With the Apology, and the Crito, Socrates comes to delve into his many teachings and finds himself put to death with the words of wisdom that have been passed down generation after generation. Socrates for many in this present day is a man of many words and great teachings, but anyone but Socrates thought differently, in Athens people thought of him as an annoyance rather than an integral part of society. As Socrates stood in front of the counsel of judges, he stood for what he thought was right and never changed opinion of himself or of his words. That’s why Socrates is still talked about in classrooms everywhere today. The statement made by Socrates “Even were the whole world against me, I had best be in harmony with myself”. Socrates in his mind the whole world that he knew was coming down on him. With the counsel of judges that Socrates …show more content…
With those two teachings, comes another one of his more deeply meaningful quotes “an unexamined life is not worth living for a human being”. This statement by Socrates is one that gets a human being to think about what he meant by what an examined life or unexamined life is. His quote is telling people to go through life and analyze and question things, because if not they have not lived life the way it should be for a human being. Without examining life, life would become a stagnant environment, never evolving from past cultures and past ideals. The significance with the first teaching and the unexamined life quote go hand in hand. By questioning and looking at things through the way he wants to live his life he is at harmony with himself. By examining people, places, or questions he is living a life to which brings him peace. Socrates didn’t have the riches or wasn’t high up on the totem pull in Athens. What he did have though was the happiness and knowledge he thought to be enough for a life worth
Anish Yonjan Philosophy 1301-73426 Prof. Marcos Arandia Feb. 19, 2017 Explain and evaluate Socrates' claim in the Apology that "the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being," and briefly analyze and discuss the particular method he uses to discover the truth (i.e., dialectics or the Socratic Method), using at least two examples from Plato's Euthyphro and/or Apology. Do you agree that a human being cannot live a fully satisfying life if he or she remains ignorant, like the slavish prisoners in Plato's cave? Why or why not? In the Plato’s Apology, Socrates claims that the “unexamined life is not worth living for a human being”.
Socrates is known as one of the most eminent Greek philosophers, but history has also told that the man was primarily infuriating. Born in 471 B.C.E, Socrates followed the life of a traditional Greek citizen by working as a mason and a hoplite until he became a popular instructor of philosophy. The man was not fond of traditional religion, and began questioning concepts of life, such as justice, knowledge, and wisdom. This incessant questioning eventually led to his execution by the Athenian government in 399 B.C.E. Socrates gained many followers before his death, and the most renowned example is Plato. Much of what we know today about Socrates was originally recorded in 380 B.C.E. by Plato in his dialogue, The Republic.
Socrates, an Athenian philosopher of Ancient Greece, a man of great wisdom and knowledge, was put to death at trial, by the accusation of impiety, and corrupting the youths of society. “The Apology” written by Plato, the Defence of Socrates as it would sound, gives us an overview of what happened at the trial. Socrates had a few accusations up against him and they weren 't that simple to defend against, but that did not stop him, he came prepared and knew what he was in for, that gave him the upper hand and he was able to successfully and flawlessly defend against any accusation and statement that the accusers sent out against him. The main Accuser was Melytus, he was supported by most of the assembly and his two compatriots Anytus and Lycon.
It is often for one to urge the survival of another, whether it be of their own interest or the betterment of the other. Shortly before his execution by the Athenian senate, Socrates was approached by lifelong friend Crito who urged him to escape into exile than suffer execution. Plato transcribed the dialogue between the two men; Socrates describing his lifelong duty to uphold the social contract and Crito stressing the importance of morality above all else. Despite history recording Socrates staying and executed, his reasons for doing so, despite Crito’s urging, stands in the right.
The Apology centered on Socrates’ justification of his actions in response to the accusations made against him by his peers, considering his dedication to the life of philosophy had earned him a fair share of critics and unpopularity. Pythian’s declaration regarding Socrates being the wisest of all was a starting point of Socrates’ defense. In disbelief because to the fact that he believed he knew nothing, Socrates was set to determine how an ignorant being such as he could possibly be named the wisest. He pursued this investigation of wisdom by striking a conversation with anyone he believed was wise. He approached politicians, poets, and craftsmen, however Socrates soon realized these people were not as wise as they portrayed themselves to be.
The setting of Plato’s dialogue is Socrates having been found guilty and imprisoned thirty days before his execution. His friend, Crito visits him and expresses the purpose of his visit to Socrates. Crito persuades him to escape from prison and go avoiding his sentence of death. The difficulty Plato faces in composing this dialogue is to justify Socrates' decision to stay in prison rather than try to escape after his wrongful condemnation. Plato lists a few ideas from Socrates’ education that a multitude can do neither good nor harm with actions being irrational and man regarding opinions of intelligible men.
The version of Socrates presented in both The Apology, Crito, and The Republic could very well be two different versions of Socrates as presented by Plato. However, both versions of Socrates have one thing in common: they both value the importance of philosophy and they both defend philosophy as something that is important to humanity. The Apology is Socrates defending not only himself, but also philosophy as an area of study that could be useful to the city of Athens. Socrates is trying to defend himself and his study and he tries to distance himself from the sophists in that they charge for money.
In Socrates view, the actions of human beings are fundamentally ignited on logic and reason. In other words, every actions perpetrated by individuals are solely based on logic and reason. A typical example is when someone engages in an awful behavior without realizing how such action hurt others, such behavior could be applauded; however, if the individual realizes that such behavior is harmful to others and might lead to serious consequences, there is a likelihood that the individual would immediately discontinue such harmful behavior. Our understanding of Socrates’ attitude about philosophy in Apology and Allegory of the Cave, he fundamentally embraced the strength in acquiring knowledge and see the acquisition of knowledge as the gateway to humans’ happiness (Pecorino, 2000). His attitude toward life and humanity was both robust and positive.
Socrates was a greek philosopher who found himself in trouble with his fellow citizens and court for standing his grounds on his new found beliefs from his studies about philosophical virtue, justice, and truth. In “Apology” written by Plato, Socrates defended himself in trial, not with the goal of escaping the death sentence, but with the goal of doing the right thing and standing for his beliefs. With this mindset, Socrates had no intention of kissing up to the Athenians to save his life. Many will argue that Socrates’ speech was not very effective because he did not fight for his life, he just accepted the death sentence that he was punished with. In his speech he said, “But now it’s time to leave, time for me to die and for you to live.”
Socrates was someone that considered himself a true philosopher. Part of being a true philosopher involved living an examined life. Socrates was a man that valued wisdom, and encouraged others to seek it. Socrates views towards wisdom also gave him an insight towards ignorance. There was a moment in the Apology, where Socrates discussed how he was told by the God of Delphi that he was the wisest man.
The answer is given by Socrates himself: "the unexamined life is not worth living". Socrates knew that he could not live without pursuing wisdom, he believed that it was the ultimate purpose in life. He embraced death over living an unexamined
Socrates is known as a prominent and somewhat contentious Greek philosopher of the fifth century. He spent most of his life searching for truth. In searching for truth, he would create a new method of thinking. He would question, criticize, use logic and reason to obtain the truth. Socrates acquired many supporters as his work fascinated them.
Socrates believed that wisdom is above all because his path in life
After Socrates is condemned to death, he makes his final statements to the jury at the end of “The Apology”. This portion of the text clearly expresses his deeply held believes and seemed the most honest to me, as he was no longer reciting his defense in court but had already acknowledged and accepted his fate. Paragraph 39a eloquently describes why Socrates valued just action over his own life. He claims that if someone is “shameless enough” to defy their own principles, avoiding death is easily accomplished. The more difficult struggle that plagues us is “escaping villainy”, which he has completed by facing his punishment.
Socrates born in Athens in (469-399 B.C.) was considered the greatest philosopher and notable critic of all fifth century, Socrates also fought fearlessly for the Athens. He was the founder of Western philosophy during the time in that era and of all time. I chose this particular philosopher because of his strengths in philosophy, Socrates had many eccentric ideas of how to expand his mind to think. He challenged his thought process and strived to find ways to get others to do the same. Socrates also stood by his words of, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”