Socrates Guilt Essay

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Socrate's Guilt There is a distinct difference in attitude towards Socrates in the works of the Apology by Plato and the play Clouds by Aristophnes. While both address the controversial nature of Socrate's philosophy of thought, perceptions of Socrate's character differ. This presentation of his character can sway audiences and reader's views regarding Socrate's guilt with his charges. The apology establishes the earlier charges against Socrates during his trial. Namely that he studies things in the heavens and below the earth and that he makes the worse argument into the stronger argument. These initial charges against Socrates arose from general prejudices that surrounded him over the years and substantiated Meletus and Anytus's decision to further charge him with corruption of the youth and impiety [1]. This is due in part to the fact that former initial charges, ultimately lead to the secondary charges. That making the weaker argument appear the stronger, a sophist approach, ultimately leads to corruption of the youth. In Clouds, Aristophnes creates a fictionalized version of Socrates to present the downside of this sophist approach on familial relationships and ,to that end, Athenian Society. Though this may lead to the conclusion that the work has less merit in terms of presenting the extent of Socrate's guilt, the play is the embodiment of then present opinions against the Socratic philosophy. As such the play does attempt to paint a clear picture of the consequences of Socrate's way of life in Athenian Society, at least according to Aristophanes. Perhaps the clearest example of the consequences of Socrates's claimed sophist approach to life are how he affects the lives and relationship between Strepsiades and Pheidippides. In clouds, Strepsiades is an athenian citizen, a father burdened by the debt his son has incurred. The plot centers
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