Athenian Philosophers

Socrates never makes people change their beliefs in their gods; he believes he is merely telling the truth to everyone he meets. However, the Athenians think it is unforgivable that Socrates does not believe in the same gods and speaks his mind.

Socrates was also charged for not believing on the gods. “I think he contradict himself in the affidavit, as if said ‘Socrates is guilty of not believing in gods

In The Apology, Socrates defends himself against these accusations. Firstly he claims that if everyone has a good influence on the youth, he cannot “alone corrupt the youth”. Additionally, he identifies that if he believed in the “supernatural beings” it would be sensible to conclude he did believe in the Gods. Socrates lived through the height of the Athenian hegemony to its decline with the terrible defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian war. This was a devastating and humiliating experience for the Athenians, and Socrates who put himself against all odds due to his distinct belief systems and generating discontent from well known figures by revealing their ignorance made him a vulnerable target. Consequently during the time of political unrest, the corrupt jury system put Socrates to blame and found him “guilty”. Despite being put unjustly in prison, Socrates held the view that it would be unjust for him to leave his cell because it is never under any circumstances morally right to commit an injustice. In the Crito, we see Crito, who is particularly concerned for his friend persuading Socrates to escape from prison. Crito presents many convincing reasons, including: his death would endanger the good reputation of his friend, and if he he would be aiding his enemies in charging him unjustly, thus acting unjustly himself. However, Socrates manages to get Crito to agree that there is no sense in

In Plato’s Apology and Crito are two consecutive plays that explain how Socrates, which was considered an honored and the most wise man in all Athens by the oracle is sentenced to death by because he did not want to admit his wisdom and the importance of the Gods. In the Apology and Crito, it is seen how religion and politics are linked when Socrates is declared by the Delphic oracle the most wisest man in the whole Athens because unlike other people in Athens he knows he does not know anything, “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” Apology, Socrates. Socrates beliefs in the Gods, especially Apollo, but by going against what the oracle says he faced political issues. After, his declaration Socrates is taken in a trial and he is accused of corrupting the youth and not believing what the Gods told the oracle. In his speech Socrates tries to defend himself by questioning one of his accusers, Miletus and using a series of

For one they each had an ending that was very different. While Socrates approached a more peaceful death by the drinking of hemlock, Jesus had a more violent experience. Jesus Christ was tortured and beaten with whips, a crown of thorns and eventually died through crucifixion. It was also their way of death that altered each mindset. Since Socrates had a less painless death, he was happy to die and came to terms with it, Jesus not so much. Even though Jesus had volunteered his death, he knew that it would not be pleasant and wasn’t too enthusiastic about enduring such brutal

Plato’s Apology In Plato’s Apology, Socrates is accused of not recognizing the deities recognized by the state and inventing new gods. His accusers claim he is unjust and corrupts the youth of Athens. His defense is based on his version of the divine command of god. He claims that he must teach virtue and interrogate men’s claims to wisdom. He interrogates the politicians, the craftsmen, and the poets.

The Apology written by Plato precisely presents Socrates’ defence at his trial on charges of corrupting the youth of Athens. He failed to recognize the state gods and invented new deities. Socrates explains in a very plain manner his method and motivation which earned him admiration amongst the Athens youth. He argues that his admiration made some people to dislike him, including his prosecutor. In our modern understanding of the word “apology”, Socrates’ defence is not an apology by any means (Plato 21).

The apology is an account of the speech that Socrates makes during his trial. In Socrates’ trial, he is being accused of not recognizing the same gods that the others in Athens recognize (specifically that those in authority). Instead, Socrates is charged with inventing new gods, and in doing so is corrupting the youth of Athens to whom, Socrates frequently preaches to about his theology. Socrates’ speech, however, is not an apology, as the name may suggest but rather an explanation of his beliefs. During his trial speech, Socrates makes frequent reference to his beliefs explaining that his behavior stems from a prophecy by the oracle at Delphi, which claims that he was the wisest of all men. Although Socrates is honest and direct about these beliefs, this did not sit well with many of the trial members who were evaluating him. Despite the fact that Socrates made frequent references to the fact that it is destined for him to be the wisest of all men, he also recognizes that he does in fact lack in knowledge when it comes to world affairs. To which, Socrates states only adds to his wisdom as he is aware of the fact that he does not know everything and that realization alone makes him wiser than most other men.

Despite the controversies revolving around the trial of Socrates, the puzzle denotes all the greater having the fact that Socrates taught without molestation during his adult life. As recounted, the charges on Socrates’ trial were declared as follows: “Socrates does criminal wrong by not recognizing the gods that the city recognizes, and furthermore by introducing new divinities, and he also does criminal wrong by corrupting the youth.” Socrates believed in gods or a God and in the afterlife of the soul. He often made reference to "God" in the singular but all the same spoke of "gods." He reasoned that an intelligent existence was behind the synthesis of the universe, an argument that tempted many later on philosophers. The best prayer he said,

To introduce, Socrates was placed on trial and charged with the crime of impiety. Impiety is the lack of reverence for the gods and other sacred things. As well another major claim was that Socrates was corrupting the children of Athens. He also was believed to be an atheist, even though Socrates claimed to have a strong belief in the gods; he even believed “The god has commanded me to examine men, in oracles and in dreams and in

One of the arguments that Socrates first shows throughout the Apology is that he is being guided by the work of his Gods. He says that he is not scared to be hated because he knows that many people in Athens only dislike

An interesting point here is that Socrates knew exactly what was happening as he proceeded, how it was affecting entrenched ideas, and what the likely consequences might be. There are times in our lives when we may determine the easiest thing to do, to keep the peace and maintain relationships, is to compromise our beliefs and opinions. But this does not seem to be the case with Socrates and this subject. He is obdurate. His statement, according to Plato, is “I shall obey God rather than you.”

After starting to put together my material for an essay about Aristotle, I had second thoughts and decided to develop my essay on Socrates. The reason why I changed my mind came from starting to read chapter 4 of my book. I was so intrigued by Socrates, and I decided that it would be best to write a paper on his character, personality, and philosophy before writing about Aristotle. In fact, Socrates was the one that influenced Plato’s philosophy, who consequently influenced Aristotle’s. In our essay resources, there was no web link associated with Socrates, so I decided to check online for something that I believed interesting and clear to read. I found two websites in particular, which will help me, with the aid of my book, to describe Socrates’s

The relationship between philosophy and the city of Athens would be characterized as a relationship between a parent and adolescent. Philosophy, the love of wisdom, questions and teaches ideas that have been contemplated humankind over the years. Philosophy is the parent, teaching and allowing the adolescent to learn themselves. The city is viewed as an adolescent that has not yet learned the greater meaning of humankind and is being questioned on their knowledge of their world. As the city of Athens cares solely for personal gain and their wealth to create a prosperous life; philosophy is on the quest to share and question the city’s wisdom. Through a dialectical method, the parent and the adolescent can begin an argument through rationality

Socrates, in the Apology by Plato, is held accountable for, being an Atheist, believing in false gods,