Research Paper On Socrates

As all Greek people know we believe in the Olympian gods which were “The Big Three”, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Socrates did not make his beliefs silent and personal as he spoke freely about them in public. Socrates was asking why the people of Athens followed the gods, which aggravated the people because they were not used to thinking this

He�d rather suffer by Athenian judgment than to undermine its rule. He would have been ungrateful if he left, since he owes his allegiance to Athens for what it has provided him with and done for him. Also leaving the city would seem like an admittance of guilt. Its right for him to die where he was born, raised, and educated. By staying he would die where he taught people and he would die where he served a purpose.

The first reason Socrates gives for accepting his death sentence is the fact that Athens has provided him with education. (Crito page 15) Although Socrates thinks this is a just reason, Plato would disagree because Socrates could have become corrupted and bad without proper education. According to Plato, Socrates would have the traits of a philosopher king. Socrates loves the truth, hates the false, is moderate and courageous. (The Republic 485a-486b)

All Socrates has done is tell the truth. This can be seen in line 40 of ¨The Apology¨ when he states ¨And then I tried to show that while he thought he was wise,he was no such thing. But that just turned him and many of those with me against me.¨In this line Socrates is seeing the expression of a person when they hear what they didn't want to hear,the truth. So they are mad, which is our natural response to when someone tells us something we don't wanna hear. This piece of evidence is relevant to the claim because it shows how when Socrates tried

He found that this was the only person who was able to do tasks that he was unable to do. Socrates went on this mission to prove to everyone that they were not as wise as they had thought, he claimed that God wanted him to do this to prove that he, Socrates, was the wisest man. As Socrates went on his mission he saw a change in the way people acted around him. They acted as if they were offended by what he was

Socrates was a man that was in search of the truth about wisdom. However, it became more then just a search when it brought him to trail of accusations. As a philosopher Socrates was known to overdrawn ideas and to frustrate anyone he was talking to. He is always in search of a better idea and for anyone who has experienced Socrates could assume he is making up his own actualities. This becomes evident in “ Apology” written by Plato, where Socrates was brought in charges for corrupting the minds of the youth and not believing in the Gods.

Socrates is quoted as stating, “An unexamined life is a life not worth living” (38 a). Socrates was a founding figure of western philosophy, and a stable for many ideas. He lived in Athens, Greece teaching his students, like Plato, questioning politics, ethical choices, and many other things in Greek society. In the Trial and death of Socrates: Four Dialogues by Plato, it explores the abstract questioning Socrates had towards many of the normal social properties, which led to his trial, resulting in his death. The most important aspects discussed in the dialogues is the questioning of what is pious and impious, what it means to be wise, and good life.

In this play the Socrates here doesn't sound like the Socrates from the Apology or the real life Socrates. The real Socrates doesn't actually teach per say, he teaches in a way that makes you yourself use your brain. He makes you question everything and understand things based on your own perception. The writer of this play clearly felt as if Socrates was a major problem in his society for allowing people to actually try to think outside of the box and ask questions. He most likely enjoyed the fact that everyone were robots and all thought alike and believed in the same thing because it brought no need to bring out discussion.

Here is my first piece of evidence to support my point. “I happen to be a gift of the god to the city; and this is how you can tell: Unlike most people, I have neglected all my own interests, and I’ve put up with this private neglect for so many years, while always attending to your business.” (Lines 108-111) In the quote stated above, Socrates claims that even with the annoyance people found in him, he pursued in his mission to help the people. Even though he had to give up his interests and hobbies, he did not give up his mission and focused on his work with the people all those years.

One of the charges brought against him was corrupting the youth of Athens. Accordingly to the words of those who complained at

In his innocent eyes, all he did was go out to talk and question the Athenian people. Although at times there may have been youth following him as he went out to question others, they simply were just there to listen. In the event that the youth may have come up with ideas of their own based off of Socrates’s conversations they heard, that is not direct teaching from Socrates. This is like when a parent tells their child not to touch a hot stove, yet the kid goes and touches it anyway. Children have a mind of their own regardless of what they have been told is right or wrong.

Making enemies and becoming the topic of conversation, the Athenians began to view Socrates as a threat to their beliefs and way of life and sought to end it. In order to end this, Socrates was accused of blasphemy (Mod1SlideC7). Socrates’s accusers took him to court and after Socrates did not play their game by asking to be sent into exile, and in the end, he was sentenced to death. After reading the textbook and Plato’s writing influenced by Socrates, I realized that in the period of his life Socrates was indeed truly a threat to the Athens society, because he looked for answers that no one else bothered to find which challenged their culture.

Socrates sees himself as wiser than other men including the politicians, craftsmen, and poets because he did not go around thinking he knew what he did not know. As a result of this, his character reflected someone who saw himself as superior to others and instead of feeding that ego, he could have been a joined politics and have an influence on the Athenian democracy. If he had done this, people like Meletus and his later accusers would have taken his criticism in a positive way. Socrates has the right to criticize the democracy of Athens because, in his perspective, verdicts are passed in the court by jurors with respect to whoever seems good to him. The democracy of the people was biased because, even if a person was wrong in court, he would not receive the right punishment her deserved because of his relations with the jurors.

Philosophical thinking uses three acts of the mind: understanding, judgement, and reason. In order to have a sound argument all of the concepts must be applied. Socrates didn’t want to please the people by saying or doing what they wanted him to say or do. Socrates thought it was not important to seek wealth or fame; he was concerned with truth and virtue. He wanted to create an impact on humanity by relying on the truth and shining a light in people’s lives, even if they put him on trial.

The two philosophers believed strongly in the concept of eudaimonia, which is basic human well-being and goodness (Mastin, 2008). Much of Socrates’ ethics was built around this concept, which led to his ethical code becoming basically objective. Socrates’ ethics were based on something of a knowledge/ignorance dichotomy. He believed that people act immorally but they do not act this way intentionally. Like all animals, Socrates believed that we act in and seek out what is in our best interests.