One way to read Plato’s apology is to see it as the record of a truly great man and his untimely death. From the very beginning we see Socrates as a man who speaks plainly in contrast with the eloquence of his accusers. He claims that the older accusations are the more serious ones, because those accusations were made when members of the court were young. Socrates gives the origin story of all of these false accusations. He tells us about how a friend had gone to the Oracle at Delphi, and that the God had said that there was no one wiser in Socrates. This puzzled Socrates, because he knew that he was ignorant. Trying to figure out what the God had meant, Socrates went to prove to himself that other men were wiser than he was. But what happened was that he soon realized that other people only pretended to be wise, but they weren’t really wise. Socrates concluded that at least he knew that he didn’t know anything and that made him at least wiser than these people.
Over time Socrates came to see this experience as a sort of calling from God. His job was to examine people and see if they were really being truthful or not. Over time he attracted some followers, but his efforts made him very unpopular. But Socrates was devoted to what he saw as his mission. Socrates says this: “someone will say: and are you not ashamed, Socrates, of the course of life which is likely to bring you to an untimely end? To him I may fairly answer: there you are mistaken: a man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he’s doing right or wrong-acting the part of a good man or of a bad.” Socrates here is a man of courage who chooses to act according to his principles even if it threatens his life.
Socrates goes on to say, “men of Athens, I honor and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy, exhorting anyone whom I meet after my manner and convincing him, saying; oh my friend why do you who are citizens of the great and mighty and why city of Athens, care so much about laying up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation, and so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul, which are never regard or heed to?” Here again Socrates describes his God-given calling as encouraging people to value wisdom and truth over material goods, false honor, and vain reputation. He later on says that he acts like a gadfly to keep people from complacency. Even after Socrates is condemned, he maintains that he must obey the divine command and that “the greatest good of man is daily to converse about virtue, and all that concerning which you hear me examining myself and others, and that the life which is unexamined is not worth living.”
Over time, Socrates last words proved to be true, in the sense that we look down upon the cowards who put him to death and we honor him for his courage and bravery.
What do you see?
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Socrates is basically saying, “I don’t care what you decide anymore. God will look out for me no matter what conclusion you come to.” Socrates never doubts his connection to God although the Athenians do. It’s a leap of faith for Socrates, but not a leap he is really worried about. He looks forward to the decision of the court either way. If he stays on earth, he can continue carrying out god’s message to him, or if he is sentenced to death, he can connect with lost souls.
“Plato’s Apology” portrays Socrates as an honorable man that lived a virtuous life. Socrates is described as courageous when facing death and thinks it is worth living an examined life. In dealing with his death sentence, he continues to display his value of virtue by remaining brave and not crying or begging for forgiveness as may do in a similar situation. Through these acts, Socrates carries out the principles he had discussed throughout his trial and teaches all good things will come to virtuous men even after death.
I feel as though it’s his own grand finale of life to go out in the way that he did. He had proven himself in the court, to his friends, and his life and had now been sentenced to something that was a good ending point to his journey in this world. Comparing it to either a great’s nice rest that never ends or an opportunity to finally get to hang out with some really rad people he wished to always meet. I feel like it was only icing on the cake that the men who prosecuted him would forever be looked down as the men who put to death a prophet of God.
My favorite part of Plato’s Apology is when he is with the poets and comes to the conclusion that while they are wise about poetry, they are not wise in other areas. The conclusion that different people are able to do certain things better than others shows that he does not view himself as above others for his thinking. The theories of these philosophers has lasted so long because they still translate well today. Socrates’ courage shows in this court case because he knows that it is no longer up to him, but he does not fight against it.