...Socrates was born in 469 B.C.E. Although he was not accepted by many people, Socrates was a very important philosopher of his time and he is still being taught and studied today. Most philosophers are important to us because of what they wrote or said, however, Socrates, unlike any other philosopher, never wrote anything of his own, he is important simply for his personality and character. Socrates is also important in philosophy because he liked to question people and try to find answers rather than give a long speech. One of Socrates’s most famous beliefs is that to fear death is to think oneself wise when one is not. This statement was found in the Apology which was written by Socrates’s good friend Plato. This statement was a part of Socrates’s main speech. He makes this statement in his main speech where he addresses the jury. In the main speech he discusses the accusations brought against him and proves them to be false. In addition to that, he also addresses some questions which the jury may have. In philosophy, it is important to presume what the others might argue and break it down. Socrates does so by saying the following, “someone might say: “are you not ashamed Socrates, to have followed the kind of occupation that has led to your being now in danger of death?” (Melchert). He makes this statement because he knows that the jurors and the citizens are puzzled by his reaction and the way he has been fearless under his circumstances. He responds to his own...
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...Anna Lin Exam 1 6/18/14 Socrates’ Courageousness Socrates should not be classified as a Sophist for many reasons. He did not take money from those whom he spoke to; sophists did not care if their conclusions were true, yet Socrates used his ways of dialectic to try to find the absolute truths and he tries to proof to people that the immortal soul exists that is why he does not fear death. Socrates tries to let people know that there is life after death by proving himself right; he is not afraid of death. For instance, “Socrates claims that the death is nothing more than the separation of the soul from the body and although some group of people denies it, the soul is immortal considering the cycle of life and death, the theory of recollection and the affinity argument” (Makaleler). Makaleler tells the audience that Socrates is so certain that the soul is immortal. He also says death is just the soul leaving the body, yet many people don’t believe what he says. People denies Socrates’ way of thinking is mainly because they are scared of changes, they fear the unknown of what exactly will happen to them when the soul leaves the body. This is a good example of why Socrates is not a sophist because if he was a sophist he would have collected money then tell people what they want to hear, as this quotes states people do not believe in him. Socrates is not trying to please anyone to get money, he is just stating what the divine voice had told him. Again, “The soul can be...
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...1-5 1. When Socrates is on trial he initiates his defense by comparing his manner of speaking to that of his prosecutors. He discusses his force of eloquence because his accusers use this topic to say that you should not be mislead by this. Socrates goes on to agree with them by saying he does speak with the force of eloquence but only if that is a force of truth. He compares the eloquence mainly by agreeing with the prosecutors, but getting more specific with that of what he speaks and saying that he speaks only the truth in an elegant and persuasive manner. He also goes on to compare the words spoken and informs everyone that the accusers have only spoken false things about him, and everything that they will hear from his mouth will be nothing but the truth. Socrates mainly compares the eloquence to prove his point that these people accusing him are liars and that everyone should open their minds up a it believe him because he speaks truthfully. He asks his jury to...
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...In ‘The Apology’ written by Plato, Socrates is being accused of many things by Meletus. Socrates is being accused of corrupting the youth in general, corrupting the you intentionally and that Socrates is an atheist; in all of which he does not defend himself but rather manipulate what all the accusations against him are. In the middle of ‘The Apology’, Meletus accuses Socrates of “corrupting the youth by demonic teachings” but instead of defending himself, he starts to manipulate the accusations against him. When Meletus is accusing Socrates, Socrates says that it is impossible that he is the only one to be corrupting the youth. Socrates says “Like horses, very few are able to improve them while many can hurt or spoil them. The ability is rather limited, you will admit” – which in the end, Meletus does not care for the improvement of the youths of Athens....
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...human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. Socrates discusses this many times in his teachings, specifically in the readings, Euthyphro, the Apology, the Crito and the Phaedo. Socrates’ main question was “What is the good life?” and his pursuit was to find out how to live this “good life”. Socrates’ pursuit of the “good life” helped him to identify knowledge with virtue. He equated knowledge with good or virtue and ignorance with bad or evil. Since no one would knowingly harm themselves, if harm came to a person, then that person must have acted in ignorance. This led him to the thought that if knowledge could be learned, so could virtue. This meant that virtue could be taught, so Socrates had conversations with anyone who boasted about being an expert of a certain subject. This would lead him to gain more knowledge (virtue), which in turn would help him in his goal to lead and teach “the good life”. In the Euthyphro, Socrates starts chatting with a man who is in court to prosecute his father for murder. This man, Euthyphro, claims to be an expert on piety (an expert of religious knowledge), and since Socrates is being prosecuted for impiety, he thinks he will learn how to escape prosecution from this expert. Socrates asks Euthyphro for a universal definition of piety, both for his own personal gain (for his defense against the charge of impiety) and also for the...
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...Running Head: THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCRATES 1 The Philosophy of Socrates: A Lover of Wisdom (2052 Words) THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCRATES 2 The lessons of life that are delivered by Socrates act as a basis for Western philosophy. Plato, the writer of The Apology, significantly respects Socrates and his dialogues act as a framework for our understanding in the passages. Our only record of his life comes from his associates, as Socrates never documented his opinions. A clear expression of Socrates’ philosophy is represented in The Apology. The purpose of this paper is to establish a clear demonstration of Socrates’ philosophy using The Apology as reference, and also explain my personal view on philosophy. In the first section of this paper, the famous statement from Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth living”, will be connected when explaining three principle components of his philosophy: Irony, Method and Ethos. The second section of this paper will reveal my personal view on philosophy. Rahut’s claim on philosophy being the study of “open questions” will be supported by examples and descriptions. In the case that a question cannot be accurately answered or proven with our existing knowledge, I demonstrate that it should be classified as an ‘open question’. Throughout section 17-18 of The...
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...Socrates and Motives: Why Choose Death? When Socrates stood trial he held that his work and questions were worth giving his life for. He wasn’t willing to give in to the accusers and say what he was doing was wrong because to him that would be a renouncement of what he believed was right. Nathanael “Nate” Saint, a pilot during WWII, served as a missionary in Ecuador during the 1950s; he and four of his friends were killed by the tribe they were attempting to reach when they refused to shoot the men that attacked them. They believed reaching those people and spreading their faith was worth dying for. Socrates and Saint both died because they couldn’t imagine living their lives if they weren’t living them for the purpose they felt called to. During his trial, Socrates compared his willingness to go to extremes for his cause to the ultimate hero Achilles. The hero was warned he would soon die after killing Hector, yet he went through with it; Socrates was warned he would be killed if he didn’t stop or accept a banishment but continued to defy his accusers. Both knew at some point when facing their challenges that they would give their lives because they followed the path they chose, but...
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...that the soul isn't obliterated when you die and that a new soul is born with a new body? In Phaedo Plato uses dialogue to explore all these ideas,which are formed through reasoning. All that he thinks is not told explicitly but discovered by questioning and use of the intellect. In the exact way that he describes, the question is not asked, what do you see, its always what do you think. The processes of thinking things through leads you to the arguments he presents for the immortality of the soul. Socrates never tells me what to think he only presents ideas and allows the conversation for my own thinking to develop. The process of reading this is in line with the way of life for a philosopher who is seeking truth. Even in his last moments, Socrates is taking time to discuss these ideas with his colleagues. If this is what he is doing before he dies, this is another way he shows me that this is the proper way to live. The body can’t exist without soul but the soul can exist without the soul. The body needs its opposite since it is mortal. But the soul being immortal does not need body to reach beyond itself. This is why Socrates views death in a positive light. He seeks lives in the soul which is done through understanding and the intellect and this is the life of a philosopher. opposites. In the generation of the idea of the opposites you need the idea of "after having been" for the opposition to be understood. Things have an opportunity to come to being because of their opposite...
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...In the Phaedo Socrates is waiting in jail for the poison that will fulfil his death sentence. On the day of his execution he has been talking with his friends about his expectations and their fears about his death. Socrates tries to prove that the soul is immortal to his friends in order for them to see that he is content and not unhappy about his death. Nevertheless, the Phaedo fails at proving the immortality of the soul because Socrates assumes that the soul exist and doesn’t clearly define what a soul is. So the arguments that follow like the philosophy is the practice for death, the soul is not likely to be scattered fail, and the proof that opposites come from opposites fail. The arguments work only if the soul exists, and since the soul is only assumed the arguments are unsuccessful at proving the souls immortality. One of the arguments that Socrates uses to prove the immortality of the soul is that philosophy is the practice for death. There are three premises that are implied in order for the argument to succeed. One is that the soul exists, the second is that there is such a thing as death, and the third is that death is the separation of the soul from the body. Yet the argument is circular and does not work because Socrates did not prove what he had assumed. According to Socrates the philosopher...
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...In Pluto’s Crito, Crito try’s to persuade Socrates to escape from jail to prevent them from killing him. However, Socrates provides a counter argument to his pleas. Crito presents seven different arguments for Socrates escape from prison. Crito argued that if Socrates does not escape, he would hurt Crito. First, Crito will loose Socrates friendship if he dies. If Socrates dies, people will think that Crito didn’t do anything to help Socrates therefore, the people will look down at Crito because they would be unaware that Socrates chose to stay in jail. They will think that Crito didn’t get him out of jail because he wasn’t willing to spend the money to do it. If this is the case, Crito’s reputation will suffer because everyone will think Crito cares more about the money that is spent for the escape rather than Socrates himself. In Crito’s second argument, he wonders why Socrates would rather stay than face the death penalty. Crito feels that if Socrates fears that his friends will be arrested if he escapes, but he should not have this fear. Socrates friends would risk everything by paying off guards or others that would tell on them, therefore, there won’t be any risk at all. Crito also explains that there are many places for Socrates to go, such as Thebes or Thessaly, where he would be protected. In Crito’s third argument, Crito tells Socrates that he has a responsibility to his sons. Crito goes on to say that Socrates has a responsibility to make sure his children...
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...PHI 150 3/11/14 Socrates Paper Socrates is believed to be one of the greatest philosophers of all time and he is credited as being the founder of western philosophy. This paper will explain some of his views to the most fundamental questions of today’s age. These questions will include topics about morality, the human condition, solution, and death. After Socrates’ views on these topics are explained, a critique will be done on his answers. I will start out by explaining exactly who Socrates is, and the time that he lived in. To start out, we will first examine Socrates’ view on morality. There are many questions that could be asked about the topic of morality. Questions like, what are the central moral principles, who is the ideal person, how do you determine right versus wrong. In Socrates’ eyes, I believe that the question of morality comes down to one main question, is it just or unjust? When Socrates was imprisoned facing his death, one of his close friends, Crito, came to him and presented him with an opportunity to escape and he replies to the proposal by saying, “Then in light of this admission we must consider whether or not it is just for me to try and get away without being released by the Athenians. If it turns out to be just, we must make an attempt; if not, we must drop it.” (Crito 48c). Crito then continues to give him reasons why they must escape including how Socrates is endangering the reputation of his friends, how he was put into jail unjustly...
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...Socrates was a Greek philosopher who is known to be one of the greatest founders of western philosophy. Socrates practiced philosophy by preaching in his local market place which caused the citizens of Athens and the authority to become angry towards his views and ways of spreading his philosophical thoughts. Socrates used both analytical and constructive ways to discover the general principles in philosophy. The Oracle of Delphi strongly believed that Socrates was the wisest man in all of Athens which caused Socrates to attempt to prove him wrong. Socrates tried to prove the Oracle wrong by making up his own method to finding the general principles of philosophy, which is called “the socratic method”. The socratic method is the process of...
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...Being critical of his fellow scholars and democracy, one of the greatest philosophers of all time, Socrates, has been sentenced to death for his “corrupt” ways. Socrates has been condemned to commit suicide by drinking hemlock. Before the great philosopher takes his last drink, Socrates explains his theories on Dualism, immortality, forms, and opposites. He makes his first argument on opposites; everything comes to be from out of its opposite. Life and death are in a perpetual cycle such that death cannot be a permanent end. The soul is what animates us: we are alive because we have a soul. That concept suggests that the soul is connected to life. Since the form of life does not in any way include its opposite; death, the soul cannot in any way be overcome by death. Socrates concluded that the soul must be immortal. Socrates argues his theory of recollection by stating that learning is essentially an act of recollecting things we knew before we were born but then forgot. He is basically saying that our souls have existed in a previous life or prior to birth. I feel that he is saying that in a way our souls are recycled. I feel that if you already have your instincts before your birth, then you already acquired them from a previous form. Socrates continues by saying that the soul’s life extends beyond the body and is “immortal.” Socrates goes on to say that “death” occurs when the soul and the body “detach” themselves; so the body is dead but the soul will keep on living. ...
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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...
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...considerations to be looked into. The subjects in Poetics usually bring out the character traits that are related to human characteristics. This is what brings out the difference between tragic events and comic events in a work of poetry. For tragic events, the character in most instances is usually considered to be more honest, serious and considered to be very important in society. While comic characters are usually considered to be less important in the society and not dignified. The method used could involve the use of direct speech, dialogue or quoted speech. These are the major poetic criteria used by Aristotle and applied in the work Apology by Plato. Plot structure and character are also an important part described Poetics. Plot structure is basically the plan of the work. For Apology, this can be considered into the action or the events that are taking place through this work. For example, there is recognition of the characters and an evidence of the suffering of the main character, Socrates. According to Aristotle, a good plot is one that is complex for the human understanding which can be seen in the Apology. There is the evidence of fear as well as pity for Socrates. For example, the main character in the Apology can be seen to be having a good fortune before he is accused but currently undergoing too much suffering. More so, Socrates is evidently an intelligent and important individual in the society a characteristic which is defined in Aristotle Poetics. His intelligence...
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