...In the, “Apology, we can see dialogue on how Socrates pleads in his own self-defense. Socrates is on trial for his life because he is known as a non conformist. One important fact that must be addressed is that Socrates understood what the Athenians did not. Socrates did not believe the claim of his wisdom and was willing to disprove it. In order to do that, he decided to question three different citizens on the topic they should be knowledgeable about. Socrates also questioned the Athenians while on trial to refute the allegations brought against him. In his conversations with the Athenians, Socrates questions before and during the trial were ineffective because he was still convicted of his crime. While on trial, Socrates tells of his interactions while questioning all people of knowledge. Socrates says “where wisdom is concerned, those who...
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...that at 70 years old, Socrates was convicted to death for allegedly corrupting the youth’s minds. He was also convicted for not believing in the gods of the state and for speaking with contempt to the high ranking officials of his time (Ober “Gadfly on Trial” 2). The accounts of his trials were written by his avid and equally popular student Plato in Apology (Colaiaco 17). In Apology, he quoted: For if you kill me you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god; and the state is like a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life (Plato, in McIntyre 20). In this statement, Socrates compares himself to a gadfly – a biting, noisy insect commonly found buzzing around and refers to the state as the horses. What Socrates meant by this is that his frequent questioning (or “biting”) is intended to wake the state up. For him, the people during that era were in an idle stage because they are just accepting the things that have been set for them by the previous generations, by the government, the rich and powerful, or by the church. Socrates does not want that. Socrates would like the people to wake up, ask questions that challenge their minds, like – Where are we from? Is there really a god? Why do we live? He wanted to bring the people to reality by taking them out of their ignorance. I think what Socrates feels is that ignorance...
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...Heath Thomas Kinkead English 1301-394 12 September 2017 Plato tells a story about a “wise” man being accused of corrupting the youth in Athens. In “The Apology,” Socrates defends himself in front of the jury while he attempts to embarrass Meletus and lessen his credibility as the prosecutor. Socrates then talks about how Athens would lose more than they would gain by exiling him, and he finishes by saying that he does not fear death for only the gods know what happens after death. Socrates uses apologia, a method of defense, to embarrass Meletus. He wants to prove to the jury that Meletus really has no affiliation with the youth of Athens, so there is no way for him to know if the youth are corrupted or not. It appears that Meletus just...
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...Plato’s Apology and Crito Ben Blanks, Lynchburg College (Editor’s note: This essay by Ben Blanks is the winner of the North Award for the best paper in the 2012 Agora. Ben presented an earlier version of this paper at the ACTC Student Conference at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, in March, 2011.) When reading the Apology and the Crito of Plato, one inevitably comes upon a seeming fundamental contradiction between the two dialogues. The Apology presents readers with a defiant Socrates who declares in his trial that, if acquitted on the condition that he never philosophize again, he would continue to practice philosophy in spite of the jury’s order to the contrary: . . . if you said to me in this regard: “Socrates, we do not believe Anytus now; we acquit you, but only on condition that you spend no more time on this investigation and do not practice philosophy, and if you are caught doing so you will die”; if, as I say, you were to acquit me on those terms, I would say to you: “Men of Athens, I am grateful and I am your friend, but I will obey the god rather than you, and as long as I draw breath and am able, I shall not cease to practice philosophy . . . (29c-d).1 The passage from the Apology seems to present a defiant argument for civil disobedience in the face of injustice. In the Crito, however, when given a chance to escape prison and his upcoming execution, Socrates reasons that such an action would be unjust because it would defy the laws 1Plato, Apology. Trans...
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...Summary Plato's The Apology is an account of the speech Socrates makes at the trial in which he is charged with not recognizing the gods recognized by the state, inventing new deities, and corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates' speech, however, is by no means an "apology" in our modern understanding of the word. The name of the dialogue derives from the Greek "apologia," which translates as a defense, or a speech made in defense. Thus, in The Apology, Socrates attempts to defend himself and his conduct--certainly not to apologize for it. For the most part, Socrates speaks in a very plain, conversational manner. He explains that he has no experience with the law courts and that he will instead speak in the manner to which he is accustomed: with honesty and directness. He explains that his behavior stems from a prophecy by the oracle at Delphi which claimed that he was the wisest of all men. Recognizing his ignorance in most worldly affairs, Socrates concluded that he must be wiser than other men only in that he knows that he knows nothing. In order to spread this peculiar wisdom, Socrates explains that he considered it his duty to question supposed "wise" men and to expose their false wisdom as ignorance. These activities earned him much admiration amongst the youth of Athens, but much hatred and anger from the people he embarrassed. He cites their contempt as the reason for his being put on trial. Socrates then proceeds to interrogate Meletus, the man primarily...
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...have.” ― Plato, Apology tags: apology, knowledge, plato, socrates, wisdom 23 people liked it like “Men of Athens, I honor and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy... Understand that I shall never alter my ways, not even if I have to die many tim Apology: Top Ten Quotes Top Ten Quotes | 1) "I am very conscious that I am not wise at all," (Socrates)2) "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." (Socrates)3) "Either I do not corrupt the young or, if I do, it is unwillingly," (Socrates)4) "You are wrong, sir, if you think that a man who is any good at all should take into account the risk of life or death; he should look to this only in his actions, whether what he does is right or wrong, whether he is acting like a good or a bad man." (Socrates)5) "To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know." (Socrates)6) "I will not yield to any man contrary to what is right, for fear of death, even if I should die at once for not yielding." (Socrates)7) "It is not the purpose of a juryman's office to give justice as a favor to whoever seems good to him, but to judge according to law, and this he has sworn to do." (Socrates)8) "Since I am convinced...
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...Critical Analysis of The Apology of Socrates by Plato Socrates was an orator and philosopher whose primary interests were logic, ethics and epistemology. In Plato’s Apology of Socrates, Plato recounts the speech that Socrates gave shortly before his death, during the trial in 399 BC in which he was charged with "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, also being a busybody and intervene gods business". The name of the work itself is not mean what it is appeared; here, Socrates is not apologizing, but merely speaking in defense of his beliefs and actions – the word apology is used in the context of its original meaning. During this apology, Socrates attempts to explain himself and the decisions that led to his action, educating his audience in the philosophical questions he chooses to pose. Socrates does not try to avoid death in the trial; instead, his goal is to enlighten the public for the last time before his own passing. Socrates was always fascinated with the solving of questions, both big and small; his approach was to use the Socratic method of inquiry, wherein he would break the problem down into several questions, and then systematically find the answers to each question in order to find the larger answer. It was a methodical and practical approach to show his ultimate quest for seeking the true knowledge. He says, "His wisdom is truly worthless"; this is indicative of his unending search for more and more knowledge (Apology 23b)...
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...The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living “The unexamined life is not worth living,” is a familiar saying that Socrates said at his trial for heresy, that is, encouraging his students to challenge the accepted beliefs and think of themselves instead and this led to his death sentence. Socrates could have avoided death by choosing life in prison or exile but he refused claiming that, these alternatives will prevent him from examining the world around him and see how to make the world a better place. He argued that with the absence of his examined life will, there was no value of living. Therefore, Socrates claimed that for a human being to live a worthy life, everyone should question, examine and re-examine the values of their lives daily (Kamtekar, 154). This paper explores the meaning and the significance of the Socrates claim that “the unexamined life is not worth living” focusing on the Apology and Euthyphro. The words, ‘the unexamined life is not worth living’ by Socrates comes from Plato’s Apology when Socrates is sentenced to death after being accused of corrupting the youth and impiety (Ahbel-Rappe & Rachana, 229). Patterson posits that apology is one historical account of Socrates’ defense during his trial (Patterson, 16), and these words appear at the end of the Apology when Socrates is going through possible punishments for charges against him. Socrates utters these words when the jury has already found him guilty and has to decide on what kind of punishment to impose...
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...Socrates Worldview Intro Socrates was a raggedy old man that spent his time searching and looking for all of the answers to the world. The readings we started on took us to Socrates in his last days and arguing with friends if he should escape or not. We will get to look at though the worldview analysis Socrates findings of his years searching and his personal view portrayed by ones around him. Condition Bodily Attachment Socrates believes the human problem is inside us ourselves. We are all souls inhibiting bodies and Socrates states that the body is our problem. “So long as we keep to the body and our soul is contaminated with this imperfection, there is no chance of our ever attaining satisfactorily to our object, which we assert to be Truth.” (Phaedo 66b) He talks about how the body is in desire of riches, cloths, and ornaments then argues if the soul needs all those things. The body is distracting us from the truth. Socrates believes that death is the solution to all. He states, “I fancy that this (death) will help us to find out the answer to our problem. (Phaedo 64d) I agree with Socrates because I believe we have a soul as well and it continues after death. The body needs the soul as much as the soul needs the body though and because no one is positive about death and us continuing we do our part to keep the body alive as well. Misology Socrates also states that the human condition is caused by bad experiences that ruin everyone’s look on life....
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...Texts and Ideas: Antiquity and Enlightenment Dr. Jeffrey Rubenstein Paper #1 Outline and Rough draft due in recitation sections on October 2-3 and will be returned Oct 8-10. Final Papers due October 15. No late submissions will be accepted without prior approval. Papers should be emailed to NYU classes AND a hardcopy turned in. Directions: * Select one out of the following three questions. Write an essay of approximately and no more than 1200 –1500 words. (Use the “word count” function in your word processor). * Quoting: you should quote from the text. Make sure that the quotes do not take up too large a part of your paper and only supplement (rather than substitute) your own words. Whenever you quote, you MUST provide a citation in parentheses. Here are some examples: (Symposium, 175E), (Exodus 22:1). Quotes should not stand on their own. They should be attached to some part of a non-quoted sentence (it can be as short as: For example, “……..” or Sophocles states, “…………”). * How to begin your paper: Jump straight to answering the question. Do not summarize the text, but rather write with a reader who is familiar with the text in mind. Also avoid general sayings such as “In human history, women have always been subordinated” or “Leaders tend to be very interesting figures.” One way to start your paper is with a question you will be answering. But don’t use the same wording – try to rephrase it, paraphrase it, or break it up. * Make sure you have a thesis...
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...Socrates Philosopher Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, Wikipedia “Personal background” Born: 469 BC, Athens, Greece Died:399 BC, Athens, Greece Full name: Socrates Nationality: Greek Era: Ancient philosophy Region: Western philosophy School: Classical Greek Main interests: Epistemology, ethics Notable idea: SocraticMethod, Socratic irony Influenced: Most subsequent Western philosophy; more specifically, Plato, Aristotle, Aristippus, Antisthenes Spouse:Xanthippe Children:Menexenus, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus Aristotle Philosopher Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great “Personal background” Born: 384 BC Stagira, Chalcidice Died: 322 BC (aged 61 or 62) Euboea Nationality: Greek Era: Ancient philosophy Region: Western philosophy School: Peripatetic schoolAristotelianism Main interests: Physics, Metaphysics, Poetry, Theatre, Music, Rhetoric, Politics, Government, Ethics, Biology, and Zoology Notable ideas: Golden mean, Aristotelian logic, syllogism, hexis, homomorphism, Aristotle's theory of soul Plato Philosopher Plato was a philosopher in Classical Greece. He was also a mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western...
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...Reynard The Fox Analysis and Comparison Reynard the Fox tells a story of a medieval kingdom in which several barons have conflict with lord Reynard. They come to Nobel the lion king to suggest the execution of Reynard for his villainous acts. The fist part of the story summarizes various “crimes” Reynard has committed. One such example involves puss the hair being abused by Reynard.1 The final decision is made that in order to properly punish Reynard, he must be summoned to court in order to tell his side of the story and defend himself. Several barons are sent to deliver the summons to Reynard. The first two are tricked into harmful traps that send them back to court empty handed. Finally Grey the badger convinces Reynard to come in and use his sly to win over Nobel and wipe clean his offenses. During their trip Reynard confesses all of the wrongs that he had committed. Grey told him that as long as he is truly sorry and abandoned his old ways, that he would be forgiven and trusted once more. For the remainder of the trip to court, Grey notices Reynard slipping into his ways and either reminds him of the oath he made or questions his true intent. They eventually make it to court where Reynard attempts to flatter Nobel by saying that his is his most loyal servant and has always been there when Nobel needed him. Nobel was not pleased with this and challenged Reynard to discount his accusers for his freedom. Upon failing to prove his complete innocence, Loyal...
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...Mashell Chapeyama University of the People Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (2010-2014) Truth and knowledge People have various ways in which they look at things. Some think in ways that are good and others in ways that are bad. Some people look at things differently from others. But who really knows what is true and what is real. Some people stay in the darkness for a long time without have the true knowledge. This essay explores how Socrates looked at things and his beliefs and perception as compared to how Voltaire looked at life. This is a summary of what was captured in Apology, allegory of the cave and the Good Brahmin. These stories have good implication on the essence of philosophy in life. What is philosophy and how should we consider it? In short, these essays talk about enlightenment, which is a process whereby a person comes to know the truth as opposed to being ignorant. Socrates’ views of life are shown in the stories of Apology and allegory of the Cave. The main one that shows Socrates’ ideas is that of the allegory of the caves, which will be explained briefly in this essay. In the allegory of the cave there is a tantalizing scenario. The scenario is as follows. It is shown in a state of things that a young person has been in. The scenario is like that of a person who was born and ever since his youth hood was placed in a cave. In this cave there is no light. This person is chained there in that he is not able to turn even his head to see...
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...Mashell Chapeyama University of the People Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (2010-2014) Truth and knowledge People have various ways in which they look at things. Some think in ways that are good and others in ways that are bad. Some people look at things differently from others. But who really knows what is true and what is real. Some people stay in the darkness for a long time without have the true knowledge. This essay explores how Socrates looked at things and his beliefs and perception as compared to how Voltaire looked at life. This is a summary of what was captured in Apology, allegory of the cave and the Good Brahmin. These stories have good implication on the essence of philosophy in life. What is philosophy and how should we consider it? In short, these essays talk about enlightenment, which is a process whereby a person comes to know the truth as opposed to being ignorant. Socrates’ views of life are shown in the stories of Apology and allegory of the Cave. The main one that shows Socrates’ ideas is that of the allegory of the caves, which will be explained briefly in this essay. In the allegory of the cave there is a tantalizing scenario. The scenario is as follows. It is shown in a state of things that a young person has been in. The scenario is like that of a person who was born and ever since his youth hood was placed in a cave. In this cave there is no light. This person is chained there in that he is not able to turn even his head to see...
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...1: Philosophy, sophism/sophistry, “pilosopo” 1 [Published in Rolando M. Gripaldo, ed. 2004. Philosophical landscape. Manila: Philippine National Philosophical Research Society.] PHILOSOPHY, SOPHISM/SOPHISTRY, “PILOSOPO” Rolando M. Gripaldo PHILOSOPHY: Ancient Philosophy literally means “love of wisdom.” In contemporary philosophy there are as many definitions of philosophy as there are schools of philosophy.1 What is interesting is that one school defines philosophy to the exclusion of other schools. For instance, the analytic school defines philosophy as the clarification of the meanings of words, phrases, and sentences, and it rejects metaphysical propositions as cognitively meaningless. Its emphasis is logic and language. On the other hand, the continental school defines philosophy in terms of the meaning of life and one’s relationship with the world and the Other (other human beings and/ or God). It considers the activities of the analytic tradition as meaningless to one’s life. Its emphasis is life. It is therefore advisable to just leave the definition of philosophy in its original etymological meaning, although even this is not safe. Quite recently, Hans-Georg Gadamer (1989), an hermeneute, has rejected epistemic wisdom as within the realm of human control. The ancient Greeks defined philosophy as love of (epistemic) wisdom. Thales, who is traditionally considered the father of philosophy, was interested in “knowing” the ultimate reality,...
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