SOCRATES Time and again philosophers all over the world have tried to question man’s actions and get answers to the questions regarding the universe and the existence of man. Many of them have devoted their entire lives searching these answe...rs and still did not find them. However, some philosopher’s have learnt a great deal about the nature of people and their reasoning for their actions. Out of the many great philosophers in the world, one philosopher who has influenced the world extremely is the Greek philosopher Socrates. Considered one of the most controversial philosopher, Socrates was born in 469 B.C.E., and was the son of Sophroniscus, an Athenian stone mason and sculptor. Socrates is considered to have lived a very simple life, and had no famous relatives. During his time, Athens was full of intellectual and political activity, with an outburst of genius in art, literature and statesmanship (Church, 1959:10). He was very much interested in the scientific theories of the world, but is said to have abandoned them later for a dedicated study of moral character in individuals. Socrates participated in the Peloponnesian War, in which Athens was defeated by the Spartans. Though Socrates had fought for Athens in the war, he had praised Sparta for its virtues and values, which angered the people of Athens. His philosophies and speeches attracted the young citizens of the state; while their parents were displeased with his influence on the youth and his association with the Spartans. Socrates was charged for being unreligious and for corrupting the youth of Athens. By physical appearance, Socrates was considered to be an ugly man with a short height, thick neck, and a large mouth. Inwardly, his friends said that he was extremely pious and disciplined and had a great self-control. Though he was not born poor, he later became poor as a result of his philosophical theories. Those who believed in him, considered him as their master, counsellor and a good friend. Socrates liked to question people, about their beliefs, there way of life, there interests. He questioned many things, but never clearly gave an alternative solution. “Socrates liked to convey ideas that challenged everyday beliefs and way of life of people. His goal was to teach youth to see and learn for themselves, instead of accepting what society leads them to believe” (Socrates- Greek Philosopher, n.d). He believed that destroying our belief of seeing the world as perfect and honestly accepting the fact of our own ignorance are vital steps toward our acquisition of genuine knowledge (2006). Socrates believed that he was considered the wisest by the oracle, because he knew that he didn’t know everything in this world, and was not wise. The growing admiration Socrates received by his followers and general public made Socrates a threat to traditional Athenian beliefs, and the Athenian jury sentenced him to death in 399 B.C.E. Accepting this outcome with remarkable grace, Socrates drank hemlock and died in the company of his friends and disciples. The only main belief that Socrates had was of man’s ignorance of the world, which is now considered the universal truth. Since Socrates had left no literary work of his own, his works are recognised through his pupil Plato and Xenophon’s accounts. Plato has written several books with Socrates as the protagonist in it, but only the Apology and the Crito are considered to be the true accounts of Socrates life. These books are basically dialogues between Socrates and other people and hence, are called Socratic dialogues The Apology is an account of the trial and death of Socrates. Though the title of the book is Apology, the book is actually a speech by Socrates justifying himself and his philosophies. The Apology is written in the form of dialogues between Socrates and Meletus, the man who brings Socrates to court. Socrates was charged for not believing in the gods of the state, not being religious and for corrupting the youth of the state. In the apology, Socrates defends himself saying “his behaviour stems from a prophecy by the oracle at Delphi which claimed that he was the wisest of all men” (Sparknotes, n.d.). According to Socrates, he is wiser only because he accepts that he knows nothing. He considers it his duty to question the wise men and expose their false wisdom as ignorance. He then proceeds to question Meletus, who is left embarrassed by his ignorance of the world. Socrates tells the state that his death will be of more harm to them than for himself, as he is the only one who wakened the public into productive action. The Crito is a short dialogue which occurs between Socrates and his rich friend Crito inside the prison cell, before Socrates execution. In the dialogue, Crito has made arrangements for Socrates to escape the execution, while Socrates is unwilling to do so. Crito tries to make Socrates understand the reasons why he should flee, while he comes up with various arguments like “Socrates death might reflect badly on his friends, since they were unable to save him, and that the cost for the escape would be on his friends. On a more ethical level, Crito presents two more pressing arguments: first, if he stayed, he would be aiding his enemies in wronging him unjustly, and would thus be acting unjustly himself; and second, that he would be abandoning his sons and leaving them without a father” (SparkNotes, n.d.). Socrates answers Crito by saying that one should not worry about public opinion. As long as one is just and wise, and behaves well, they need not worry what others say. Socrates also says that it would be unjust for him to escape as they would break the law of Athens. He says that laws exist as one entity and to break one law is to break all of them, and since Socrates has been under this law for more than seventy years of his life, it would be wrong for him to disrespect these laws after such a long time. Socrates says that breaking the law of Athens and fleeing would make him an outlaw who is unwelcome in any other place, and would be judged harshly. Hence, Socrates refuses Crito’s offer to escape his execution. Xenophon’s account of Socrates death in his book Memorabilia, gives a slightly altered account of the trial. In Memorabilia, Xenophon himself defends Socrates through arguments of his own. The book is divided in two parts, the first defending Socrates and the other an account of Socrates conversations with friends and public. Xenophon argues that Socrates had not corrupted the Athenian Statesmen and had not made the youth hate democracy, as had been charged. The second part of the book shows how Socrates makes people reflect over different matters in life and are in the form of Plato’s Socratic dialogues.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 17:02:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015