Socrates' Examinations Expose the Workings of Power, and the Ignorance of Leaders - Essay Example

?The four charges are as follows Socrates speculated about the heaven above, and searched into the earth below” (Apology, 2). Socrates response:“I have nothing to do with these studies” (Apology, 3). Socrates explains that there is a play by Aristophanes wherein a character named “Socrates” talks about his powers of philosophy, including that he can “walk in the air” (3). Socrates on page three denies practicing this type of philosophy, although he does not want to disrespect its practitioners. 2) “Socrates makes the worse argument into the stronger argument” (Apology,2). Socrates maintains that men of position who are examined by “young men of the richer classes” (6) who have learned his methods are humiliated. Their response is to slander Socrates: “Those who are examined by them [the young men] instead of being angry with themselves are angry with me. This confounded Socrates!…--and then if somebody asks them, why, what evil does he practice or teach? They do not know…” (6). In order to save face, these men accuse Socrates of sophistry.(6). 3) Socrates is guilty of corrupting the young. I will summarize Socrates’ examination of Meletus concerning this accusation: The laws improve the youth. All of the judges know the laws. Therefore, all the judges improve the youth. All Athenians improve the youth, according to Meletus. Socrates is an Athenian. But, according to Meletus, Socrates alone is their corrupter. This is an invalid argument. If all Athenians improve the youth, and Socrates is an Athenian, then he should also improve the youth. I understand the second argument as follows: It is better to live among good citizens, because they do good. Everyone wants to be treated well. Socrates corrupts the youth intentionally, turning them bad. Bad people do evil. Therefore, Socrates wants to be treated badly. (Apology,7-9). “But either I do not corrupt them” says Socrates,” or I corrupt them unintentionally…If my offence is unintentional, the law has no cognizance of unintentional offenses” (Apology, 9). 4) Socrates does not believe in the gods of the city. Socrates out-argues Meletus on this accusation: M: “you are a complete atheist” S: “Do you mean that I do not believe in the godhead of the sun or moon…” M: “I assure you, judges, that he does not believe in them; for he says that the sun is stone and the moon earth” S: “you have but a bad opinion of the judges, if you fancy them ignorant to such a degree as not to know that those doctrines are found in the books of Anaxogoras” (Apology,9). The argument continues: S: “can a man believe in spiritual and divine agencies, and not in spirits or demigods?” M: “He cannot” S: “You swear in the indictment that I teach and believe in divine or spiritual agencies…but if I believe in divine beings, I must believe in spirits or demigods;--is that not true?” M: “Yes, that is true” (Apology,10). On the first charge, that of Socrates practicing natural philosophy, I would find not guilty. Socrates is falsely characterized in Aristophanes’ play. He is falsely accused by Meletus of believing that the sun is stone, etc. Meletus did not bother to get his facts straight. The natural philosophers at that time were trying to explain phenomena in terms of quantities that could be studied, i.e.: Anaximenes’ theory that “all things were made of air through expansion and condensation” (http://www.academic.mu/phil/jonesj/). This type of early scientific inquiry was seen by those in power as a threat to the theocracy. The belief that the gods ruled the earth, and that the politicians could trace their lineage to the gods was a stabilizing force in society. Socrates maintains that God and the gods are wise, and that his actions are dictated by his belief in them. On the second charge, that Socrates makes the worse argument into the stronger argument, I would find not guilty. Socrates does not practice sophistry, which is a form of argument used for persuasion. The Sophists used this form of argument to win, and taught young men with political aspirations how to use it. Often those practicing sophistry could win an argument without determining whether or not the initial premise was valid. Prominent men had been embarrassed by young examiners using the Socratic method. The charge of sophistry is meant merely to slander. They have no proof that this method was used. On the third charge, that Socrates is guilty of corrupting the young, I find not guilty. His examination of Meletus on this point destroys Meletus’ accusation. On the fourth charge, that Socrates does not believe in the gods of the state, I find not guilty. I think that Socrates’ sincere belief in the truth, and his sense of duty towards God negates this accusation. The oracle story illustrates this. Chaerephon, a friend of Socrates, went to the oracle at Delphi and asked whether there was anyone wiser than Socrates. The oracle replied “that there was no man wiser” (Apology,4).According to Socrates’ logic, the god cannot lie, for that goes against the qualities necessary to make a god (4). Socrates knows that he himself has no wisdom. The only way to refute the god is to find someone wiser than himself. He goes to the politicians, the poets and the artisans. His result with the first examination of a politician: “Well, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he--for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows. I neither know nor think that I know” (Apology,4). He examines more politicians, but always comes to the same conclusions, which infuriates the politicians. He then examines the poets. He finds that the wisdom found in their poetry is a product of “a sort of genius and inspiration; they are like diviners or soothsayers who also say many fine things, but do not understand the meaning of them” (5). The artisans, Socrates finds, infer that their skill in workmanship carries over into knowledge of all things. Again, he is unsuccessful at finding someone wiser than himself. After many attempts, the only conclusion that Socrates can draw is that his admission of not knowing constitutes the highest sort of knowledge that a mere human can have. His searching has led to the conclusion that “God only is wise…he [God] is only using my name as an illustration, as if he said, He, O men, is the wisest who, like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth nothing” (Apology,5-6). I think that the skill of Socrates’ method of examination threatened the ruling theocracy. The accusation that he does not believe in the gods of the city is not logical, but purely political. Socrates believes in God, from whom logically all other gods follow. I think the politics of these accusations is very apparent, especially when Socrates takes apart Meletus’ arguments and is still found guilty. Socrates argues that he plays a necessary part in keeping the state honest: “For if you kill me you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by God; and the state is like a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life” (13). He denies doing it for the money, or for political influence: “my poverty is a sufficient witness” (13). Repeatedly throughout The Apology, Socrates states that he would rather die than be allowed to live on the condition that he remain silent, and explains his notoriety and his mission: “Why do people delight in continually conversing with [me]? ..the whole truth about this: they like to hear the cross-examination of the pretenders to wisdom; there is amusement in this. And this is a duty which God has imposed on me…in every sort of way in which the will of divine power was ever signified to anyone.” (15) In my opinion, the state does not want to hear any more truths from Socrates. His examinations expose the workings of power, and the ignorance of leaders. For these reasons, he must be stopped. Socrates has discredited all arguments against him, and for that he should be found not guilty. Read More