The Trial and Death of Socrates Essay

Living in a democracy, everyone is exposed through television and other various forms of media everyday to numerous trials by jury. Usually they are rarely given a second thought, but every once in a while along comes a specific trial which captures the attention of the entire country. This goes the same for trials throughout centuries in our past. Although they did not have the same forms of media as in this, modern era, there were still specific trials in which everyone knew about. One trial that stands out is the one against the great philosopher Socrates. Accused of corrupting the youth, being an atheist, and believing in other gods, Socrates faced trial by jury. The early forms of democracy

The charges against Socrates were brought upon him by a man names Meletus. Meletus was a young man that Socrates did not know very well. These charges brought on by Meletus caused the indictment of Socrates. One of the charges in the affidavit written by Meletus against Socrates is that he is "corrupting the youth." Another charge that is brought upon Socrates is that of he is making up new Gods and disregarding the old Gods the Athenians believe in. These were the charges brought on Socrates.

In philosophy class this semester we spoke a lot about Socrates and his trial. We were required to read the dialogue ‘Apology’ by Plato. The ‘Apology’ Dialogue is what Plato recorded during the speech Socrates gave to the court defending himself against the charges of "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes” these two were the main charges, but underneath that there were also other significant charges such as being considered an antidemocratic or pro-Spartan, sophistry, and being lampooned by Aristophanes in the comedy “clouds”. "Apology" in this sense has the meaning of speaking in defense of ones beliefs or actions. The trial is usually categorized into two interpretations which are: Socrates as a Martyr and Socrates as an Antidemocratic. The first interpretation which says Socrates trial and death was Socrates acting as a martyr; that interpretation is considered more “traditional” and “standard” compared to the ‘radical’ interpretation that stated that Socrates was Antidemocratic.

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 the trial of Socrates, I juror number 307, Ryan Callahan vote the defendant is Not Guilty on the first charge of Corrupting the youth. My justifications for this vote are as follows. Socrates didn 't corrupt the youth, he just shared his ideas with them and they in turn chose the path to take these ideas. Part of understanding this case is understand the time in which the case was held. This time being 399 B.C., a time in which Athens was a free democratic city, a town which prided itself at the time on the fact that its citizens had much freedom, particularly freedom of speech. Socrates believed that only people who were educated should rule the people, which meant that people were not capable of government participation

The Apology is a seemingly misleading title. If your teacher spoke Greek, you too would learn that our word apology is actually derived from the Greek word apologia; meaning “in defense of.” Therefore, Socrates does not beg for forgiveness, rather justifies his profession. The Apology is his chance to “protest” against the authorities and make them listen to his side. Piece by piece, he dissects the charges against him. By doing so, he irritates the jurors. This is why the Apology seems to some proof of Socrates’ disrespect. When the vote came in, Socrates was declared guilty by 280 of the 500 jurors. Socrates is then given the chance to suggest a worthy punishment for himself. Most convicted persons would use this time to plea for their lives and families; Socrates had something else in mind. He says that they should reward him, as they do for the athletes, rather than punish him. The jurors came back and condemn him to death. The jurors were so incensed, even more votes shifted against him this time. Socrates does not break down and plea for his life. He simply thanks the jurors that stood behind him, and asks the others to open their minds more in the future. Socrates tells his audience “ a life

The Apology is Plato’s rendition of Socrates’ trial, but despite what the name would have you believe, it is not about Socrates having an expression of regret or admission to having done anything wrong. The word apology comes from the Greek word “apologia” meaning “explanation”. Something that is said to defend something that other people criticize. Or a desire to make clear the grounds for some course, belief, or position (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). In literature, an autobiographical form in which a defense is the framework for discussion of the author 's personal beliefs. An example is

In Plato's, The Apology of Socrates, Socrates was accused and on trial for two charges: that he had corrupted the youth of Athens with his teachings, and, that he advocated the worship of false gods. Socrates taught his students to question everything in a thirst for knowledge. Thus, many politicians were looked at as hypocrites. Because of this, many politicians feared Socrates and wanted Socrates away from Athens. Socrates tried to defend himself against the charges by addressing each accusation. He classified the accusations into two categories, recent and ancient. The recent being the actual accusations and the ancient being the rumors that had circled Athens for years about how Socrates was a man of evil and a man who makes the worse

What do Jesus, Joan of Arc, Martin Luther King Jr., and Socrates all have in common? All of them died for their beliefs. The Trial of Socrates depicts a scene where Socrates is in prison condemned to death and he is speaking with an acquaintance Crito. Socrates is being put to death because he was charged with corrupting the youth and not acknowledging the gods. Although over the course of the trial Socrates has numerous opportunities to evade the death penalty, he does not seem interested in pursuing those options. When he is convicted and put in jail, he has many opportunities to escape from prison. Crito offers three arguments to try and convince Socrates to escape but Socrates counters all of Crito’s points. I believe that Socrates did not escape from prison after being convicted because he wanted to cement his legacy and beliefs through his death.

Socrates was accused of being a sophist because he was "engaging in inquiries into things beneath the earth and in the heavens, of making the weaker argument appear the stronger," and "teaching others these same things." (Apology, Plato, Philosophic Classics page 21) Socrates is also accused of denying the existence of the gods, and corrupting the youth. Socrates goes about trying to prove his innocence. The jury that Socrates was tried by was made up of 501 Athenian citizens of all classes of society. While he fails to convince the Athenian jury of his innocence, he does a wonderful job in this effort. I personally believe that Socrates is innocent, and that the Athenian jury made the wrong decision.

The Apology The Apology, is a speech that Socrates delivers to the Athens courthouse in which he attempts to persuade the people to agree with him. Socrates is defending himself against the two new and two old accusations that have been brought to the community’s attention. Throughout this influential dialogue Socrates speaks with wisdom and purpose. One of the strongest examples of this is the passage 28D through 29B where Socrates displays that he isn’t afraid to stand up for what he believes is right.

In the painting, The death of Socrates as elaborated in the video shows emphasis through the choice of color, placement and implied line as well as directional forces. For example, Socrate is placed in the middle of the painting with a white brilliant colored robe beside a man that is giving him a cup of poison with a brilliant red robe. The use of these colors create the contrast between death and blood with life and purity. By placing Socrate by himself helps create more attention to his figure. Emphasizing the importance of his character and his status. Emphasize shown through implied space can be seen by the interaction between Socrates and the man giving him the cup of poison. Giving more meaning to the painting and enhancing the motives

In Plato's Crito, Socrates explains to his old friend Crito his reasons for refusing an offer to help him escape execution. One of the tools Socrates uses to convince Crito of the righteousness of his decision is a hypothetical argument concerning the state and laws of Athens. Central to this argument is the congeniality that Socrates had always found in Athens, reflected by the fact that Socrates chose to remain in Athens for most of his life. Such a choice, the laws insist, implies a tacit agreement between Socrates and the state of Athens, stipulating that Socrates either obey the laws or, when he deems the laws unjust, persuade the city to act in a more suitable fashion. It

On Reference line #7-9 socrates tells the athenians who have put him on trial, that their was a comedy play created where their was a character who shared the same name as him, so why should what the comdey have done reflect against him. Socrates claims that because he does not even support that kind of science and the fact that the athenians who have accused him, have all listen to some of his public speeches were he doesn't bring up anything that the comedy has shown

After reading Plato’s Five Dialogues and studying the trial, the imprisonment and death of Socrates I was left with many wandering thoughts about death. What stood out to me about the trial of Socrates was his will to never give up on what he believed and Socrate’s lack of remorse (borderline humor) towards the jury or any Athenians who thought otherwise. What stood out to me even more was that he had no fear of death. In this paper I will argue that death is the ultimate study of philosophy and is not feared by the true philosopher. I will prove this argument by explaining the base of what it is to be a philosopher and to be on a philosophical journey, explaining how death and the unknown relates to philosophical journey, by explaining how death is an product of actions and also using examples from Plato’s Five Dialogues.