Preview

Analysis Of Plato's Apology

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
745 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis Of Plato's Apology
The Apology is Plato's recollection and summary of the Trial of Socrates in 399 BC. In this trial, Socrates gives an explanation of who he is and what kind of life he lived. Although this piece is called the "Apology", it was more of a defense of himself as it was granted before the Athenian Council. He was accused of corrupting the Athenian youth and believing in false gods.. While defending himself on trial, The Oracle at Delphi states that there is no one wiser than Socrates. Socrates decides that he must be wiser than other men only in that he knows that he knows nothing. He then explains that his duty is to question these "wise" men and to reveal their false wisdom as ignorance. Plato writes, “I am that gadfly which God has attached to …show more content…
Socrates explains why the Athenian people should fear his death sentence; since they’ll be giving up Socrates valuable help. All he is trying to do is sting the inactive horse that is Athens, in order to provoke them into taking action. This is a suitable metaphor to fit into Socrates earlier remarks in the Apology. Socrates is defending himself against the charges that he is a doer of evil, who ultimately is destroying the youth. His questions about society are an attempt to stimulate people's brains into forming new ways of perceiving life. Socrates new approach is implying that he will not stop his journey until they accept and understand why they’re ignorant and therefore need to rethink their nature. He is telling them that he is a gift to the world and is only trying to provide help for the Athenian …show more content…
His Socratic Method concluded that philosophy should obtain sensible results for the greater prosperity of society. He indicated that human choice was prompted by the motivation for happiness. Socrates states that wisdom derives from knowing oneself. The more an individual knows, the significantly greater his or her potential to reason and make choices will be, in order to bring happiness into their lives. He also concluded that government worked best when controlled by individuals who had the most substantial capability, knowledge, and goodness while possessing an absolute understanding of themselves. He thought society at the time had no sense of wisdom and was more ignorant than anything. His comparison to a gadfly tells me he was motivated by his philosophical views on the Athenian society and wanting more change for citizens so they could ultimately be more wise and full of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In The Apology by Plato, the accusations that was brought against Socrates during his trial, that he was worshipping new gods, corrupting the young. Even after providing services to the Athens he was being executed by the Athens for influencing young men not to join the Athens. Socrates is one of the few individuals whom one could say has so-shaped the cultural and intellectual development of the world that, without him Socrates had influenced Plato to not to have a career in the political world as an Athens Socrates. Plato was a disciple of Socrates. The apology was an attempt to defend the character of Socrates by showing him in an honest and sympathetic. Plato wanted to preserve Socrates reputation, and to him as a great mentor.…

    • 127 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Plato’s Apology Socrates is not really apologizing. He is not sorry for his actions, he is defending them. Socrates forms his argument as more of a conversation than a formal speech. This is because he is not familiar with the way that the courts of the law work, so he will speak the way he is used to speaking. Socrates explains that his behavior came from being told that he is the wisest of all men by the oracle Delphi. He decides that since he is ignorant to things that most men have knowledge of, he must be the wisest because he knows nothing. He decides that it is his duty to question all of the other men to uncover their ignorance and lack of wisdom. The younger people like this, but the men being questioned hate him for this.…

    • 199 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Plato’s Apology and Crito tells a story of the defense of Socrates, and his reasons for not escaping prison. The Apology is a long speech by Socrates about the accusations made by his accusers, Socrates position about these accusations, the verdict, and Socrates reaction to the verdict. Crito describes Socrates in prison waiting to be put to death. The story is set in Athens. Socrates is being accused of being an evil doer, corrupting the youth, and for not believing in the gods. Socrates chooses to defend himself and ask the jury to allow him to speak in his normal manner because he has never been in a court room. Socrates starts his defense by denying all charges and addressing them one by one. He starts with the accusation of being an…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death is one of the most discussed topics that has always risen a lot of doubt and concerns . Many philosophers and writers, through the centuries, have tried to find a definition or a reason for this mysterious and inevitable event. Analyzing Plato’s Apology, he seemed to have a positive view about death. He claimed that death is a “state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness”; in fact, he compared death with the act of sleeping. But since death is more deep and irreversible, humans cannot be bothered by dreams or thought because they’re dead, whereas this could happen while they’re sleeping. So death is a state of relaxing for the soul and for this motivation he considered death as a conquer for human’s life. He also pointed out another…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Apology is one of the numerous recorded writings about Socrates. It talks about the trail of Socrates who is arrested on the charges corrupting the youth, not believing in the gods of the lord, and for being a Sophist. Socrates is not believed to have written any books; the apology was written by his student Plato who was at his trial. In this paper, I will discuss I will be talking about the charges laid against Socrates and how he defends himself.…

    • 87 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Plato's Apology, Socrates a philosopher is standing trial for charges that are not easily proven. Socrates has two sets of charges brought against him the “old” charges that Socrates claims that have been talked about for a very long time “there are many of these accusers, and they have been accusing me for a long time now.”(Plato 18c) His second set of charges known as the “new’ charges represent more straight forward claims. New charges called onto Socrates is that he is guilty of corrupting the youth as well as not believing in the gods in which the city chooses to believe in. Despite accusation for many of these false crimes Socrates is allowed a chance to argue his position against his accusers, which is what Socrates does best. However…

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Plato's The Apology is an account of the speech. Socrates makes at the trial in which he is charged with not recognizing the gods recognized by the state, inventing new gods, and corrupting the youth of Athens. For the most part, Socrates speaks in a very plain, conversational manner. He explains that he has no experience with the law courts and that he will instead speak in the manner to which he is accustomed with honesty and directness. Socrates then proceeds to interrogate Meletus, the man primarily responsible for bringing Socrates before the jury. He strongly attacks Meletus for wasting the court¡¦s time on such absurd charges. He then argues that if he corrupted the young he did so unknowingly since Socrates believes that one never deliberately acts wrongly. If Socrates neither did not corrupt the young nor did so unknowingly, then in both cases he should not be brought to trial. The other charge is the charge of impiety. This is when…

    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plato's Apology Analysis

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician, and pupil of the philosopher Socrates, relays his interpretation of Socrates’ defence against the Athenian council in, An Excerpt from Plato’s Apology. In the writings, (which may be biased being as Plato was an admirer of Socrates), Socrates attempts to dispel the charges laid against him. Throughout the excerpt, there is much acknowledgement surronding the scuttlebut in cirulation emcompassing Socrates, why and how he earned he vile names, his everlasting support of philosophical studies, and the importance of finding and improving the sole. All developing the thesis of Socrates’ attempt to prove that he is not a conceited, boastful philosopher but in reality there is a method to his madness.…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Socrates introduced his first topic by his first sentence, “I do not know,” . Socrates was the wisest man in ancient Greece at that time. “He asked if any man was wiser than I, and the Pythian replied that no one was wiser…” The wisest man started his dialogue with “I do not know.” Socrates wants to emphases the ignorance of human race which he mentioned several times in Apology. “What is probable, gentlemen, is that in fact the god is wise and that his oracular response meant that human wisdom is worth little or nothing…...” By the first sentence, Socrates brings out his first theme in Apology: the ignorance of people. In another way of understanding, although he is already the most wisdom man in the world, he still prefers to begin his sentences with “I do not know” to emphases that there is a much broader and larger world of knowledge for man-kind to explore.…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the reading from Plato, from “The Apology” pg. 68, Socrates is deeply trying to reach out to his people, touch peoples souls, and be this teacher for them. Philosophy is all about the soul and finding, and questioning, what is the truth. In this excerpt, Socrates is basically making the statement to the people he is addressing that, one can never really find one’s self if all we are focused on is money, reputation, and pride. What he then proceeds to preach is that he wants everyone to enrich their souls by chasing the truth, gaining wisdom through real life experiences, and obtaining knowledge by listening to others. He challenges everyone one’s virtue and invites them to step forward to enrich their lives beyond material things, and by…

    • 145 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plato's Apology

    • 4230 Words
    • 17 Pages

    citizens. The Apology is Plato’s account of the speech that Socrates gave in defense of his…

    • 4230 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Plato was known to be one of Socrates ' students, and knew him for over 40 years. Although Plato 's version of Apology is popularly believed to be (the most accurate) historical recount of what happened in 399 B.C on the day of Socrates ' trial, historians cannot be sure the validity of everything he wrote. It can be argued that it is actually a philosophical work, remarking on the teachings of Socrates and his beliefs, which he stood by even until his death. Plato does attempt to develop a new mission for philosophy through this text. By writing Apology, Plato hopes to inspire "deeper thinking" amongst everyone. There are three main themes in Apology that seemed to show Plato and Socrates ' philosophies. These themes attribute to what they hope to instill in others, and are akin to their other teachings. Some of these are 'moral codes ', while others are contrasts to other philosophies.…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Platos Apology

    • 942 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Plato’s Apology is a narrative of the famous speech of Socrates that is made during his trial. Instead of apologizing, Socrates attempts to defend himself and his actions. He is put on trial due to his accusations of corrupting Athens, not acknowledging the same gods as the state, and creating new gods. During his dialogue, Socrates remains very calm and speaks with honesty. He focuses on what is said rather than his manner of speech.…

    • 942 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plato's Apology Essay

    • 2608 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Also, Plato understands that Socrates teaching and arguments are not the ultimate truth. As such, Plato is more open to criticism of his philosophy and as such, it is been argued that Plato became even more famous that his teacher. Another ’s theme that arises in the “Apology” is the interconnectedness of various elements in nature. Socrates in the “Apology” portrays himself as an individual who is constant for knowledge.…

    • 2608 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Plato’s Apology is one of the most well-known pieces of Plato’s writing today, perhaps due to a certain dramatic style and context that can appeal to any reader. The ‘Apology’ is the defence speech of Socrates before the court at a trial for his life. He has been accused of deliberately corrupting the young and of non-belief in the Athenians’ gods. It is widely accepted that this is a true event, Socrates was tried, found guilty and put to death. What is not known for certain is the accuracy of Plato’s account of his defence. David Leibowitz tells us that the Greek title is ambiguous and could mean a defence speech either for or by Socrates. From this it is hard to discern if the Apology as we know it was written by Plato or Socrates, or if indeed it is Plato’s carefully edited version of Socrates actual speech. To understand and take the most from the speech we must forget the issue of authenticity. This is at least the defence speech of Plato’s Socrates and there is much to be gained from close reading of the entire text.…

    • 2158 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays