Socrate's Apology

Socrates' Apology

Socrates was remarkable character in ancient Greece. The fruits of his extensive philosophical reasoning still live on today, and have in fact inspired the philosophers that came after him as well as many people throughout the world, long after his death. He was proclaimed as the wisest man on earth at a young age and dedicated his life to use philosophical reasoning todebate on subjects of justice and virtue with wise men as well as everyday people in the streets and making them realize they know nothing on what they think they do. At 70 years of age, his philosophical activities brought him to the court in which he was sentenced to death. But even on the day of his judgement he would not give up on his philosophy: instead of playing with the sympathies of thejury, he decides to present a number of controversial claims about politics and justice that infuriated the jurors. Plato, his faithful student that kept track of his debates, wrote the text that we now know as "Socrates' Apology". But what were the claims that Socrates used in court? And how were they relevant to his trial? He makes some very interesting statements throughout Plato's text that notonly defend his case, but that are also relevant to the cause he has fought for such a long time.
One of the main points he addressed in his trial was the tension that philosophy had with community in Ancient Greece. Philosophers like Socrates were not well seen by the jury because they did not care for what most of society care about in life. In fact, Socrates considers that his it is because hehas such a different way of life that he was brought to trial: "Because I didn't care about the things most people care about - making money, managing an estate, or being a general, a popular leader, or holding some other political office."(Plato, 36b) By saying that, stands against the inappropriate "normal" behaviour in society, which he thinks is wrong to put material and social status valuesbefore what he thinks brings true happiness: knowledge, reason, and philosophy. And as I said in the introduction, it is his life mission to spread philosophical reasoning as much as he can in order to have an impact on society. It is a very important, even divine purpose he set for his life. He even says that if he doesn't do that but rather spends his time minding his own business, "That would beto disobey the god,"(Plato, 37e) who was the one that declared him the wisest among men and not practicing that wisdom would necessarily mean that it would make him ungrateful for what the god has given to him. His passion to extend his philosophy to the world comes to a point where he also wants to create a legacy so that his ideas don't fade over time. That factor becomes evident when justbefore he is put to execution, he says to the jury: "When my sons come of age, gentlemen, punish them by harassing them in the very same way that I have harassed you, if they seem you to take care of wealth or anything before virtue, if they think they're someone when they're no one."(Plato, 41e-42) For his death wish to be the preservation of his philosophy through his sons, it means that even whenfacing death because of it, he still hopes that it might continue after his death. It's a reflection of his faith in humanity even after spending a lifetime of being deceived by it, and criticizing it.
The response to his accusations also was an important manifesto of what his philosophy could be used for. In his trial, he used the very thoughts that got him arrested in the first place in orderto condemn his wrong accusations. He examines every single one of the accusations thrown at him by the jurors. In order to respond to the accusations made to him for corrupting the young, he convinced Meletus (the accuser) that only a minority of which he was part of, were the ones who corrupted the young. It was a statement to which Meletus agreed to and then Socrates compared that situation to...