Socrates was a seeker of self-knowledge and had strong beliefs. He spent most of his life questioning the citizens of Athens on their views and ideas. He was accused of corrupting the youth and by asking questions that ultimately undermined society. During his trial he attempted to deny all accusations against him to prove his innocence. However, he was unsuccessful in his attempt and was found guilty of his accusations and sentenced to death.
Ironically though, Socrates was put to death because of some of his thoughts. Apparently, a too examined life was also not worth living through the eyes of his executioner(s). This shows a strong tie to religion and the limiting factors of Greek civilization. Despite all the ostracizing, philosophy was destined to expand. Aristotle was one of the many who continued the tradition.
Socrates tells the jury that he will never stop practicing philosophy. His belief is that he was commissioned by the gods to practice it and therefore the jury has no power over him and his actions. Even if his practices go against the laws that Athens has established. When Socrates is found guilty by the jury, he then has to defend himself against the death penalty. Meletus
Phislosophy 231 Crito & Legal Obligation. Omar Alli 11/3/11 Socrates has been accused of corrupting the youth by Meletus and also creating new Gods, while not recognizing the old Gods. Socrates is eventually convicted of these crimes and sentenced to death. While at the state prison awaiting his execution, Socrates is approached by his friend Crito who has come in an attempt to convince Socrates to escape with him to avoid his execution. Crito puts forth many arguments to why Socrates should escape with him, however after engaging in a dialogue with Socrates, Socrates shoots down all of Crito's arguments.
The Athenian government disapproved of Socrates' philosophies because they thought he corrupted the minds of the youth and that he didn't respect the Greek gods. In 399 B.C. Socrates was put on trial for his wrong doings.
During the course of reading Euthyphro, the idea of doing what is right became the overall goal for what Socrates was trying to argue. Though to one such as myself, I would easily define it as doing what is morally good according to a just law. However, after reading this dialogue, there would seem to be many loop-holes that could be argued against my understanding. The whole dialogue of this section concerns how a man named Euthyphro is supposed proceed against his father in civil court, and how Socrates see's this as morally wrong. How he asserts his disposition is through asking Euthyphro to give his reasoning behind his actions, and constantly disagreeing with him through more questions which lead into more universal idea's such as
Soon after, we are able to find that spirits are the children of god. A man can not accuse another man of not believing in a god when he refers to the existence of god’s children. If one were to dig a little deeper however, Socrates also states that the ideas he comes up with, are actually ideas he passes on to the inquiring minds in future generations. The ideas all came from scrolls of respected men in the culture they live in. Socrates also admits the obvious in the passage by saying because he has not experienced the after-life, he is not able to pass judgment on what is to come.
1.28.1; Paus. 7.25.3; Hdt. 5.71). This was a political crisis, both because of the attempted coup by an upstart and because of his murder by the arisocrats—he had claimed the goddess’s protection, which ought to have been respected. Whether this crisis brought about subsequent political changes we cannot tell, but it certainly left its mark on Athenian politics.
Following this he was given the option to come up with a suitable punishment for himself. Socrates was very determined and would not give up his beliefs just to the community's satisfaction. Even when it came to choosing an alternative punishment, Socrates was sort of mocking everyone by suggesting that he should be rewarded for his service to his state. Of course the community did not agree; he was given the death penalty. He was given many other chances to avoid the death penalty but he did not take advantage of them.
In the beginning of Book I, Socrates convinces Cephelus and Polemarchus that justice is not only doing good to friends and wrong to enemies nor is it only useful in certain aspects of life. Rather, justice is something that should be in every aspect of your life. But when Thracymachus questions this theory by saying justice only benefits some, Socrates (and Plato) is forced to clarify. He goes on to explain why justice is beneficial to every type of person. He explains that the strong can only be powerful when they make just choices, otherwise they will be overthrown by a united majority.