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 win favor. We see this played out in modern arenas where public discourse relies on competing factions presenting two sides of an issue.

At this time in America, the public is flooded with messaging regarding the Presidential race (i.e., political debates, advertising campaigns and political speeches). Presidential candidates are each presenting "facts" that support their criticism of their opponent's character, views, plans for the country and stance on issues that impact the daily lives of military personnel and American families. While…...

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References

Jim, Holt. "Death: Bad?." New York Times Book Review (2009): 27. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.

Kateb, George. "Morality And Self-Sacrifice, Martyrdom And Self-Denial." Social Research 75.2 (2008): 353-394. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.

Kronick, Joseph G. "The Death Of Theory And The Example Of Socrates." Southwest Review 91.4 (2006): 455-466. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.

Weiner, Jocelyn Sage, and Nicholas G. Mitchell. "Talking Their Way Into The Presidency: The Importance Of Oratory Style In Pre-Presidential Discourse." Conference Papers -- American Political Science Association (2007): 1-27. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.

Socrates
Both comedy and tragedy are "related to emotional needs and religious longings that became crystallized and structured in ritualistic celebrations and festivals," (34). Both can be framed as "catalysts" that force "some sort of conversion" in the individual (34). Moreover, both comedy and tragedy reflect the "eternal spectacle of human nature and its weaknesses," (35). Both art forms use imitation or mimicry of a political figure or idea.

However, there are distinctions between comedy and tragedy. ith regards to imitation of a public figure, the tragedy aims to showcase the fallibility of heroes; comedies make fun of common foibles. As Navia points out, comedy likely evolved out of the Bacchanalia, in rural regions. Comedies were judged based on audience reactions: the louder and longer the laughter, the greater the price (35). In comedies, performances were lewd; tragedies were not.

The title of the play comes from the chorus, which is rendered as…...

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Works Cited

Dakyns, H.G. The Apology by Xenophon. Retrieved online:  http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_xenophon_apology.htm 

Huss, Bernard. "The Dancing Sokrates." American Journal of Philology. Vol. 120, No. 3, pp. 381-409.

Navia, Luis E. Socrates: A Life Examined. New York: Prometheus, 2007.

"Xenophon." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved online:  http://www.iep.utm.edu/xenophon/

Socrates and Virtue
Comparing and Contrasting Virtue in Taoism and Socrates' Philosophy

The idea of virtue in Taoism may be compared and contrasted to the idea of virtue in the teachings of Socrates. For Socrates, virtue is related to the pursuit of wisdom through philosophy, and is ordered to that which is true and good. Taoism similarly calls upon the practitioner to devote himself to the Way, which is the order that life should take, and through which a life of virtue, or harmony, can be lived. If today virtue is understood as a "good habit," both Taoism and Socratic philosophy may be said to be Ways by which virtue may be achieved. Where the two schools of thought contrast, however, is in their expression of the Way. This paper will compare and contrast Taoism with Socratic philosophy on the subject of virtue and show how the two schools of thought both…...

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Reference List

Lewis, J.R. (2001). Satanism Today. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc.

Plato. (n.d.). The Apology. [trans. B. Jowett]. Internet Classics Archive. Retrieved from  http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html 

Plato. (n.d.). The Republic. [trans. B. Jowett]. Internet Classics Archive. Retrieved from  http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html 

Tzu, Chuang. (1969). The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu. [trans. B. Watson].

Socrates is one of the most renowned philosophers of all times. His dialectic method is used in a number of ways and has vital importance in literature and deliberation. In the contemporary era, Socratic or Dialectic Method is the term that is used to point out a conversation between two or more people who might have opposing views about an issue but they come to a conclusion after trying to understand the opinion of the other party. However, the dialectic method of Socrates "consisted in examining statements by pursuing their implications, on the assumption that if a statement were true it could not lead to false consequences" ("Socrates from The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed."). Thus, Socratic deliberating dialectic method can be considered important as it is discursive and informal and is a reflection of the autonomous conviction that truth billows out of debate.
The Apology by Plato holds imperative significance in…...

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References

"Socrates." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 16 Aug. 2013. .

"Socrates from The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.." Questia. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2013. .

As a result, Plato is demonstrating social disobedience, by highlighting how anyone who questions authority will face a similar fate as Socrates. (Plato, 2007)
In Crito, Socrates has been found guilty of his crimes and is awaiting his death sentence in an Athenian prison cell. On an early morning, his friend Crito pays him a visit and offers to help him escape. He feels that if Socrates is able to go into exile, he can question the actions against him and offer a service to young adults though his guidance. (Plato, 2007)

However, Socrates refuses to accept Crito's offer. This is because he claims that he is a citizen of Athens and must follow their laws. The only way that he can stay in compliance with these moral obligations is to accept his fate. Evidence of this can be seen with Plato writing, "If we think that we're acting unjustly by…...

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References

Plato. (2007). The Apology. San Francisco, CA: Creative Commons.

Plato. (2007). Crtio. San Francisco, CA: Creative Commons.

Socrates and Plato
Greek philosophy held a preeminent place in the middle ages among scholastics like Thomas Aquinas, whose Summa Theologica was an attempt to reconcile faith and reason. The faith aspect was supplied by the Church, but the reason came from classical (pagan) ecclesiology -- notably from Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle. The latter was the pupil of the former, and the former was the pupil of the first great Greek philosopher, Socrates. Socrates, like Christ, left behind no written work of his own. In fact, all of his words come down to us now, as recorded by Plato, who carried on and elaborated upon the teachings of Socrates. This paper will give an overview of the life and teachings of both Socrates and Plato.

Socrates: Life and Teaching

Socrates (469 BC) was an Athenian by birth. His father was a sculptor, from whom Socrates, as a boy, learned the craft.…...

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Works Cited

Haaren, John; Poland, A.B. Famous Men of Greece. Lebanon, TN: Greenleaf Books,

2000. Print.

Hooker, Richard. "Plato." Greek Philosophy. 1999. Web. 11 May 2011.

Kemerling, Garth. "Plato." Philosophy Pages. 2006. Web. 11 May 2011.

Then, my good friend, take my advice, and refute no more." In short, you must learn to take care of yourself and deal with current circumstances -- refusing to participate in 'the system' will only cause you harm, and by extension, harm to those you care about. If politicians did not learn to deal with the real world on a practical level, nothing would get accomplished, including social justice. That is why people think little of individuals who do not work at anything practical, and merely philosophize -- often living off of the good will of others.
Callicles positions himself as a great orator, but Socrates states that the humbleness of philosophy and its necessity is what makes it great -- in other words, Callicles' advocacy of the political life does not involve real, material work, but only empty hot air. Knowing how to philosophize is as necessary as knowing…...

SOCATES' DECISION-defense
Before we begin our discussion on Socrates' decision and take a position on this issue, we must bear in mind that philosophy doesn't offer any clear-cut answers to perplexing questions or situations. For this reason, we need to closely study various writings and philosophies and strive to interpret them in our way.

The reason Socrates' decision is still embroiled in controversy is because many fail to see consistency between what he preached and how he behaved in the end. Critics maintain that if Socrates always believed in doing the right thing, how could he possibly obey a wrong order? Fair enough. In an attempt to unearth the reasons on which Socrates must have based his decision, some critics frustratingly declared that Socrates was a "law unto himself" -- Colaiaco, 223 and thus his decision need not be questioned.

However this approach is flawed and raises even more misunderstandings and confusion. For…...

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References

Colaiaco, James A., Socrates against Athens: Philosophy on Trial, Routledge, 2001,

Buddhist Texts through the Ages, Translation by Arthur Waley, in Conze et al. Oxford: Bruno Cassirer (Publishers) Ltd., 1954

Matthews' Chinese-English Dictionary, Harvard, 1972

Analects translated by D.C. Lau, Penguin Books, 1979

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 should be cobblers, only the most intelligent and intellectually 'fit' should be allowed to rule (Stone 1979). hen Athens was threatened, Socrates was prosecuted (Stone 1979). Socrates' analogy of the horse-tamer is in response to Meletus' claim that everyone else is a positive influence upon the youth of Athens -- except Socrates. Socrates points out specialized individuals are required to tame a horse, rather than ordinary individuals. This suggests that only educators can have an influence upon young, untamed animals,…...

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Work Cited

Stone, I.F. "The trial of Socrates." The New York Times Magazine. 8 Apr 1979. [8 Feb 2012]

 http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/socrates/ifstoneinterview.html

Socrates
As Navia puts it, "there are not many things that are known about Socrates with certainty," (15). Historians do know the philosophers years of birth and death (469 BCE and 399 BCE, respectively), and the fact that he was poisoned by an Athenian jury much as Plato described the matter in his Apology. As with Jesus, Socrates life is pieced together by the writings of other people, many of whom did not actually know the philosopher or even live during the same era. Beck claims that the lack of reliable historiography related to the life of Socrates is known as the "Socratic Problem." Navia states that the Socratic Problem also entails the fact that anything that is known about Socrates from one source is readily contradicted by another. The Socratic Problem can never be solved, because there are no definitive sources. Socrates did not leave behind an autobiography, and even…...

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Works Cited

Adams, John Paul. "Socrates and his Friends." Retrieved online:  http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/soc_comp.html 

Beck, Sanderson. "The Socratic Problem." Retrieved online:  http://www.san.beck.org/SocraticProblem.html 

Nails, Debra. "Early Attempts to Solve the Socratic Problem." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved online:  

He shows this to be as absurd as things such as believing in flute-playing without believing in the players that make the music. The point that Socrates makes is that, in the same way, no person can believe in spiritual and divine agencies without also believing in spirits or demigods.
In this way, the accuser, Meletus, contradicts himself by saying that Socrates teaches and believes in divine agencies without in fact believing in the gods themselves. Socrates shows the illogical nature of this accusation by making the point that one cannot believe in a divine manifestation without also believing in the god behind it. Indeed, it would be as absurd as believing that mules exist without believing in the horses and donkeys that created them. Socrates here correctly accuses Meletus that he in fact has nothing to accuse the philosopher of, and proves himself to be a believer in the…...

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Bibliography

Plato. Apology - translated by Benjamin Jowett. The Internet Classics Archive.  http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html 

Plato. Euthyphro - translated by Benjamin Jowett. The Internet Classics Archive  http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/euthyfro.html

Socrates
Buddhism and Confucianism can be regarded largely as religious systems -- although Confucianism is a remarkably secular set of beliefs, it nonetheless regards ritual activities -- but Socrates is not prized as a religious figure as Confucius and the Buddha are (although in the guise of neo-Platonism would have an influence on certain Christian traditions many centuries after Socrates drank the hemlock). So what does Socrates bring to the table that Confucius and the Buddha do not, that he still captures our attention? Soccio needs to invoke Karl Jaspers' concept of the "paradigmatic individual" as to why Socrates lingers on as the archetypal "Wise Man" of Western Civilization (Soccio 92).

Yet we also need to begin with a curious paradox -- one that Socrates clearly relished -- which was that Socrates himself professed to offer nothing: his philosophical stance began with a profession of his utter ignorance. Soccio chooses as his…...

And the irony is that he was sentenced to death because he questioned the laws and the gods trying to save Athens from a process of decay which had already started before the defeat in the conflict with Sparta.
As far as the theme of knowledge and wisdom is concerned, Socrates believed that he was an ignorant. What made him valuable was his capacity to realize how limited his knowledge was. Knowing you know so little is the fundament for self development since it triggers a process of search and hard work in this direction. While man had always wanted to understand the universe, Socrates suggested that the truth is best to be found in knowledge of oneself. Wisdom is supported by an attitude of modesty and moderation.

Under these circumstances we may bring into discussion the Socratic method. While trying to teach to his pupils, what the philosopher did was…...

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Bibliography:

Lotter, Dorothea (2007). Euthyphro's claims to knowledge, an introduction to Plato's dialogue and main characters. Retrieved March 28, 2009 from http://philosophy.suite101.com/article.cfm/euthyphro_and_socrates

Navia, L.E. (2007). Socrates: A life examined. Prometheus Books.

Socrates. The Stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy, September 16,2005, retrieved March 30, 2009 from  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/ 

The ethics of Socrates. Philosophy lander. Retrieved March 30, 2009 from  http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/socrates.html

This is the nature of the philosopher; a person who seeks knowledge and truth; the "good," with his whole being. This search sets him apart from the rest of humanity, and also enables him to lead them where necessary. ocrates emphasizes that it is often dangerous to try and force people to emerge from the cave, as a sudden emergence could have the above-mentioned effect of turning these people away from the sun forever.
The divided line image from Book VI of the Republic is a rather complicated preliminary image to the Allegory of the Cave in the following Book. Here ocrates explains the division between the physical and intellectual worlds by means of a line that is divided into two. One of the lines is below the other and represents the physical, or visible world. The other line, above the first, represents the mental, or the intellectual world. This…...

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Sources

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, trans. W.D. Ross.  http://www.constitution.org/ari/ethic_00.htm 

Hooker, Richard. "Greek Philosophy: Plato." 1996.  http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/PLATO.htm 

Plato. The Republic, Book VI and VII. Copyright by Richard Hooker, 1996.  http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/ALLEGORY.HTM

Socrates and Knowledge:Dealing with the Existence of Unconscious and Conscious ThoughtsIntroductionSocrates held the view that one must engage in self-examination if one is to thwart ignorance. Ignorancea lack of knowledge of truth and of ones selfprevents men from reaching the good and the beautiful. Those who live in ignorance persist in a state of self-deception and false contentment, for within they harbor bitterness, envy, hatred, and all other manner of vicesi.e., the opposite of virtues, which must be possessed to attain the good and the beautiful. For Socrates, wisdom comes through self-examination, because it is in ones mind and will that one sees who one really is in relation to the truth of things. For Stein, the Unconscious in terms of past decisions is relevant here. Stein noted that information can act on ones mind and will without a person being conscious of it. However, one must still overcome passivity…...

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Works Cited

Bedu-Addo, J. T. \\\\\\"Recollection and the Argument\\\\\\'from a hypothesis\\\\\\' in Plato\\\\\\'s Meno.\\\\\\" 

The Journal of Hellenic Studies 104 (1984): 1-14.

Brentano. Infinite Regress Argument.

Brentano, F. Psychology from an empirical standpoint (trans. L. MacAlister), London:

Plato's underlying attitude toward the body is that it is temporary, and something to be cast off. The body is not the person, it is a shell. The actual person is what resides inside the body until separated by death. Overcoming the fear of death and feeling like death could actually be a good thing - a new adventure - is a large part of Plato's focus. Whether he is correct in this cannot be answered, because there is no factual proof of whether or not a person lives on after the body dies. Many believe it does, but there....

The central question of the menu is the meaning of virtue, but it does not provide a definitive answer. Part of the reason behind that lack of answer is that it delves into more questions - such as what the meaning of a definition is, as well. This leads to whether virtue can be taught and whether it can be defined. Numerous definitions of virtue are offered, but they are put together from custom. This shows that virtue actually cannot be defined. That is relevant to the Athenians and to the people of today because it reminds everyone that defining....

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