`` Xenophon 's Goals Are Self Advertisedly Circumscribed

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

In the era of the Enlightenment, many philosophers were creating their own understanding of how the individuals of society function and the purpose of existence; one of these philosophers was Socrates. Spending majority of his life in Athens, Socrates exercised his freedom of speech, for which, he had vocalized his opinions to the people of Athens of the authority of the government and whether if the they are suitable to help society function in a positive light (Brumbaugh 230). However, in the development of government, the conservative government of Athens charged Socrates with religious treason and the corruption of the youth of Athens (Brumbaugh 228). During the trial, Socrates personally defended himself in court with a jury of over

In the year 399 B.C., Socrates was put to trial for impiety and corrupting the youth. During the trial, Socrates had to deliver his defense speech, called an apology, which derives from the Greek word apologia which means to ‘speak in one’s defense’. There are two accounts of Socrates’ apology; Plato’s and Xenophon’s. The main difference between the two accounts is that Plato was present during the trail and paraphrased what was said. Xenophon, on the other hand, was not present but instead based his on Hermogenes’ reports before, during, and after the trail. Although both show Socrates to be incredibly pious, just, and accepting of death, they have many differences.

Socrates’ defendants included his disciples Crito and Xenophon. Both rebuked the claim that Socrates was guilty of corruption and impiety, claiming their teacher was merely a thinker who circulated new ideas and always acted in the best interest of Athens; he was a verily a “gadfly” who was concerned with the intellectual health of Athens and all

The conviction of Socrates is the darkest moment in Athenian history. In Crito Socrates argues that it is always in one’s best interest to act justly. He argues that those who voted against him were only voting as they did to do damage to him. He says that they did so without so much as an inclination that their votes would lead to his conviction and execution. Socrates had made a fool of almost every politician and had made many enemies, many of whom considered themselves as the higher echelon of Athens. He had not regarded these “wise” people with the amount of respect that they felt they deserved. He had denounced their wisdom, position, wealth, power, and intelligence publicly. They hated Socrates because of the respect that he was being given by the people of Athens and he wasn’t anyone of status or power. Yet the people followed him and the young men from the aristocratic party listened to him, discussed with him, debated him, and loyally followed his teachings.

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

Socrates rational could therefore bring a lasting effect to the people’s loyalty to the laws and how they are adhered to now and in the future. Hence Socrates was looking out for the betterment of the Polis. By not adhering to the imposed judgement he would be bring an injustice to the State which he has dedicated his life and service to.

Xenophon said that Socrates would more often than not give his opinions on what other philosophers said so that his students could further grasp the concept of what other philosophers where trying to convey. Xenophon’s’ Socrates when he talks about him is in a very different point of view from the view point of how Plato describes and writes about Socrates. Xenophon would also write about the philosophical conversions Socrates would have with others and one of his most famous conversations was with a prostitute where they talked about what the true meaning of conversation was, because Diogenes was unhappy with how being polite meant lying, and he was sick and tired of all the useless lies people

The Greek philosopher, Socrates, was believed to be guilty by the Greek politicians whom charged Socrates with impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens, to which the sentence was capital punishment. Yet, Socrates was not a threat to the Athenian state because he was an atheist or because he negatively influenced the Athenian youth. As Herodotus once said, “Custom is the king of all”, and physically and mentally, Socrates challenged the ideas of the Athenian elite. Socrates was a threat because he questioned society and those in power.

Through this brief examination, we will attempt to gain a better understanding of Socrates’ views of justice, how they relate to his apparent disbelief in the ability to realize justice through public office, and how Socrates’ views on justice and public office are relevant in the modern world. To understand Socrates’ ideas of justice, one must read further into the works of Plato. Socrates acknowledges the vast and broad idea of justice, and attempts to answer the question of “what is justice?” through debate. In the Republic, Plato writes about Socrates, and of a meeting between him and many other Greek men.

3 Thomas C. Brickhouse and Nicholas D. Smith, Plato’s Socrates (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994), 145- 146.

3. The most important information in this article are the values that Socrates demonstrates. Socrates has the opinion that the injustices with his trial and execution are less important than maintaining the integrity of Athens’ laws. These personal values are Socrates’ reasons for not escaping.

There are many differences between Xenophon’s testimony and Aristophanes. Through the text we learn that Socrates humiliated Aristophanes, therefore his negative description of Socrates might not be true. On the other hand we have Xenophon’s testimony of Socrates describing him as “helpful” (Navia 48). We also learn that Xenophon was not that clever himself which may have lead to why he idolized Socrates so much. The text states that Xenophon was “ a military man, not very liberally endowed with brains” and that his relationship with Socrates is comparable to that between a stupid man and a clever man”. (Navia 48)

Socrates had a unique way of teaching and expressing his thoughts and ideas. He taught by constantly posing questions with the assumption that any person could approach the truth through logic if he set aside ingrained prejudice and received knowledge (Hattersley 17,18). His dialectic method of questioning consisted of a subject being broken down by one or more people, in search of the same truth but with differing views. Instead of merely trying to convince listeners, Socrates would approach others by questioning what they felt to be true and therefore would be able to determine that person’s true feelings and the basis for those feelings. Socrates was open to receive knowledge wherever he could find it, yet when he approached people who claimed to be wise, he found they really knew nothing. He would challenge preconceived opinions, based on the words of others and fallacious logic. Many felt that he was attacking their identity and security causing them to resent Socrates when he pointed this out. Due to his search for truth, Socrates would, eventually, pay the ultimate price. Socrates teaches us to assume nothing and to question everything. In scientific study today, this is a fundamental element of scientific study, starting with a theory and afterward refining it to the point of when a decisive conclusion is made.

The dialogue between Hippias and Socrates is another example of one of the many dialogues written by well-known Philosopher Plato (c. 428 -348 BC). Plato was one of the students of the Classical Greek Philosopher Socrates (c.470 – 399 BC), who was considered an enigmatic figure and one of the founding fathers of western philosophy. Even though most Philosopher’s work have been studied through lecture style notes written by the Philosopher themselves, in the case of Socrates, most of his theories are expressed through his student’s work. While working with Socrates, Plato often documented his tutor’s work in a dialogue style. One of the main differences between Socrates and other western philosophers during this time, is that Socrates himself