Essay on Socrates and Plato

Most of the information that we learn about Socrates comes from the work and writings of one of his students, Plato. It has been alleged that the great Philosopher wrote nothing down for others to read, and as such, the knowledge and the teachings from Socrates that is relied upon to convey his philosophy and the epic story of his life comes not from himself, but his students who attempt to provide and accurate picture of the methods and philosophical beliefs held by their mentor and teacher.

The government has always had regulations that must be followed. One of these cases was in Athens, 399 BC, confronting the trial and execution of Socrates. This particular situation focused on the violations of the government’s devine rules and expectations; however, there is more than meets the eye as to why the execution took place. Socrates’ execution was brought upon by his thoughts and teachings, the conflicting ideas of the government, and his refusal of a trial.

Socrates was a Western Ancient Athenian Greek philosopher who lived from 469 BCE until his death in 399 BCE. He was a student to another philosopher, Sophists, Socrates was different from most Greek philosophers he wanted to get at the truth and find out how one can truly be ‘good’ and moral in life. “To Socrates the soul is identified with the mind; it is the seat of reason and capable of finding the ethical truths, which will restore meaning and value of life” (ADD IN-TEXT CITATION SEMINAR). We continue to use many of Socrates teachings today, such as, ‘The Socratic method’, which is known as asking a question and within these questions you lead it to the answer you wanted to hear, many uses this as a teaching technique and is shown to be highly effective. A great number of Athenians looked up to Socrates and considered him the wise man of Athens, he had many followers whom would ask questions and seek answers. As popularity and following of Socrates grew so did accusations. The charges laid on Socrates by the Athenians were unjust and therefore his death was highly wrong in the eyes of true democracy that Athens was apparently known for. In this paper, I will discuss how Socrates was wrongfully convicted for the corruption of the youth despite having many young followers, introducing new Gods while still being considered an Atheist, and the main reason he was seen as a threat to Athens was that he brought change to the city.

Plato’s “Defense of Socrates” follows the trial of Socrates for charges of corruption of the youth. His accuser, Meletus, claims he is doing so by teaching the youth of Athens of a separate spirituality from that which was widely accepted.

* But he says the unexamined life is not worth living (does not want to live without philosophy)

Socrates is also one of the great character in history who does not agree with things that he does not belief or important to him. He disagreed with the Athens god, because they worship the body, also known as the Greek Idea of the body (what the male or female should look like: beautiful fat, muscle, etc.). Society of Peacock in which people walk around with self- appraiser of their body image. Socrates always disagree with the people of Athens and there democracy system and religious belief. “Socratic dialogue” is conversation of question and answer, almost close to debate. Socrates education principle is still important to the educational system. He believed, that “the educated person cannot be educated until you realize what you

The Athenian way of life is based on Homeric values. Up to this point in Greek history all of Greek culture has culminated in the form of democratic government. The culmination of Greek history reaches its peak during this time: from the values outlined by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey to the life of Socrates during which the epitome of Greek culture has been met in the form of a democratic government. But Socrates undermines Greek culture and is therefore put to death. Socrates may be a hero in the philosophical movement but he is the worst of villains to the Athenians. According to ancient Athenian standards. justice is served when Socrates is killed. The three accusations made against Socrates exhibit the way in which he undermines Greek culture and the valid reasons for which he was put to death.

Socrates was considered as one of the greatest philosophers of all time. His theories made sense, his ideas made sense, and he had a huge following of people who wanted to learn from him and wanted to make a difference in the world. His questions had brought about some great thinking that no-one else could have ever done. Unfortunately, he was put

Throughout his life, Socrates engaged in critical thinking as a means to uncover the standards of holiness, all the while teaching his apprentices the importance of continual inquiry in accordance with obeying the laws. Socrates primarily focuses on defining that which is holy in The Euthyphro – a critical discussion that acts as a springboard for his philosophical defense of the importance of lifelong curiosity that leads to public inquiry in The Apology. Socrates continues his quest for enlightenment in The Crito, wherein he attempts to explain that while inquiry is necessary, public curiosity has its lawful price, thus those who inquire must both continue to do so and accept the lawful consequences

The Oracle as Delphi once told a friend of Socrates’ that there was none wiser than Socrates. This provoked Socrates and set him on a mission to show the absence of wisdom in the world. Socrates went out and found many people who claimed to be wise themselves and saw them to be lacking in wisdom. This made many enemies for Socrates. Socrates’ work was the most important thing to him (Socrates. Arts and Humanities Through the Eras 251). He saw himself as a servant of wisdom and the truth (Boeree). He speaks of many things such as what a great leader should possess and how politics should work. Socrates says that a strong leader should have the judgement and ability to know when they have been beaten (A Comic Tale of Two Cities 104). Socrates addresses the importance of a strong education, and he had ideas of how people should be taught (Sun, Line, and Cave: Philosophical Imagination and Prophecy 132). Ultimately Socrates viewed people as prisoners of ignorance (Sun, Line, and Cave: Philosophical Imagination and Prophecy 134-135). He believed that people have to fight to see reality. Ignorance plays a prominent role in the world, and he saw the world as a dark cave where all we perceive are shadows of reality (Sun, Line, and Cave: Philosophical Imagination and Prophecy 133). At social gatherings and other places where people would congregate, he argued illogical reasoning and prejudices (Denault). He also believed that there was

“Socrates, born in Athens in the 5th century BCE, marks a watershed in ancient Greek philosophy.” Compared to the others he had the greatest impact on Greek civilization. Socrates challenged and question the norm. He “taught that no one desires what is bad, and so if anyone does something that truly is bad, it must be unwillingly or out of ignorance; consequently, all virtue

Socrates was after the pursuit of truth. Because of this he called everything into question(Philosophypages.com). He believed that ultimate wisdom came from understanding oneself. He believed that the perfect government would come about if it was led by people that had a complete understanding of themselves because they would be able to make the best choices. He believed that knowledge and virtue were inseparable. He said that you could define virtue as right knowledge, and that right thinking and right doing can be distinguished from each other, but they can not be separated.(Sproul 31) Socrates also developed the Socratic Method which is still used to this day. The Socratic Method is the method in which you ask provocative questions in order to try to get your opponent and your audience to think through the problem and to develop their own conclusion(Biography.com). He searched for specific definitions by asking people around the city, from the common to the richest of nobles. Socrates also created ethics based on human reasons. He was deemed the wisest man in Athens by an oracle, but after much thought he realized that he was ignorant but unlike the common man, was wiser for accepting his ignorance and he came to the conclusion that ignorance was the beginning of knowledge. He believed that logic was what was left when the facts are exhausted.

He did not feel that he was even slightly wise let alone the wisest man. He tried to prove the oracle wrong by examining reputedly wise men and he realized that they thought that they knew things that they did not and this made them unwise. It was after these encounters that Socrates realized that the oracle "meant that human wisdom is worth little or nothing."(19) It was this realization that made Socrates wise.

Along with the legendary question of is what is pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?, Socrates was also asking Euthyphro to give him examples of holiness, and identify the characteristic that makes all holy things holy. He is claiming that there must be some characteristic that all holy things have in common, as well as one which makes unholy things holy. Plato's view of human nature is a direct consequence of his Theory of Forms. He held that we can be completely virtuous only if our reason knows the forms, and in particular, our reason must know the form of the good (Velasquez, 151). The Form of the Good is the ideal or perfect nature of goodness, a principle form that illuminates all the other Forms of Knowledge. Plato compares the Form of the Good to the sun. The Form of the Good is to knowledge what the sun is to sight and the objects that we see. Just as the sun emanates light, the

As the great Socrates ones said, that by admiting that you dont know anything, so you can learn something that is how I discover the things that I want to know. The only way of knowing things is the way of becoming conscious of our unknowing, so we can learn. Awareness of the unknowing is the beginning of knowledge. Thus, we can always look for the truth, but the best is if never said that we found it. We may just think of the truth. We may think of what is the truth different in mathematics, the arts and ethics, but let’s never be sure. That is the only way how we are going to become bigger and better people.