What Is Justice For Socrates And Augustine Who (Or What) Is The Highest Authority To Judge - Essay Example

?What is justice for Socrates and Augustine? Who (or what) is the highest ity to judge? Introduction Justice is a term that has complex meanings and implications that differ significantly depending on the individual. For one individual justice may be seen through the law, for another through society and for yet another through religion. Socrates and Augustine were two philosophers that were born into very different ages, filled with different social influences, different religions and different pressures. These differences drove the philosophical theories of the men, and how they defined justice as well as who or what they perceived as the highest authority to judge them. Socrates was born in 470 BC and executed by poison in 399 BC, a time at which Greek religion was prominent. His philosophy was auditory, through dialogue and the exchange of questions and answers with those he was talking with. As a consequence he produced no written works of his philosophy; however, his student Plato produced many written dialogues of Socrates’ philosophy. The dialogues Apology and Crito provide strong indications of his philosophy in regards to justice and the authority to judge. Augustine was born into a much later time, 354 AD, where parts of the Roman Empire were collapsing, and Christianity was becoming the dominant religion. His series of autobiographic books Confessions chronicle his life up till his early 40s and include many philosophical and theological discussions concerning God. These books show the way in which Augustine views justice and judgment. Socrates Socrates was born in 470 BC and died in 399 BC. During this time period, Greek religion was dominant, and the government was the Athenian democracy. One of the predominant schools of philosophical thought at the time was Sophists. These philosophers were loosely associated with one another and mainly focused on strong argumentation and rhetoric, using these skills to prove any point that they desired. Socrates strongly disagreed with this form of philosophy, considering that it was dangerous to society and citizens. This fine tuned his focus towards that of ethics and moral philosophy. The method of Socrates’ philosophy was to engage in dialogue, whether it was with opponents or friends. This ‘Socratic Method’ involved him asking probing questions in a manner that eventually led them to the truth. He would spend a large amount of time in public places, engaging citizens in discussion in an attempt to draw them into greater levels of self-analysis. Plato was a student of Socrates from a young age and wrote many dialogues based on the philosophy that he learned. In the years surrounding 380 BC Plato established a school which forwarded education with focuses on math, music, athletics, philosophy and sciences. Beyond Plato, the only other writer who recorded the philosophy of Socrates was Xenophon; however he did not always portray Socrates philosophically. As a consequence, the writings of Plato are the only indication of Socrates’ philosophy, and it is difficult to tell what parts is Plato’s own philosophy and which are from Socrates. Apology Apology is titled for the term for a Greek defense speech, apologia. Socrates has been brought to trial before the court of Athens with the accusations of corrupting youth, inventing new gods and not recognizing those gods that are accepted by the state. Apology consists of his defense speech against the charges which includes the cross examination of his main accuser, Meletus. In his dialogue with Meletus, Socrates leads him through questions into charging Socrates both with the invention of new gods and with atheism, two contradictory charges. When asked what method of punishment he would prefer on the verdict of guilty, Socrates opts for death over prison or exile, as he will never stop philosophizing and does not fear death. Throughout Apology, Socrates repeatedly and consistently defends his right to be a philosopher and to the way in which he lives. He makes it clear to the court that the aim of all he does is to live justly and to seek truth above all else. He sees philosophy as a means of examining and questioning knowledge, rather than the creation of it. Crito Like many of Plato’s texts, Crito is named after the individual with whom Socrates was conversing; Crito was a wealthy friend of Socrates who had come to visit him. At this point in time Socrates was in prison and waiting for his execution. The exchange serves to highlight the opinions of Socrates in regards to the laws of the period and his own status as a citizen and under the law. Crito entreats Socrates to allow him to help Socrates to escape, if not for Socrates’ own sake, then for the sake of Crito who values the life of his friend more than whatever the cost of facilitating the escape might be and believes that others would also share the opinion. Socrates uses the analogy of a gymnast, who needs to pay attention only to the censure or the praise of his trainer, rather than anyone else, as representative of his own situation. Socrates considers that the arguments that Crito raises which largely pertain to the opinions of other people to be irrelevant to the situation. Socrates argues that a man only has value if he understands justice. He argues that by remaining in the city during the period of growing up that he has entered into a contract with it to obey its laws, and cannot break these now that he feels that he has been unjustly accused and sentenced. For Socrates the allegiance to the laws of his city and the city itself is important, even when he himself does not agree with the verdict decreed. However, his decision is not just based on what is legal. Rather, his decision is based on his own moral reasoning. Crito can be divided into two sections. In the first half of the dialogue, Socrates tried to educate his friend in the value of following principles obtained from reason, in this case the decision of Socrates to remain imprisoned despite Crito’s offer to rescue him. When this is not successful in persuading his friend, Socrates speaks of the laws of the city from a personified view, defending the decisions and judgments carried out by the city . Socrates speaks of the laws as an entity of themselves, which are, at their heart just and fair. He abides by this, and makes decisions on the basis of this opinion even though he is aware that his accusers have manipulated and used the laws in an unjust manner. Justice Throughout both texts, Socrates exhibits a strong regard for law and for justice, even though the people practicing it are unjust, and he is being punished for crimes that he did not commit. He sees the laws that govern a state as distinct from the people which enact these laws. In Crito, Socrates argues that the law is fair and just, and that the ethical and reasonable response is to follow and obey the law. However, he also argues that the people are unjust, and their opinions and rulings should not be respected. Because both the people and the law agree in this case, Socrates is forced to decide whether it is best to escape prison, and thus side against his accusers and the law, or to remain in prison and respect both his unjust accusers and the just law. It is clear from his discussion and rhetoric with Crito, which for Socrates obeying the law is more important and more sacred than hurting those who have harmed him. In Apology, Socrates argues for his way of life and his right to philosophize, concluding that a life that does not contain self-examination is one that is not worth living. Socrates submits to the ruling of the courts, choosing death over forms of punishment that would destroy his way of living, indicating a strong opinion of the role of reason and law in justice for him. For Socrates, the highest authority over him was not the Athenian judges nor even the law itself, but logic, reason and self-examination. He chooses his own fate, despite choices of exile or imprisonment, and the offer of escape from a friend. Augustine Saint Augustine lived from the period of 354 to 430 AD, during a time where change was intense. The Roman Empire was disintegrating, causing substantial changes in the way that society was compared to how it at been for a long time. Augustine was one of the early Fathers of the Church, and was involved in the reinterpretation of classical Greek literature from the viewpoint and context of Christianity. This allowed the classic literature to survive the changing of religion and culture. Religion and faith was strong for Augustine, and as a consequence he was of the opinion that philosophy was determined by, and subversive to, theology. As a consequence of this viewpoint, Augustine viewed the teachings of Plato and neo-Platonists only in ways that agreed with theology, considering other schools of thought to be misguided. Confessions is an autobiographic series of books, written between 397 and 398 AD. In total the collection consists of 13 books, and was written part way through his life. As a consequence, it does not constitute a complete autobiography of Augustine’s life. The books speak of his progression and growth both physically and mentally. Initially he followed the Manichaean religion which believes heavily in astrology, throughout this time he committed sexual sins as well as theft. He writes of deeply regretting his sins, and spends much time exploring the meaning of the bible, particularly the Trinity and the book of Genesis. The autobiography is both theological and philosophical exploration into the life of Augustine, his religion and his beliefs. The aim of the autobiography is evident in the title, as confessing in the Christian sense means to confess one’s sins to God for his glorification. This can also been seen in the introduction, where Augustine states “My Confessions, in thirteen books, praise the righteous and good God as they speak of either my evil or good…” The books give strong insight into how Augustine perceives justice, for him God is the ultimate judge and jury, all crimes should be brought before God for him to deal with appropriately. As he says in the fourth book “Nor did I know that true inner righteousness--which does not judge according to custom but by the measure of the most perfect law of God Almighty…” Conclusion Socrates followed the philosophy of reason and self-examination. He did not write philosophy, but sat and conversed with people, attempting to help them become more aware and more discerning. His sense of justice was strongly rooted in reason and to a lesser extent law. In contrast, Augustine was strongly religious, and found great importance in theology, publishing his 13 book autobiography for the glorification of God. For him, God was the ultimate source of justice and both judge and jury. Works Cited Read More