bites a horse to take from him. Meletus questions Socrates belief in the gods but Socrates goads Meletus into realizing he is wrong. He asks him “Does any many who does not believe in horses believe in horsemen’s activities?”(27b) Of course a man who doesn’t believe in a horse can’t believe in bettering such a thing that is non existent.

In what is noted as one of Plato first accounts, we become acquainted with a very intriguing man known as Socrates; a man, whose ambition to seek knowledge, inevitably leaves a significant impact on humanity. Most of all, it is methodologies of attaining this knowledge that makes him so mesmerizing. This methodology is referred to as Socratic irony, in literature. In any case, I will introduce the argument that Plato's Euthyphro is extremely indicative of this type of methodology, for the reason being that: Socrates's portrays a sense of intellectual humility.

The Socratic irony we speak of is when one defies meanings to something and it’s the total opposite of its actual meaning. Normally executed in rationalization discussions like the one of Socrates and Euthyphro, where the person with evidential knowledge camouflage as oblivious to the methods for simply achieving more knowledge. Beforehand, Euthyphro spoke about taking his dad to court an act that stunned Socrates. He later proposes that piety as something that is adored by the Gods; in any case. To prove a philosophical point Socrates expresses “... he says that I am guilty of improvising and innovating the gods I have become your pupil ” (Plato 5). Seeking to find answers so he can better protect himself over his charges of impiety. Euthyphro discloses to Socrates that the charges against him come from the conviction that he has

Selection 348c-350c of Plato’s Republic features a conversation between Socrates and Thrasymachus on aspects of justice and injustice. While Thrasymachus believes injustice has merit in societal functions; injustice is “more profitable” and “good counsel” as opposed to “high-minded innocence” (Plato 348c-348d), Socrates endorses the antithesis, concluding, “The just man has revealed himself to us as good and wise, and the unjust man unlearned and bad" (Plato 350c). To prove his point, Socrates challenges Thrasymachus with a series of warrant-based assertions and rhetorical questions. Upon the excerpt’s conclusion, Socrates accomplishes his goal of portraying a just society as superior to an unjust society, in addition to demonstrating the composition of

pious, but every answer he offers is subjected to the full force of Socrates' critical thinking. Socrates systematically refutes Euthyphro's

Since he had asked the audience at the beginning of his defense to not interrupt him even if something he said disturbed them, he now uses that to his advantage to and asked himself a question as if it were from a thoughtful member of the jury. The fictional person, Socrates uses to once again work his words around the court to make them think in the way that he wishes them too. He infers that his primary argument was sufficient and uses the query to lead into his next topic of discussion: his wisdom. Socrates’ has already made it know to the court that he is a wise man and he has eloquently persuaded them that he is not as bad a man as rumors would have them believe. During the second part of his argument, Socrates addresses in greater detail than the previous, his view of philosophy and takes a stance defending it. Interestingly enough, this is still being used to clear Socrates’ name and acquit him of his “crimes.” He seeks to clarify the reason that rumors about him came about in the first place. He speaks first of the Delphic Oracle and how the god told Chaerephon, regarding Socrates, that no man was wiser than he and how in an effort to bring a counter-argument to the god, the philosopher set out to interrogate men considered wise. Socrates also cites that another source of the Athenians’ distaste towards him was rooted in the youth that he taught, who

1. State the major differences between the Athenian system of juries and the jury structure and its proceedings of present-day the American judicial system. One of the major differences between the Athenian system of juries and the modern American judicial system is in the size of the actual jury. The Athenian jury structure is made up of a very large number of jurors.

Mia Signorita Ingabire Professor Francis K. Peddle DPHY1210 November 13th 2014 Misology The term misology is presented in Plato’s Phaedo. The dialogue Phaedo is centered around Socrates final days and death. The Athenian jury found Socrates guilty of corrupting they youth and believing in other gods then the Greek ones.

Socrates' accusers have warned the jurymen not to be deceived by the accomplished speaker. In response, Socrates says that he is “particularly surprised” by this lie and