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I read the dialogue the Apology, written by Plato. In Platos Apology, the dialogue begins with Socrates on trial defending himself against an allegation made by Meletus, a fellow Athenian. Meletus has accused Socrates of corrupting the youth of Athens, by not believing in the Gods of the city-state. Socrates begins his defense by acknowledging that he also has other adversaries from the past and present. He states that their opposition is not a recent phenomenon. These people are ambitious, violent, and numerous; they are continually and convincingly talking about me; they have been filling your ears for a long time with vehement slanders against me (7).
Throughout his trial, Socrates addresses the true reason for his bad reputation. He challenges the allegations made against him, and declares that his accusers have not given enough thought to their claims. Socrates also explains why he had never held public office, and gives an overview on the life that he has chosen to live. He proclaims to his fellow Athenians that their obsession with wealth and the material world must never take precedence over the care of the soul. Also Socrates discusses his inevitable sentencing to death, and gives his truthful perception on death and the afterlife.
In his trial, Socrates discusses the true reason for his bad reputation. He implies that it had nothing to do with corrupting the youth or being an atheist. Socrates then tells the story of his friend Chairephon, who went to an oracle when they were younger. The oracle told Chairephon that no one is wiser than Socrates. Upon hearing this, Socrates made it his duty to question men with established reputations, who were believed to be the wisest in Athens. Since his youth, Socrates goal was to see if he could find one man truly wiser than him. Politicians, poets, and the ologians were among the many he pursued. Socrates found that after examining their moral values, they were not wise, as they had appeared. In my investigation in the service of the god I found that those who had the highest reputation were nearly the most deficient, while those who were thought to be inferior were more knowledgeable (6). Ultimately, Socrates earned a bad reputation because his scrutiny exposed the mens ignorance.
Most importantly, in his trial, Socrates makes a final attempt to reveal to the citizens of Athens that they are corrupting themselves by pursuing material objects and by having no concern for the state of their souls. Socrates constantly challenges the value priorities of his fellow citizens in the attempt to flip their priorities upside down. Socrates believes that people place too much value on wealth, honor, prestige, and the body. He says that these things are of no comparison to the most valuable, eternal, and highest good, the soul. Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively (). Socrates is saying that wealth is only valuable and worth having if you do something worthwhile with it, that people should use the less valuable, material goods in a way that is inferior with the most valuable good, the soul. Socrates attempts to reveal to the court that the soul is eternal and endures forever.
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Socrates belief in the purity and goodness of the soul is truly revealed when he responds to his verdict, which is a sentence to death. He accepts the verdict with composure, as he had anticipated this. Socrates tells the jury that he cannot be harmed by the so-called punishment of death. It is only his physical body that can die, but his true nature is an eternal soul made of purity and goodness. He makes it clear that despite the courts verdict he will not resort to dramatic emotions. He does not do what other humans might do. For instance, pleading for more time or bring his wife and children to court so that the jury will have mercy on him. He says that his death sentence may well be a good thing, and those of us who believe death to be an evil are certainly mistaken. I have convincing proof of this, for it is impossible that my familiar sign did not oppose me if I was not about to do what was right (41).
In the conclusion of his trial, Socrates states that a good man cannot be harmed either in life or in death, and that man’s affairs are not neglected by the gods (4). Socrates declares that he has led a good life, a life of morality and virtue. He also states that although people have judged him and sentenced him to death, their opinions and verdicts will have no bearing on him once his body has perished. They cannot harm the most pure, true, and everlasting essence of his existence.
After reading Plato’s account of Socrates defense, the Apology, I was completely blown away by the power of Socrates words and ideas. The reading left me thinking about how I felt regarding what he had said about virtue, truth and the quest for both. The reasons Socrates believed that the unexamined life is not worth living for man. It is my opinion that he is correct in that view. Like many philosophers alive in his time, it was Socrates belief that virtue could only be attained through examination. Only through exploration can you really understand what virtue is, and begin to act virtuously. Understanding, as well as sharing, this information was very important goal to Socrates. The significance of examining and understanding our lives is far greater than one might think. Understanding and comprehending the behavior of friends, as well as of ourselves, enables us to have empathy and compassion for them. And allows us not to stand in judgment, which, in turn, allows us to live the moral and noble lives that Socrates had spoken of. Another belief of Socrates that supports his view is the idea that evil derives from ignorance and the failure to investigate or explore peoples actions. I believe this to be true, also. This idea also supports his beliefs on death. Socrates was not well liked because he explored his ignorance, and was eventually put to death because of it. Marie Curie once said, Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. That could sum up a great deal of Socrates position in the Apology why he was not shaken by death, why he spoke of his relationship with the gods, and possibly even why he felt the unexamined life is not worth living.
Throughout this dialogue I have discovered that there are two recognizable themes. One of those themes was death. Socrates attitude towards death is important to the history of philosophy. Socrates had said that death should not be feared, although the actions it may entail, should be resisted and scorned. He first gives the example of Achilleus the warrior, then of himself as a soldier, then of himself as a servant of the gods. There are important differences here though. Achilleus the warrior rushes forward, the soldier stays put with his comrades. Beyond this difference, which he does not mention, Socrates says that the fear of death presupposes a knowledge claim, that one knows it to be evil. Socrates rather says that he has no adequate knowledge of the underworld. Socrates does not practice philosophy as a way of bringing his fellow citizens in line with a superhuman knowledge of the total universe, including the disposition of the soul after death. Such is hidden to Socrates and to all philosophers.
In addition to death, ignorance was another theme to the dialogue. Socrates claims to have wisdom. Yet he also claims to know that he is not wise. Socrates tells the story of the oracles saying that no one is wiser than Socrates. Since Socrates knows he is not wise, he at first doubts the oracle and sets out to test it. He first finds someone who appears to be wise from many, and who accepts this attribute, that he too thinks he is wise. Under examination, the supposedly wise man turns out not to be wise. He is revealed as an unwise man. This unveiling of ignorance on the part of the supposedly wise man leads to hatred of Socrates. Socrates then reflects that he is wise, because he does not pretend to a knowledge that he does not possess. In other words, what he is saying is that wisdom lies in acknowledging his own ignorance. After an organized survey of Athens, including the politicians, poets, and craftsmen, Socrates concludes that the oracle was right after all and that human wisdom is worth little or nothing, and that the wisest is one who recognizes this worthlessness.
To conclude Socrates was a great man of his time. He proved that he was an intelligent man, that was capable of thinking and speaking for himself and believed that, if we do not occasionally pause and ask questions concerning the meaning of life, the foundation of politics and ethics, and so on, that we are not fully human. If we simply absorb the values and customs of our parents and our culture without ever calling them into question, we are no different than a log, which is floating down a river. The log is being controlled by the forces of nature and has no control over them. To be fully human, we must, at least occasionally, reflect, question, and critically evaluate. This is an essential part of what it means to be human. If we do not do this, we are no different than a non-living thing
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