As someone might say today, the lack of knowledge as a result of not willing to search for it is no excuse. How can anyone be sure to do right since the truth remains hidden? Socrates thinking was aimed at making his fellow humans who were willing to listen to him aware of the dangers of doing wrong by not being willing to question the truth or what it was known as the truth. One cannot help and wonder what would have happened if Socrates had accepted the jury's forgiveness in exchange for giving up his beliefs. Certainly, a life long work would have went to pieces and be destroyed. His credibility in front of his contemporary disciples, like Plato and all those who followed them would have been for ever shattered. Even if they understood his fear in front of what appears to be the most frightful opponent of mankind, death, they would have never accepted his denying everything he believed in prior to his trial. His choosing the jury's clemency would have proven that life...
Instead, he believed in the higher power that inspired him to accept death as a gift he proffered instead of living the rest of his life not being able to search for the truth anymore. Living in the prostrating state of ignorance and being satisfied with it was not eligible choice for the man who changed the philosophic system of thought and is still inspiring the minds of those who are thirsty for knowledge and eager to find guidance, even in a mentor that died over two and a half millennia ago.
Furthermore, many laypeople can have great stores of knowledge, and may have learned to train horses better than professionals -- and to be better teachers and philosophers, from personal experience. In fact, given that philosophy is the study of life, one could argue that ordinary people are the best teachers of the discipline. This is one of the principles of the democratic Athenian system, that everyday people can govern
Socrates The main themes of Plato's Apology are the great irony of many of Socrates' claims, his use of the Socratic method of teaching, and his surprising strategy of questioning the fundamental validity of his trial itself, rather than putting on a vigorous and elegant defense of his actions as was expected by both his supporters and detractors, and likely by the people of the jury. Plato's Apology is a detailed
Socrates Argument Against Charges The Apology: The horse-breaker analogy The trial of Socrates came about because he was the teacher of several radical aristocrats who attempted to overthrow Athenian democracy and replace it with an oligarchy. Socrates had taught many of these men philosophy, and he advocated a philosophical kingdom ruled by elite philosophers as the ideal form of government. Socrates believed that just as the people most suited to make shoes
Socrates and the Apology One of the main charges against Socrates revolved around the fact that he was a natural philosopher. This was so problematic as it was in opposition with the views set forth by this early society: these views believed that the society was created via the gods and a great many narratives were developed around the idea of the gods, and what they were capable of and how
Socrates and the Apology Socrates and Death in the Apology In The Apology, Socrates contrasts his ability to address the crowd against more skillful speakers stating that he offers truth over eloquence (17b). In essence, he infers that others use the power of persuasion and slick words to sway others vs. The truth. He postulates that there are others who will always present a skewed depiction of the facts in order to
The logic is simple: the judges here are fakes but the judges in the afterlife are real; and moreover, the one truth he asks the jury to keep in mind is that "…a good man cannot be harmed either in life or in death" (41-c). After all, Socrates will find joy in questioning and having discussions with iconic persons like Homer or Orpheus: "I could spend my time testing
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