Socrates, a famous Greek Philosopher, was formally charged at the Athenian courts for his philosophical teachings and its effect on the people of Athens. He was presented in front of hundreds of jury men and unsupportive audience to defend himself against charges that were set by Meletus, one of his prosecutors. Normally a person would plead with the jury to free himself from receiving harsh punishments, but Socrates was not among them. Despite of knowing the fact that the result of the trail would
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Contradiction in Plato’s Apology and Crito Ben Blanks, Lynchburg College (Editor’s note: This essay by Ben Blanks is the winner of the North Award for the best paper in the 2012 Agora. Ben presented an earlier version of this paper at the ACTC Student Conference at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, in March, 2011.) When reading the Apology and the Crito of Plato, one inevitably comes upon a seeming fundamental contradiction between the two dialogues. The Apology presents readers with a
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Jane Doe Professor Urkel ENG-225 24 February 2012 Application of Aristotle's Poetics in the work Apology by Plato According to Aristotle, the criterion that is expressed in Poetics should be based on the matter, subjects and method. For example; for matter, the melody, rhythm and language are the key considerations to be looked into. The subjects in Poetics usually bring out the character traits that are related to human characteristics. This is what brings out the difference between tragic
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Socrates is accused of being “an investigator of all things below the earth” (Apology, pg. 47, 18b). This means that he studies the science behind everything. Socrates is accused of “not acknowledging the gods” (Apology, pg.50, 23d). The people of Athens things that Socrates does not believe in the gods, that he studies the science of everything around him. Socrates went to Piraeus for a festival. When he was there, he said a prayer and watched the procession. Then Socrates “hurry[ed]” back to his
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Critical Analysis of The Apology of Socrates by Plato Socrates was an orator and philosopher whose primary interests were logic, ethics and epistemology. In Plato’s Apology of Socrates, Plato recounts the speech that Socrates gave shortly before his death, during the trial in 399 BC in which he was charged with "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, also being a busybody and intervene gods business". The name of the work itself is not mean what it is
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reading the Apology one gets a feel for disobeying the law when the law stands in between of what one believes and what the law states. In the Crito one gets the feel of ethical conduct, to obey the laws, and to endure the blows one has received and accept them regardless of the consequences. The only problem with this is that the sequel contradicts the prequel. In the Apology, Socrates threatens to disobey a court order to cease philosophizing, among other orders. In the Crito, Socrates obeys the
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There are deliberations that Socrates is supporting civil disobedience in the Apology, but in the Crito his extensive argument demonstrates that he is supporter of strict obedience to the Laws. In the Apology, Socrates argues that he is not guilty of breaking any law by not retrieving Leon of Salamis (32d). He adds that he would not obey the court if they find him guilty and order him to stop philosophizing (29d). On the other hand, Socrates states that every moral citizen should abide by the law
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In the Crito, Socrates makes some surprisingly strong claims about the moral authority of the state, which might even seem to be inconsistent both with another fundamental claim he makes in the Crito and with certain claims he makes in the Apology. I shall argue that although these claims seem to be in some tension with each other, the crucial claims about the authority of the state in the Crito can plausibly be interpreted in such a way as to remove any real inconsistency with the other claims.
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Socrates Paper The goal of this paper is to discern and construct the world views of Socrates through the various readings, lectures and videos that we have seen in class. Some of these sources include: Socrates by G. Rudebusch; excerpts from The Last Days of Socrates by Plato; and The Allegory of a Cave. Of the nine world views covered in class, I will delve into my interpretation of four of them as seen through the various sources that we have been exposed to in class. These four world views will
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Mission or Law In The Trial and Death of Socrates, there are multiple places in the text where Socrates could be seen as being contradicting in what he is saying. This happens particularly in the Apology where Socrates discusses how important it is to do as the gods say. This is the reason why he continued studying philosophy despite being commanded otherwise by the laws. Then in Crito, he states that it is important to follow the laws of Athens no matter what they tell you to do. This contradicts
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