Socrates Trial Essay - 662 Words

Socrates Trial In 399 B.C., Socrates, a seventy year old man, was brought to trial. He faced several accusations of different sorts. Initially, the court had pronounced Socrates guilty. However, because the law had no penalty ordained for his offense, it was required of Socrates to propose his own penalty, or to take the one suggested by Meletos, the death penalty. When the time had come for Socrates to state his defense, he addressed each of the accusations made against him, one by one, in attempt to absolve himself from wrong doing. The first accusation Socrates chose to contest declared that he was a student of natural philosophy. This meant that Socrates was believed to be one who sought to replace mythical explanations of†¦show more content†¦When the court called upon the parents and kinsmen of those Socrates had supposedly corrupted to testify, though many were present at the trial, none came forward. Because of this, Socrates believed that he had not corrupted others, for if he had , they would surely seek revenge and be glad to testify against him, given the chance. Socrates truly felt that people enjoyed listening to his stories and spending time with him. He claimed that it was never his intention to teach anyone, only to discuss issues with those who cared to listen. Socrates was also accused of being an atheist, or one who does not believe in a god. This indictment was contradicted as the elderly man justified to the court his belief in spirits and other gods. He said it was not possible for a man to believe in divine things and spiritual things, as he did, and yet, not in gods and spirits and heroes. In other words, Socrates said that the belief in qualities implied the existence of those things to which the qualities corresponded. To further illustrate this idea, he used an example involving horsemanship, or the quality of riding horses well. If this quality existed, then horses must also exist since horsemanship would not be possible without them. Ther efore, if Socrates believed in spirits, as Meletoss affidavit affirmed, he must have also believed in spiritual beings, or gods, as well. And because he did, Socrates could not have been an atheist afterShow MoreRelatedThe Trial of Socrates1543 Words   |  7 PagesIn the trial of Socrates, I juror number 307, Ryan Callahan vote the defendant is Not Guilty on the first charge of Corrupting the youth. My justifications for this vote are as follows. Socrates didn t corrupt the youth, he just shared his ideas with them and they in turn chose the path to take these ideas. Part of understanding this case is understand the time in which the case was held. This time being 399 B.C., a time in which Athens was a free democratic city, a town which prided itselfRead MoreTrial of Socrates1059 Words   |  5 PagesSocrates was a great philosopher of the Greek world. He was quite an atypical and distinctive person. Being different from all the other philosophers of the land, Socrates was teaching his students ideas totally out of the ordinary from what the society believed was right. As a result, he displeased many people so much that they decided to get rid of him. Socrates was put to trial, accused of spoiling the youth of Athens, tried and sentenced to death. His personal defense is described in works twoRead MoreTrial of Socrates1073 Words   |  5 PagesSocrates was a great philosopher of the Greek world. He was quite an atypical and distinctive person. Being different from all the other philosophers of the land, Socrates was teaching his students ideas totally out of the ordinary from what the society believed was right. As a result, he displeased many people so much that they decided to get rid of him. Socrates was put to trial, accused of spoiling the youth of Athens, tried and sentenced to death. His personal defense is described in works twoRead MoreThe Apology About The Trial Of Socrates1874 Words   |  8 PagesThe Apology was about the trial of Socra tes, how he went before the jury to defend himself from the charges brought against him. Socrates was charged with impiety he does not believe in the gods whom the people believes in he is portrayed as an atheist and he speculates about the heaven and thing beneath the ground, he seeks natural explanation for astronomical and geological phenomena rather than the gods and also he corrupts the youth he infuses in them a spirit of criticism his questioning ofRead MoreThe Trial And Death Of Socrates845 Words   |  4 Pagesright or not. For that, in this essay, we will use Plato’s The Trial and Death of Socrates, as our example of how this kind of attitudes play in Socrates’ life as it is well-known as intelligently and morally lived one. In Euthyphro section, Socrates meets a man named Euthyphro before his trial, where he is being accused by Meletus for corrupting the youth. While Euthyphro is here to prosecute his own father for the case of murder. Socrates starts to ask him about his meaning of piety. â€Å"It is notRead MoreThe Trial And Death Of Socrates1701 Words   |  7 PagesIn reading, The Trial and Death of Socrates, Socrates presents himself against â€Å"the majority† and endures prosecution for inventing new gods and not believing in old ones. Socrates lives a life that is opposite of much of the â€Å"the majority† ideals. â€Å"The majority† values goods, possessions, and uncontrollable attributes given to them by others such as a high reputation and honor. In addition, The Greek Philosopher was able to refuse the opportunity to escape his death sentence while he had sons atRead MorePlato s The Trial And Death Of Socrates Essay1671 Words   |  7 PagesPlato’s The Trial and Death of Socrates presents the reader with complex competing conceptions of what should be considered â€Å"the good life†. According to Socrates, â€Å"the most important thing is not life, but the good life† (Crito, 48b). The majority, who live a non- philosophical life, believes the goods of life include wealth, reputation, and honor: all things that can easily be taken away or destroyed. On the other hand, Socrates lives a philosophical life filled with self-sufficiency. He views wisdomRead MoreThe Trial of Socrates: an Analysis and Construction of Socrates Defense2369 Words   |  10 PagesThe Trial of Socrates: An Analysis and Construction of Socrates Defense Understanding the decisions made by the jurymen in Socrates trial will always be a mystery, but one can perceive why some would have voted the way that they did. Politically and historically Athens was a thriving place of innovation and philosophical advancements. Athens could very well be divided, morally on various aspects, one of them being which â€Å"political† affiliation Athenians related themselves with. Some choicesRead MoreThe Trial and Death of Socrates Essay1639 Words   |  7 PagesThe portrayal of Socrates, through the book â€Å"the trial and death of Socrates† is one that has created a fairly controversial character in Western history. In many ways, Socrates changed the idea of common philosophy in ancient Greece; he transformed their view on philosophy from a study of why the way things are, into a consideration man. Specifically, he analyzed the virtue and health of the human soul. Along side commending Socrates for his strong beliefs, and having t he courage to stand by thoseRead MoreThe Apology And Interpretation Of The Trial Of Socrates1183 Words   |  5 Pagesinterpretation of the trial of Socrates (399 BC). When the Thirty Tyrants were ruling Athens, Socrates was asked by them to help capture Leon of Salamis, a wealthy man. This arrest was to be made simply because Leon was a just Democrat and the Tyrants wanted to take his huge estate for themselves. Socrates disobeyed these orders hence why he was later executed as a traitor of Athens. Meletus was the man who then brought Socrates before a jury for prosecution. Socrates pleaded innocent in his trial. Similarly