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In his apologia, Socrates suggests that the truth—along with the Athenian judicial system—ought not to be denigrated by deceit and frivolity. However, he also suggests that “a man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public life.”
- Moral Integrity
Socrates believes so strongly in preserving his moral...
- Moral Integrity
Socrates begins his apologia by calling the jury “men of Athens,” wondering aloud how his accusers have “affected” them. “As for me,” he says, “I was almost carried away in spite of myself, so persuasively did they speak. And yet, hardly anything of what they said is true.”
In order to spread this peculiar wisdom, Socrates explains that he considered it his duty to question supposed "wise" men and to expose their false wisdom as ignorance. These activities earned him much admiration amongst the youth of Athens, but much hatred and anger from the people he embarrassed.
Although Socrates is quite convincing in his apologia, he insists that he is not using rhetorical trickery to deceive the jury. Rather, he simply follows each accusation to its logical conclusion, which often contradicts some previously established assertion.
He refers here to Aristophanes' play, where Socrates is portrayed as floating about in the air and uttering all sorts of nonsense about divine matters. Socrates responds that he does not pretend to have any knowledge of these things, nor is he interested in them.
Feb 20, 2023 · Socrates himself is portrayed as praising the laws of Sparta and Crete. Critias, a companion of Socrates, helped bring about the oligarchic rule of the Thirty Tyrants, who were supported by Sparta. This is compatible with Socrate's known doctrine of obedience to the laws of the polis.
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What is Plato's Apology?
"The Apology" by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a poem in which the speaker expresses regret for the mistakes and shortcomings of his past. He acknowledges that he has not always lived up to his own ideals, and that he has sometimes acted out of fear or weakness rather than courage and conviction.
