In the discussions about Socrates in Plato’s Apology, a controversial issue has been whether or not Socrates should be considered Man Thinking, a term coined by Emerson. On one hand, some argue that since Socrates was unable to convert his ideas to actions and become powerful, he cannot be described as Man Thinking. From this perspective, Socrates is not Man Thinking because he only thought, but was not dexterous with his hands, being too much like a scholar than Man Thinking. On the other hand, others argue that Socrates was Man Thinking because he stood by his ideas even upon punishment of death. According to this view, the fact that Socrates stood up for his ideas is action enough for him to be described as Man Thinking. In sum, the issue is whether …show more content…
One of the most significant quotes in Plato's Apology is: “the difficulty, my friends, is not to avoid death, but to avoid unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death” (Plato 18). Socrates states his belief that death is not the main antagonist in life, rather a distraction from the true enemy, unrighteousness and/or our ability to do harm to others. By making this statement, Socrates makes it clear that one of his ideals in life has been to never harm anyone, even if that means paying with his life. Because Socrates believes that taking philosophy out of people’s lives would be harming them, if he were Man Thinking, Socrates should be willing to die instead of taking philosophy out of the lives of the Athenians. As Plato's Apology takes place in Socrates’ trial for his life, his dedication to his ideals is tested. In the end, Socrates does in fact pay the price for practicing philosophy, which is completely in line with his ideals. Thus, the second half of the first requirement is fulfilled, Socrates did not let the majority convert him from his ideals, keeping his ideals until his