Essay about Socrates’ Trial Defense in Terms of His Values

Socrates’ Trial Defense in Terms of His Values In his Apology, Plato recounted the trial that led to the execution of his friend and mentor, Socrates. The account revealed that values of Socrates’ accusers and his own fundamentally differed, and that they had been angered because he tried to prove that they had misplaced theirs. Those differences created conflict between the two parties that culminated in his trial. With the understanding that a jury condemned Socrates to death and his defense nevertheless pleased him because he gave it truthfully, it is most sensible to call it a good defense because he felt it was the best that he could do. In reply to the first charge against him, Socrates effectively†¦show more content†¦Had people believed that Socrates in fact had no wisdom, his reputation would not have become so bad and his defense would have been more likely to succeed. He explained, however that individuals whom he criticized took offense at him and grew angry because they felt that he had more wisdom than they did. â€Å"’†¦I am called wise, for my hearers always imagine that I myself possess the wisdom which I find wanting in others: but the truth is, O men of Athens, that God only is wise; and in this oracle he means to say that the wisdom of men is little or nothing†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (Plato, 5) While that statement would not have convinced many people that Socrates lacked wisdom, it succeeded at presenting the idea that the oracle meant the wisdom of people is little or nothing. That likely benefited him among his supporters and some neutral jurors because they could have be lieved that Socrates’ mission had been to show that people lacked wisdom compared to gods rather than that he had more wisdom than others did. Among people who disliked him or who took pride in their ‘wisdom,’ the argument would not have helped him; they wouldn’t have believed in the piety of his mission and they would have thought that it proved the superiority of his wisdom to theirs. Socrates then defended the second charge against him with logical arguments and facts of Athenian society, both of which made this part of his overall defenseShow MoreRelatedEssay on Socrates and the Sophists681 Words   |  3 Pagesword has evolved. During the fifth century, sophists were teachers, speakers, and philosophers who were paid to use rhetoric (Mardner 1). But many people opposed their style of teaching. Socrates was a philosopher who disagreed with the Sophists point-of-view. The main differences between the Sophist and Socrates were their views on absolute truth. The sophist believed that there was no absolute truth and that truth was what one believed it to be (Porter 1). 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