What are the charges against Socrates?They charged Socrates with corrupting their youth and giving them dangerous ideas. They also said that he was denying that there was a god by teaching his philosophy.
What are Socrates' main arguments of defense in regard to each charge?
He said he was trying to enlighten the youth and help them see the truth. As for denying there was a god, he claimed that it was the opposite but they just saw it not believing in a god.
Why does he take such care to avoid securing his own acquittal?
He could have begged for clemency, used his wife and children to get a pity vote, offered a reasonable alternative sentencing, promised to behave differently. It would have gone against everything he stood for and he wasn’t going to give-up what he believed so quickly; he wouldn’t prove them right. Socrates thought it was important to stand firm by his beliefs so that they wouldn’t be seen as hypocritical.
Is he really an example of a man who lived and died by his own philosophy? Or is he a self-appointed martyr? Are they mutually exclusive?
He’s a bit of both. He did live and die by his own philosophy but he did end his life as a “self-appointed martyr”. Socrates saw only two choices: death or defeat. I hope there is only one kind of martyr: the one who has the choice.
He’s a bit of both. He did live and die by his own philosophy but he did end his life as a “self-appointed martyr”. Socrates saw only two choices: death or defeat. I hope there is only one kind of martyr: the one who has the choice.
Is there virtue in being a martyr?
I believe there is virtue when the person who will be the martyr finds virtue in it. We can only follow the existential philosophy and do what we believe is right by us. I don’t think anyone should be martyred against their will, without their knowledge or because they’ve been “brainwashed”. It should be a personal truth.
I believe there is virtue when the person who will be the martyr finds virtue in it. We can only follow the existential philosophy and do what we believe is right by us. I don’t think anyone should be martyred against their will, without their knowledge or because they’ve been “brainwashed”. It should be a personal truth.
Do you believe that Socrates believes himself no wiser than any other man? What exactly does he mean by that?
Socrates did say he was wiser than other men because he recognized that he didn’t know anything. All the other men he met thought they were knowledgeable, but he claimed, because he saw how little he knew, he was wiser.
Socrates did say he was wiser than other men because he recognized that he didn’t know anything. All the other men he met thought they were knowledgeable, but he claimed, because he saw how little he knew, he was wiser.
And finally, is retaining one's ethical dignity (living by one's principles) worth dying for? For Socrates? For you?
Yes. Yes. Yes. If one cannot be oneself, what is left to live for? There would be just a shell of a mechanical person left behind. There can be nothing of greater importance in life than being true to oneself because that is the start of a better society. “Imitation is suicide”. I should hope that I would have the personal strength to always be true to who I am. True, one might have to die for their ethical dignity, but surrendering oneself is another form of death; a death to live with.
Yes. Yes. Yes. If one cannot be oneself, what is left to live for? There would be just a shell of a mechanical person left behind. There can be nothing of greater importance in life than being true to oneself because that is the start of a better society. “Imitation is suicide”. I should hope that I would have the personal strength to always be true to who I am. True, one might have to die for their ethical dignity, but surrendering oneself is another form of death; a death to live with.
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