Philosophy
How did Socrates die? Do you think his death was justified? Explain your answer
Socrate's road to death started when the Oracle at Delphi stated no one was wiser than Socrates. Socrates felt the oracle was wrong and just a paradox. He questioned the "wise" men of Athens to prove his thinking was correct. Socrates realized the Oracle was right when he noticed the men were not wise at all. Socrates' wisdom backfired against him because the "wise" men turned against him. They made accusations of wrongdoing against him.
Meletus accused Socrates of corrupting the youth. He supports his accusation by stating Socrates is a poet or maker of the gods, and "invent new gods and deny the existence of old ones." Socrates believes the Meletus made the accusation because he is a wise man and Socrates is the opposite. And states he is corrupting Euthyphro's friends. He feels Meletus sees him as threat and wants to remove him. Socrates states, "if he goes on as he has begun, he will be a very great public benefactor." Euthyphro, a friend of Socrates, says Meletus and the other "wise" men are simply jealous of Socrates' wisdom. That is why they are making accusations.
During his trial, the two charges against Socrates was that he did not believe in the gods recognized by the State and he had corrupted the Athenian youth by his teachings. Socrates does not put up a strong defense. So, he ends up being sentenced to die by drinking a poisonous hemlock. Socrates is not phased by the sentencing and is represented as expressing he believes he is passing to "a better and a happier life (Apologia)." He does not try to escape. Socrates felt two wrongs do not make a right. By being a citizen of Athens, he must follow whatever the State orders him to.
It is never right to kill anyone. Socrates was killed because he did not share the same beliefs as others. They killed him because they feared his intelligence. He was the "wisest" man in Athens according to the Oracle. His wisdom was a threat to Athens. The men of power used religion to have control of the citizens of Athens. Socrates was not a strong believer of religion and felt there was no concrete evidence that people should be religious.
The charge- did not believe in the gods recognized by the state- was an unjust charge. If he did not believe in the gods, he would have never asked them on their wisdom. He would have just believed the Oracle when it stated he was the wisest man. By asking the Gods about wisdom it proved he believed in them since it would be considered a religious act. The Gods of the state were simply threatened by Socrates. If the citizens found out that he was the wisest man, the Gods would lose power. By removing Socrates out of the picture, they would keep their power.
The charge- he had corrupted the Athenian youth- was another unjust charge. There is no proof he had any negative effect on the youth. Socrates merely questioned the "gods" of the state. He was not feeding the youth any negativity during his quest to find out who the wisest man was. Socrates and Euthyphro felt the charge was made up just so they can just kill him.
Socrates stated he was a "gadfly." He felt he kept the democracy awake and helped make sure the citizens of Athens did not believe everything that was said. He questioned everything to get the truth. Socrates was a philosopher. Socrates could have lived, but chose to die. He did not try to escape or have a strong defense in court. He did not care about his death sentence because he did not want to live out life not doing the thing he loved- philosophy. He felt it was his time to go because he was not living in the right time period that allowed freedom of speech. The only good that came out of Socrates' death was that he made a strong point. He believed no one should change their beliefs because of the fear of death.
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Philosophy
7. Socrates' Death and Was it Justified...
How did Socrates die? Do you think his death was justified? Explain your answer
Socrate's road to death started when the Oracle at Delphi stated no one was wiser than Socrates. Socrates felt the oracle was wrong and just a paradox. He questioned the "wise" men of Athens to prove his thinking was correct. Socrates realized the Oracle was right when he noticed the men were not wise at all. Socrates' wisdom backfired against him because the "wise" men turned against him. They made accusations of wrongdoing against him.
Meletus accused Socrates of corrupting the youth. He supports his accusation by stating Socrates is a poet or maker of the gods, and "invent new gods and deny the existence of old ones." Socrates believes the Meletus made the accusation because he is a wise man and Socrates is the opposite. And states he is corrupting Euthyphro's friends. He feels Meletus sees him as threat and wants to remove him. Socrates states, "if he goes on as he has begun, he will be a very great public benefactor." Euthyphro, a friend of Socrates, says Meletus and the other "wise" men are simply jealous of Socrates' wisdom. That is why they are making accusations.
During his trial, the two charges against Socrates was that he did not believe in the gods recognized by the State and he had corrupted the Athenian youth by his teachings. Socrates does not put up a strong defense. So, he ends up being sentenced to die by drinking a poisonous hemlock. Socrates is not phased by the sentencing and is represented as expressing he believes he is passing to "a better and a happier life (Apologia)." He does not try to escape. Socrates felt two wrongs do not make a right. By being a citizen of Athens, he must follow whatever the State orders him to.
It is never right to kill anyone. Socrates was killed because he did not share the same beliefs as others. They killed him because they feared his intelligence. He was the "wisest" man in Athens according to the Oracle. His wisdom was a threat to Athens. The men of power used religion to have control of the citizens of Athens. Socrates was not a strong believer of religion and felt there was no concrete evidence that people should be religious.
The charge- did not believe in the gods recognized by the state- was an unjust charge. If he did not believe in the gods, he would have never asked them on their wisdom. He would have just believed the Oracle when it stated he was the wisest man. By asking the Gods about wisdom it proved he believed in them since it would be considered a religious act. The Gods of the state were simply threatened by Socrates. If the citizens found out that he was the wisest man, the Gods would lose power. By removing Socrates out of the picture, they would keep their power.
Socrates stated he was a "gadfly." He felt he kept the democracy awake and helped make sure the citizens of Athens did not believe everything that was said. He questioned everything to get the truth. Socrates was a philosopher. Socrates could have lived, but chose to die. He did not try to escape or have a strong defense in court. He did not care about his death sentence because he did not want to live out life not doing the thing he loved- philosophy. He felt it was his time to go because he was not living in the right time period that allowed freedom of speech. The only good that came out of Socrates' death was that he made a strong point. He believed no one should change their beliefs because of the fear of death.
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Travis Larkin Is Socrates a feminist? In book five, Socrates radically states that women should receive the same training (geometry, gymnastics, and music) as men in society. For this reason it is the common misconception that Socrates is a feminist....
- Philosophy Talks In Athens 2015
A weekly program of two introductory talks is being given in central Athens this spring 2015 during all of May and June. (Hopefully, a similar program of talks will be arranged for the Autumn 2015 This will be confirmed later in the year.) Further...
- Week One: Traditional Philosophy
TEXT: THE LIFE OF PYTHAGORAS Pythagoras once stated, "...the purest and most geniune character is that of the man who devotes himself to...beautiful things." He basically was talking about himself because he has left a lasting influence on this world....
- Plato - Apology
In ancient Greece, when visitors went to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, the very first thing they encountered there was an inscription chiseled on the entrance: "know thyself." While many people today think of this as an invitation to meditative self-reflection,...