Socrates In The Apology Analysis

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Phil 115 March 4, 2013 Apology and Euthyphro After Socrates claimed that he was not like Sophists or Presocratics, he answers the question as to what led him to make his so-called false accusations? He answered by explaining that he had developed a reputation of wisdom, but a type that was limited and human based. He added that it was not the kind of wisdom that gave him the power to enforce his beliefs on matters associated with the Sophists and the Presocratics. Socrates explained that he gained his reputation by a prophecy given by the Oracle at Delphi to his friend Chaerephon. Socrates told the tale of how Chaerephon had gone to the oracle and asked as to whether or not there was one wiser than Socrates, to which the Oracle replied, no. When first hearing of the great Oracle’s claim, Socrates was initially skeptical of it. He knew that the Oracle could not lie; yet at the same time, he himself was unaware of possessing any kind of special knowledge or wisdom. In order to investigate the validity of the oracle’s claim,…show more content…
Two of the premises he offers to show that death is not an evil are that “if death is an eternal, dreamless sleep, it is not an evil” and that “if death leads to an after life, it is not an evil. Socrates explains these premises based on his beliefs of death. He explains that he believes death is either two things; something in which you are in go into an endless, dreamless sleep, or it is an action in which your soul moves on to live in another place. He states that if death is an endless, dreamless sleep, that it come across as an unending moment of peace. In the other case, if death is one in which the soul travels to the afterlife, Socrates marvels at the amazing opportunity to be able to spend time with, interact, and learn from the great figures of the past of have who have already passed on to the afterlife, such as Odysseus and
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