The two main charges against Socrates are corrupting the young and also not having the proper religious beliefs. Socrates is being charged by a man name Meletus, who is one of three accusers. Socrates had been accused of making the weaker argument stronger and also about things in the sky and under the earth. While being examined by the poets, craftsmen, and orators, Socrates claims that they really do not know what they think they know and is trying to prove that it’s all false. After analyzing many different texts, it seems as if Socrates could be innocent and guilty at the same time.
Euthyphro – Plato In Euthyphro, there was dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro about the meaning of piety. Socrates has a particular interest in the subject of piety due to his recent charge of impiety. Socrates is about to be tried before Athenian court to determine whether he is guilty or innocent of the charges against him. The charges are for corrupting the youth, inventing new charges, and not believing in the old ones. He does not feel that the people understand the real meaning of piety and impiety.
And to find out some answers, we need to go through Plato’s dialogues, “Crito” and “Phaedo”. This conversation between Socrates and his dearest closer friends and fellows, may bring us some of the answers…if we have the good sense of reading it more than once. After been convicted in Athens for corrupting the youth and not believing in Gods, Socrates was given the chance to scape to another city to save his life.
Is Socrates a Believable Character? Socrates, as most know, is a man famous for offending Athenian beliefs during 4th century BC. Philosophy was not accepted at this time therefore many believed Socrates rambled on about nonsense. Although this seemed like nonsense to people living in Athens at the time, Socrates still voiced his opinion as his love for philosophy was more important then what was said of him. As history shows, Socrates is a believable character as the Apology written by Plato has many examples showing he truly is philosophical and wise.
These charges are for “corrupting the minds of the young, and of believing in supernatural things of his own invention instead of gods recognised by the state.”1, However Socrates himself acknowledges a further set of charges against him, these are the “earliest charges”2 he refers to in the Apology, namely gossip in the Agora that has “tried to fill your minds with untrue accusations”3 against Socrates. These charges he holds as more dangerous because they stem from idle gossip and prejudice and are therefore unanswerable. Despite this, Socrates does his utmost to address all charges brought against him. In order to defend himself against these charges, Socrates calls on Meletus, his principal accuser, and interrogates him in the familiar form of the elenchus, or cross-examination. The first time the Socratic Method appears in the Apology is when Socrates tells the jury of his ‘divine mission’ when he systematically questions various levels of society such as Politicians, Poets and Craftsmen.
One of the charges in the affidavit written by Meletus against Socrates is that he is an evil doer "corrupting the youth" (Grube). Another charge brought against Socrates is that he is making up new Gods and disregarding the old Gods the Athenians believe in (Grube). Socrates starts his defense by addressing the jury and telling them that his accusers had a prepared speech, while Socrates' speech will be completely improvised (Perel). Socrates continued to further disassociate himself from the opponents by telling the jury to forgive him for his conversational tone in his speech, for that is how he best speaks (Perel). Socrates asked the jury to focus on the substance of his defense, not how his defense is delivered.
Crito told Socrates that it will be worth sneaking out and living so that he can raise his children, continue his teachings and that Socrates is welcomed to Thessaly. However, Socrates defends his decision of being executed by saying that it is never good to injustice in response to injustice. Socrates entered into a contract with the Law and then can’t decide if it is just or unjust to sneak out of jail, since he got to choose whether to be exiled or executed, could he not just change his mind and decide to be exiled? Socrates defends his case and must come up with a decision on whether to sneak out or stay in jail and accept his death, like he has already done. I view it as Socrates staying in jail.
This is because the ruling class only want to benefit their own selfish causes. Thrasymachus is referring to the notion that the weaker class is exploited constantly by the stronger class; laws are put into place to benefit the selfish and greedy. However, as Thrasymachus continues to deliberate what justice is, he agrees that what is right can not always be just. As rulers also make mistakes, act out of emotion, and could put laws in place which can be harmful to those it should protect. Thrasymachus agrees with Socrates’ conclusion that a ruler does not exercise his authority with his own interest but
Because of his occupation he’s not able to engage in public affairs (23b-c) iii. the young rich following him because they like to listen to his questioning (thus the accusation that he corrupts them) i. Socrates current accusers don’t know what he discusses so they’ve used the charges suggested by the earlier accusers i. Meletus defends the poets ii. Anytus: the craftsmen and politicians iii. Lycon: the orators C. The Later
If the boy is proud, outrageously proud, then he believes the reason behind the rejection is a failing of his, or a weakness in his character. No matter how much the girl explains, the proud boy will persist, the proud boy will continue to find ways to fix the problem. This kind of excessive pride blinds the boy to the reality of what the girl is telling him. In Ancient Greece, this pride was called hubris. Hubris destroys people, it can blind people to the reality of their situation and leads them to their downfalls as shown by the characters in Sophocles’ plays Antigone and Oedipus Rex.