Socrates and His Trial - Research Paper Example

Task Socrates and His Trial Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived during the periods of 469 BC to 399 BC when he faced hisdeath after facing a death sentence because of his actions. Socrates holds a record of being among the wisest people of all time who existed in the universe. There are no written records from Socrates himself. However, most of the knowledge and teachings from Socrates are available to modern day readers from the dialogues that he held with his famous pupil, by the name Plato, who lived in the periods of 427 BC to 347 BC. In addition, more knowledge about the teachings and life of Socrates are available through the memoirs of Xenophon (Aristophanes, Irvine and Plato 14). Historical records describe Socrates as an individual who neglected his personal affairs in order to spend much of his time discussing a number of concepts, which include piety, justice as well as virtue. He taught his fellow citizens at all places whenever they congregated around him to hear his teachings. These citizens usually gathered around him in order to seek wisdom about how to conduct them justly and right. They wanted this kind of knowledge in order to shape and guide the moral as well as the intellectual improvement of their community, Athens. Socrates used a powerful method in dialogue known as the Socratic Dialogue or Dialect in order to draw forth knowledge and understanding from his students. He did this through his pursuit of a series of questions posed at the students as well as examining the implications of the answers that they gave for the questions (Aristophanes, Reeve and Xenophon 45). Socrates valued morality so much that he equated virtue with the knowledge of the true self of an individual. He argued that nobody in his or her clear and pure mind committed a wrong act knowingly or intentionally. In addition, Socrates looked down upon the soul. He claimed that the soul was the seat of both moral character as well as waking consciousness. He also argued that the universe was purposively mind-ordered. As such, he gravely criticized the religious as well as the political institutions of the Athenians and the Sophists. These criticisms made him so many enemies that Aristophanes burlesqued his position in the society. As such, the authorities feeling offended by the criticisms from Socrates decided to fix him by putting him through trails and charging him for corrupting the people (Danzig 23). These enemies made true their threats and held Socrates accountable for the teachings he gave his followers about justice, virtue and morality within the society. In 399 B.C, Socrates faced trial with charges of corrupting the morals o the youth within Athenian, as well as facing accusations for religious heresies. Most people believe in the modern times that the arrest of Socrates stemmed primarily from the influence that he held over Critias as well as Alcibiades, who in an earlier perspective betrayed Athens in one way or another. He faced conviction from his charges without many pleas to argue out his innocence. He resisted all the attempts and efforts made to rescue or save his life from impending death. He got a death sentence, whereby he was to drink a cup of poisoned hemlock, and he did this willingly (Johnson). All these accounts of the life and trial of Socrates are only available through the stories made by Plato in the Phaedo, Crito and Apology. Consequently, the death of Socrates through drinking of poisonous hemlock marks one of the most famous usages of the poison in early history. Socrates, whom most philosophers, as well as, the Greek descendants consider him as the father of Greek philosophy, faced trial for impiety and corruption of the youths of Athens with his teachings and criticisms. He became a controversial figure in the city of Athens and as such created many enemies through the hatred that he aroused in many of the people he criticized their way of life or traditions, such as the religious factions and the political dispensations. He therefore created many enemies who did not like him at all (Linder). Socrates made open challenges to all those he felt were opposing the rules of natural justice and fairness through his circular and endless Socratic dialogues. Furthermore, he publicly attacked the religious beliefs of the Athenians by openly questioning the gods that they worshipped during that time. Plato and Xenophon outlined all these works of Socrates, as well as the accounts of his trial and death. They suggest that Socrates could escape death easily after being found guilty by the Athenian jury. However, his strong principles and beliefs made him choose to stay and face his judgment as a man. He chose to abide by the law, even did not make the slightest attempts to convince the jury of his innocence, and went ahead to carry out the execution sentence passed on him by drinking the cup of hemlock poison (Plato 64). Socrates is among the greatest philosophers in the Greek early times, being the main source of the “Socratic Method” as well as being famous for most of his sayings on “knowing nothing” as well as “the examined life that is not worth living.” The Athenians sentenced Socrates with the highest penalty of capital offense, which involved drinking of a cup of hemlock, a poisonous drink that put an end to the life of an individual. The main accusations against Socrates were that he corrupted the youth as well as instigated impiety within the society. However, most people think that the trial and death of Socrates was not fair but only favored those critics who wanted to fix him for criticizing their affiliations, such as the religious leaders who were angered by the way, Socrates questioned the gods worshipped by the Athenians. Politicians also hated Socrates because he criticized their mode of governance (Linder). Xenophon clearly examines the charges made against Socrates through his memorabilia. One of the charges that Socrates faced was that the jury found him guilty of the crime of refusing to recognize the gods acknowledged by the states as well as importation of strange divinities of his personal belief, ruled as impiety. He is also guilty of corrupting the young. A further elaboration by Xenophon on the troubles that Socrates embroiled himself in suggests that what led to most of his problems was because he was a follower of his principles rather that following the will of the people (Aristophanes, Irvine and Plato 14). Socrates was once a member of the council and took a senatorial oath, as well as sworn member of the house whereby he had to act in accordance to the set laws of the land. He once chanced to be a president to the Popular Assembly during the period when the body seized a desire to put nine generals to death through a single but inclusive vote. During this case, he refused to condone the bitter resentment of the people as well as the menaces from several influential personalities to put a question over his justice. However, he took of greater esteem and importance to abide faithfully by the rule of the people and the oath he had taken than to bring about wrongful gratuity to the people (Aristophanes, Reeve and Xenophon 45). Socrates bore a belief that differed widely from what the majority of the people in Athenian believed with regard to the care bestowed upon men by the gods. The common multitude of people seemingly imagined that the gods know just in parts, and are also ignorant in part. Socrates on the contrary, believed firmly in the fact that the gods knew all things. He believed that the gods knew all the things that men said as well as all the things that men did, in addition to all the things that members counseled privately in the silent chambers of the heart. Furthermore, he continually believed that the gods are present everywhere and bestowed signs upon the living by especially concerning all the things relating to men (Danzig 23). The accusations against Socrates for corrupting the young men because he encouraged his students, most of whom were young men and women, to follow a path similar to his, i.e. the path that led him into trouble , especially with the radical democracy of his time (Johnson). Xenophon explains that Socrates led his associates to despise the established laws of the land by delving on the folly of state officer’s appointments through ballot. Under such a circumstance, he claimed that this principle did not provide people with express case as to whom they selected or voted into office, e.g. a flute player or a pilot. As such, a mistake would be far less disastrous as compared to other matters dealing with politics. As such, these kinds of words, as expressed by the accuser, tended to incite the young people in the state of Athenian to contempt the established constitution of the land, hereby rendering them headstrong and violent (Plato 64). Work Cited Aristophanes, Irvine, and Plato. Socrates on Trial: A Play Based on Aristophanes' Clouds and Plato's Apology, Crito, and Phaedo, Adapted for Modern Performance. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. Print. Aristophanes, Reeve, and Xenophon. The Trials of Socrates: Six Classic Texts. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing, 2002. Print. Danzig, Gabriel. Apologizing for Socrates: How Plato and Xenophon Created our Socrates. Idaho Falls, ID: Lexington Books, 2012. Print. Johnson, Simon. Socrates Trial and Execution was Completely Justified, Says New Study. The Telegraph, June 8, 2009. Retrieved From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/5469193/Socrates-trial-and-execution-was-completely-justified-says-new-study.html Linder, Douglas. Famous Trials; The Trial of Socrates, 399 B.C. University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Law, 2002. Print. Retrieved from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/socrates/socrates.HTM Plato. The Trial and Death of Socrates: Four Dialogues. New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2004. Print. Read More