Socrates

Socrates knew the trial brought onto him by three citizens of Athens was not just and the official accusations of corrupting the youth and impiety are not the true reasons for the trial. He was put to death because of his method of challenging others in the search for wisdom and knowledge. Socrates was given the opportunity to defend himself and choose not to beg for his life but praise his life and to honor his mission. He opposed the charges by a cross-examination of the people who put him on trial to show they had not put enough thought into their claims. Socrates' downfall, was that he made his defense in the same method he spent his life work by making many wealthy and powerful people reveal their own ignorance and lack of knowledge. The love of life, however did not outweigh Socrates' love of principle and honor.

It was Socrates' mission to spend his days seeking wisdom. His method to gain wisdom was asking a series of questions of his fellow Athenians. This process would be repeated until an acceptable agreement would be reached or it was determined not to be profitable to go further with the discussion. This tactic, in many cases, pointed out ignorance and irritated the people of Athens. During his defense, Socrates denounced his accusers of not telling the truth and states that many times "he will tell the truth." Socrates soundly defends the charge that he is the only person who is responsible for corrupting the youth in Athens. Through a process of questions with one of his accusers, Socrates concludes "then every Athenian improves and elevates them; all with the exception of myself; and I alone am their corrupter?" (Apology, 4) Metetus the accuser agrees with this statement. By Metetus agreeing that only Socrates has corrupted the youth provides evidence that this claim has little merit. I believe that it is ludicrous to claim that only Socrates corrupts the youth of a city. No one person can have that much influence on people. As pointed out by Socrates, if people felt he was corrupting minds, the accusers should have forewarned Socrates. Further proving his innocence, he declares none of the youth have ever spoke out against him or stated that he had given bad advice. (Apology, 7) An argument can be made, that there comes a point in time for most young people where they begin to think for themselves and question authority and rules set by others. This could be viewed as "corruption" against the good of a society. I believe a more truthful accusation could have been that Socrates, to a degree, has influenced the youth by his possession of knowledge that the youth's family members may lack. Given his skill in argument and questioning established views, Socrates could manipulate their young and eager to learn minds. On the other hand, Socrates' refutes that he is a teacher and never has promised to teach others. (Apology 2) In the charge of impiety or atheism, Socrates shows the accuser has contradicted himself. The indictment states Socrates teaches and believes in divine or supernatural things. But the official charges are that he believes in no gods or demigods at all. The official charge and the indictment are contradicting each other Ð'- either you believe in God or you don't. (Apology, 5) Not appearing to following Athenian's customary Greek gods and introducing new ones, undoubtedly caused due speculation and confusion.

The real motive for the trial was that Socrates had an unpleasant reputation based on how he searched for wisdom and how he challenged what he discovered. This approach ultimately condemned him. Socrates spent his days questioning men with established means. Socrates discovered that men of good repute were not wise in their moral values and were foolish., while those of lesser means were more knowledgeable. The argument here is that Socrates earned a poor reputation because he publicly exposed the wealthy men of Athens in their ignorance and lack of knowledge. This inquisition led Socrates to have many enemies. (Apology, 3) During the trial Socrates referred several times to the force of truth. He is implying that he wants Athenians to accept logical conclusions even if they may not want to. Socrates also claims that obsession with wealth and material things must never take precedence over the care of one's soul. Socrates challenges their values and asks if they are not ashamed of their eagerness to possess wealth, honor, and reputation and caring little about wisdom