Socrates

Apology
Plato (P.246)

• Most influential philosopher in the Western world

• Became a student of Socrates, devoted to his life
• Started “The Academy”

• What are some of the most basic human philosophical

questions?
• What is the meaning of life?
• What is beauty? How do we define it?
• How do we know right and wrong?
• How do we understand the world outside ourselves?
• Is time a real phenomenon?
Plato - The Academy (P.246)

• Established in 387 B.C. – an outdoor

place where scholars would gather and
talk about ideas
• Plato’s, “The Academy” lasted until 527
A.D., 912 years in total, and served as
the prototype for the Western
university system.
• Influenced the development of math,
astronomy, philosophy, law, and
political science
• Aristotle was one student
Socrates

• Born circa 470 B.C. in Athens, Greece & his life is known
through only a few sources:
• the dialogues of Plato and Xenophon and the plays of Aristophanes
• Scholar, teacher and philosopher most interested in ethics
• Socratic method laid the groundwork for Western systems of logic
and philosophy. 
• Sentenced to death by hemlock poisoning in 399 B.C.
• He accepted this judgment rather than fleeing into exile.
• Little to do with his sons' upbringing
• Expressed far more interest in the intellectual development of
Athens' other young boys
• Socrates always emphasized the importance of the mind
over the relative unimportance of the human body.
Socrates Philosophy

• Philosophy should achieve practical results for the

greater well-being of society
• Establish an ethical system based on human reason
rather than theological doctrine
• What is logically correct, not what god told to believe
• Pointed out that human choice was motivated by the
desire for happiness
• Wisdom comes from knowing thyself
• The more a person knows, the greater his or her
ability to reason and make choices that will bring true
happiness
• Ethical reasoning comes from this
Socratic Method

• Socratic Dialogue or Socratic Method is

an argument (or series of arguments)
using the question-and-answer method
• Through a series of questions, he would lead
people to examine their own thinking about
concepts such as virtue, justice, and truth
• reductio ad absurdum - "reduction to
absurdity“ an argument
• Socrates' opponent would make an • Popular among the youth, but a threat to those
innocuous assertion, then Socrates by a
in power
step-by-step train of reasoning, bringing in • Resented by citizens because he mocked the
other background assumptions, would make
traditions and values of Athens
the person admit that the assertion resulted
in an absurd or contradictory conclusion,
forcing him to abandon his assertion. *Innocuous - isn't harmful or likely to cause injury
Plato’s Apology

• Speech Socrates makes at the trial in which he is charged with not recognizing the
gods recognized by the state, inventing new deities, and corrupting the youth of
Athens
• Greek "apologia," translates as a defense, or a speech made in defense
• Behavior stems from a prophecy by the oracle at Delphi which claimed that he was
the wisest of all men.
• Oracle at Delphi – “Know Thyself” was written above the entrance
• Socrates concluded that he must be wiser than other men only in that he knows that he knows
nothing
• Socrates compared himself to a great gadfly, biting and annoying the horse
representing the people of Athens.
• Found guilty – Socrates claimed he should be honored with free food
• Asks Crito to pay a debt (not included in the book) to raise his children to the same
standard as he has laid upon Athens
Plato’s Apology

• A Lesson From Socrates That Will Change The Way You Think
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH86jaBQ0F4
Literary Analysis – Speech (P.247)

• Conversations between 2 or more people

• Active Reading – Paraphrasing (restating in

your own words)
• “But I suggest, gentlemen, that the difficulty is not
so much to escape death; the real difficulty is to
escape from doing wrong, which is far more fleet
of foot.”
• “Our greatest challenge in life is not avoiding death,
but avoiding evil, which comes upon us more quickly
than death.”
Characters of “The Apology”

• Meletus - The chief accuser of Socrates, responsible for bringing

him to trial
• Socrates - The protagonist of The Apology, as well as all of Plato's
other dialogues.
Exercise 9 – Reflection Questions

• Characterize and define Socratic irony and the

role it plays in Socrates' method.
• To what extent and to what effect is this irony
employed? Can we take anything Socrates' says
seriously? And is there a rigid connection
between being serious and speaking the truth?
(1 paragraph form)

Where do we find the Socratic method

today?
- Law
Apology Phrases Defined

• “Well on in life” – old

• “Leave nothing unsaid or undone” – do everything possible
• “Convicted by truth herself of depravity and wickedness” – judged
harshly for acts of evil
• “Vengeance shall fall upon you” – you will be punished for your
evil
• “stoop in servility” (P.248, 2nd para)
• Lower oneself
• Act in an overly humble way
• “amiss” (P.250)
• Wrong or faulty
Exercise 10 - Apology Phrases – Define Them

• “Not to stop the mouths of others”

• “Exchange fancies”
• “Supreme Calamity”
• “Dreamless sleep”
• “Released from my distractions”
• “Plaguing them”
A Few Good Men (1992)
Apology – Reading Interpretation (P.248)

• Socrates says that if his accusers would have “waited just a little
while,” they would have what they wanted. What do they want?
• Death
• Socrates insists that he would rather die than have to defend himself
in a different way. What would be so wrong if Socrates had defended
himself in a different way?
• He would be violating his own principles
• He doesn’t believe he did anything wrong
• He won’t beg for mercy or humiliate himself
• Socrates says that evil is more of a threat to people than death.
What do you think he means?
• Everyone will die eventually, but death is not evil
• Evil is more of a threat due to the ease of which the act is.
Exercise 11 - Paraphrase the passage (P.248)

• “It is not a lack of arguments that has caused my condemnation,

but a lack of effrontery and impudence, and the fact I have
refused to address you in the way which would give you the most
pleasure. You would have liked to hear me weep and wail, doing
and saying all sorts of things which I regard as unworthy of myself,
but which you are used to hearing from other people.”
Exercise 12 - Paraphrase the passage (P.250)

• “If you expect to stop denunciation of your wrong way of life by

putting people to death, there is something amiss with your
reasoning. This way of escape is neither possible nor creditable.
The best and easiest way is not to stop the mouths of others, but
to make yourselves as good men as you can. This is my last
message to you who voted for my condemnation.”
Exercise 13 - Paraphrase (P.253)

• “This present experience of mine has not come about

mechanically. I am quite clear that the time had come when it
was better for me to die and be released from my distractions.
That is why my sign never turned me back.”
Apology - Discussion (P.251-253)

• Greeks believed in an afterlife where the souls of the dead could

converse with one another. Why would this be a blessing to Socrates?
• He loved talking to people, questioning them
• It’s what he did while he was alive and now he can continue into the afterlife
• Literary Analysis – Socratic Dialogue
• Way of searching the truth
• He typically discovered that they were not as wise as they claimed to be
• 3 main ideas (P.253)
• Socrates says this is the right time for him to die
• He does not resent those who condemned him even though they were wrong
• Socrates asks jurors to watch over his sons and to criticize them if they do wrong
• He asks Crito to repay a debt, but asks the people of Athens to take care
of his children. What does this say about him?
Reflection

• Socrates says that his “executioners” – those who voted against him – will
face vengeance after his death. Why might people blame the jury for his
death?
• They will think that it was wrong to put a good man to death.
• Socrates way of living makes the jurors uncomfortable because he points out
flaws in their beliefs and actions. Why would putting Socrates to death NOT
make it any easier for these people?
• Others will criticize them for doing wrong.
• Which statement best expresses Socrates attitude towards death?
• (A) Because death will come to all of us, we should enjoy life while we can.
• (B) Death may bring about a dreamless sleep, which is a frightening prospect.
• (C) Death should not be feared because it is either peaceful or it will lead to another
interesting world.
• (D) We all have a chance to talk to the heroes of the past, so we should look forward to
dying.
The Illusion of Man

• What is the profound illusion at the heart of the Socratic

worldview?
• Illusion that thought can reach the deepest levels and change the world
• Can figure out the world by logic alone
• Knowledge is the most powerful thing a man can possess
• Knowledge brings a complete understanding of the existential
• He is now blinded by his own knowledge and logic getting in the way of just
enjoying life
• He refuses to acknowledge Dionysus
• god of unconscious decisions and intoxication from wine, whereas Apollo seems
more logical and sensible.
Exercise 14 - Socrates Questions (Short Ans)

• Does Socrates care about anyone?

• How does Socrates’ method work?
• Is Socrates an atheist?
• How does Socrates show that at least one of the charges against him
are preposterous or specious?
• In Plato's Apology, how does Socrates defend his practice of
philosophy?
• Looking at “The Apology” as Socrates’ last chance to teach the
Athenians something, what do you think he tried to teach them?
• What logic leads Socrates to the conclusion that human wisdom is
worthless? What are two fundamental ideas that back up his
reasoning?
Essay (Portal)

• Why is philosophy so important to

Socrates?
• The essay should include the
following:
• A discussion of what Socrates thinks to be
the primary aim and practice of
philosophy.
• A discussion of Socrates’s thinking about
the nature of the soul.
• A discussion of Socrates’s thinking about
the relation between the health of the
soul and philosophical inquiry.
• 1 page 1.5 spaced 12pt font Times
(500 words) New Roman Due Sept. 21