The Trail of Socrates and the development of Western Philosophy

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.

Socrates was a Western Ancient Athenian Greek philosopher who lived from 469 BCE until his death in 399 BCE. He was a student to another philosopher, Sophists, Socrates was different from most Greek philosophers he wanted to get at the truth and find out how one can truly be ‘good’ and moral in life. “To Socrates the soul is identified with the mind; it is the seat of reason and capable of finding the ethical truths, which will restore meaning and value of life” (ADD IN-TEXT CITATION SEMINAR). We continue to use many of Socrates teachings today, such as, ‘The Socratic method’, which is known as asking a question and within these questions you lead it to the answer you wanted to hear, many uses this as a teaching technique and is shown to be highly effective. A great number of Athenians looked up to Socrates and considered him the wise man of Athens, he had many followers whom would ask questions and seek answers. As popularity and following of Socrates grew so did accusations. The charges laid on Socrates by the Athenians were unjust and therefore his death was highly wrong in the eyes of true democracy that Athens was apparently known for. In this paper, I will discuss how Socrates was wrongfully convicted for the corruption of the youth despite having many young followers, introducing new Gods while still being considered an Atheist, and the main reason he was seen as a threat to Athens was that he brought change to the city.

Socrates was a revolutionary thinker. He brought new ideas and processes of thought to Athenian society and his work still has its place in the world today. However during his time, his ideas were not always thought of as a good thing. Many viewed him as a corrupting influence on other people and accused him of forcing his ideas upon others. Perhaps most frequently the center of controversy was his thoughts on theocracy and piety as seen in the Plato’s Euthyphro. Socrates also appears at the butt end of Aristophanes’ comedy Clouds, where he is satirically ridiculed and seemingly corrupting the youth of Athens in his school, the Thinkery. Although virtually completely seen as a positive influence now, in ancient times, Socrates may have

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 was a man in Athens, who set out in search for truth and knowledge. In doing this, he managed to anger some of his fellow men by exposing their ignorance. In 399 BC, he was arraigned on three different charges. He was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens. He was, also, indicted on charges of heresy and treason. As well, charged with being an atheist, not believing in the Gods. According to some people, Socrates deserved to die and to others his death made him a martyr. Using several sources, including The Apology, I will enlighten readers with the reasons behind some people’s beliefs that he died a martyr, in addition to, the beliefs of others who say Socrates had a touch of arrogance in insensitivity and deserved the death sentence, hence, the confessor.

Socrates has a unique position in the history of philosophy. On one hand he is the most influential on another he is the least known. In his later life he is seen to stalk the streets barefoot, to spite shoemakers. He went about arguing and questioning people and revealing inconsistencies in their beliefs. He began teaching students but never accepted payments for doing so. This was possible because of the inheritance left by his father. Socrates wrote nothing of himself so we are dependent upon the works of both his students and associates who present a view as close to

In 469 B.C. a man by the name of Socrates was born. Socrates was a very wise man that cared about doing the right thing. He believed that the best ways to develop ideas was in the give and take of conversation, and that the best way to educate people was to ask them a series of questions leading in a particular direction (now named “Socrates method). Socrates had been quick to identify the drawbacks of democracy, and he had also been the teacher of two men who in different ways harmed Athens: Alcibiades and Critias. Which made the parents of the children that Socrates had taught very upset and angry. Granting all this, it lead to the Trial of Socrates 399 B.C. During this trial Socrates expressed his view of death by using his question-and-answer method, for which he was famous for and what seemed to have gotten him in trouble. Socrates did not write so we have to depend on on what others wrote, and by doing that we now get to see the diverse ways people read and understand what was written about his speech. My chosen primary source, Socrates View on Death, is important, because it gives one view of Socrates speech while my outside source, Ancient Greece, gives a slightly more in depth view.

In 399 BC, when he was seventy years old, Socrates was called into court by three men: Meletus, a poet, Anytus, a politician, and Lycon, an orator. The specific charges were impiety (namely that he did not believe in the gods of Athens, and instead had introduced new gods), and corruption of the youth of the city. The account of Socrates’ trial is preserved in the Apology by Plato, a dialogue that ought not to be considered a verbatim report of Socrates’ defense but rather a literary work that, nonetheless, represents the basic arguments presented. The trial of Socrates, purportedly, lasted only a single day, ending in a pronouncement of guilt and a death sentence. Yet, the scrutiny over this controversial decision continues unabated to this day as many feel the trial was unjust, even under Athenian law.

Socrates has gained fame from accepting his death for the charges of corrupting the youth and not believing in the Gods. People have argued and debated the truth behind his guilty sentence. In any case, when someone is judging truth and righteousness they must first look at and interpret the law. For Socrates, the law will work as it is and will not change for him. One may be told that they have been found guilty or innocent of any crime, but the true measure of guilt or innocence is only valid to the person committing the “crime”. Although, there are still many people who believe that Socrates was guilty due to the way he had acted in court. There is also people who believe that Socrates is guilty, but feel that the death penalty was a bit

Socrates was a Greek philosopher, who is one of the founders of western philosophy. Socrates never wrote down his ideas or thoughts, his students or compressors, 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. And 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 why didn't he persuade the people when the people were acting so unjustly.

In The Trial and Death of Socrates the philosopher, Plato, writes in a dialogical and argumentative style in which he attempts to describe and defend Socrates. In the Apology, Socrates argues against the people and the city in his defense against impiety and corruption of the youth. However, he is unjustly prosecuted by the people. Thus, the Crito follows with his rationale regarding his willingness to die regardless of the injustice of the law. While the dialectical tension driving Socrates’ view in the Apology and in the Crito both connect to the idea of obedience, the views contrast in the essence of obedience itself, as Socrates’ views regard different natures of the matter. As a result, his death is the only resolution to the tension given that I agree with Socrates’ idea that an unexamined life is not worth living.

Socrates was a public thinker that did not deserve to die for his ideas. He was simply standing up for his beliefs and the Athenian Jury blamed Athens’ fall on Socrates. If the beliefs of an individual do not harm others then the person does not deserve to be punished. Everyone including Socrates has their own ideas, but he had enough conviction to voice them during that time and encouraged

Socrates was considered as one of the greatest philosophers of all time. His theories made sense, his ideas made sense, and he had a huge following of people who wanted to learn from him and wanted to make a difference in the world. His questions had brought about some great thinking that no-one else could have ever done. Unfortunately, he was put

Socrates spent his time questioning people about things like virtue, justice, piety and truth. The people Socrates questioned are the people that condemned him to death. Socrates was sentenced to death because people did not like him and they wanted to shut him up for good. There was not any real evidence against Socrates to prove the accusations against him. Socrates was condemned for three major reasons: he told important people exactly what he thought of them, he questioned ideas that had long been the norm, the youth copied his style of questioning for fun, making Athenians think Socrates was teaching the youth to be rebellious. But these reasons were not the charges against him, he was charged with being an atheist and

“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.