Essay Sample on Socrates' Defiance: Plato's The Apology

Introduction

Plato's The Apology is a novel that represents the speech that Socrates made, the time when he was undergoing trial at the court, where he was being charged with not recognizing the gods which were being known by the state. He was also being accused of inventing new deities, corrupting and ruining the youths of Athens by teaching them doctrines contrary to what state authenticate. However, it is essential to understand that Socrates' speech at the court did not mean an "apology," which we usually understand as ask for forgiveness. The name "apologia" in the dialogue is a word derived from the Greek language, which means as defense or speech made in defense. Hence, in The Apology, Socrates gives out speech not to ask for an apology but to defend him against the allegations which he was being charged against.

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In the most part, Socrates speech, he speaks in a very understandable and conversational manner. He explains to court members that he has no experience with the law courts, thus, that he will instead speak in the style to which he understands better: with utmost faithfulness a, directness and honesty. He further defends himself, claiming that his behavior of worshiping other gods came from the prophecy made by the oracle at Delphi, which termed him as being the wisest man among all others. After he had realized that he was ignorant about most worldly happenings, Socrates arrived at a judgment that he must be more knowledgeable than other men only when he knows that he knows nothing. So for him to spread the peculiar wisdom he claims to have, he had to question the perceived "wise men" so that he can expose their false wisdom and ignorance. These activities, which he believed to be the right ones, and was carrying them out without fear, earned him a lot of admiration and respect from the youths of Athens. And he believed that these were some of the main reasons why he was taken to court and charged and, according to him, had not broken any rule or done any wrong.

Before the jury made the final verdict, Socrates was given a chance to ask Meletus questions. Meletus was the one who brought Socrates to court. In most of the Platonic dialogues, the cross-examination in The Apology stands out to be the most central among all other types of Socrates' dialogues. However, his conversation with Meletus was a poor example of this method, because, in their discussion, it seemed that Socrates intended to embarrass Meletus more he wanted the truth to be known.

In one of the famous passages of the book, Socrates compared himself to a gadfly stinging the lazy horse, which, in this case, the lazy horse was the Athenian state. Socrates further claimed that without his presence, the country is likely to fall into a deep sleep, but as long as he is still within the state his influence on most people, can change into productive and virtuous action, however much some may seem to be irritated with it.

After trying to defend himself, Socrates was found guilty, and then the judges allow him to propose a penalty for himself. Instead of pleading for his release, he makes a joke and tells the court that he should be rewarded with the best meal for offering the best services for his state. On a more serious note, he rejected being taken to prison and exiled, and he requested instead to be delivered a bail term or fine. When the jury dismissed his suggestion and gave him a death sentence, Socrates without showing any sign of bad feeling or pain accepts the verdict with the observation that no one knows what happens after a person has died, but only gods can understand. Thus there he believed that there was no point in people fearing what they do not know. Socrates warned the jurymen who were against him that they were likely to cause more to themselves more than him since the jurymen decided never to listen to his arguments and thoughts but decided to punish him harshly.

Socrates is presented in the work of Plato as one who is well knowledgeable in matters of questioning and answering technique, which became the Socratic Method. He is well knowledgeable about leading his opponents into confusion and making them contradict themselves, as shown during the trial. The embarrassment that Socrates caused others is linked to the message he received from the prophecy of the oracle. And while trying to figure out the accurate meaning of the word, he felt that he was the one destined and tasked to expose those who hold onto their false ideas of what true wisdom is and spread the right knowledge to the willing people. According to him, his services were to serve humanity and the gods, adding that he was not after gaining a good life and respect from people of Athens; instead, he wanted all people to be knowledgeable. Socrates considers himself to be a law-abiding citizen, and he is always happy associating and listening to people whom they had similar thoughts.Critical Assessment

The work is corned by creating a portrait of an ideal philosophy than asserting any particular philosophy. For example, despite being t risk of being jailed or sentenced to death, Socrates never wavered in defending his way of life as perfectly just. His speech as been a great source of inspiration and justification to most of the philosophical thinkers for an extended period and it is also essential since it links three significant themes in Socrates thoughts, for example, the elenchus ( the Socratic mode of inquiry), Socratic irony and ethical concerns that surround the Socrates' life.

The Delphic oracle prophecy, which proclaimed that Socrates is the wisest man compare to others, the reason being that he knows that he knows nothing, can be classified as the man source of Socrates' irony. This oracle led Socrates to confess his ignorance ironically, and yet in a real sense, his opponents were more ignorant than him. With that kind of great wisdom, he never values himself more than others, and with great humility, is wisdom casts all pretensions to human knowledge into question. He then accepts that the less he thinks he knows, the better off he becomes, and hence he passes his wisdom to others with high intelligence and understanding.

The elenchus, which was Socrates' mode of inquiry, shows that almost all of Socrates' written accounts were in dialogues form except for "The Apology." Socrates never likes to lecture in a one-sided manner. He supports the idea of identifying what his conversational partner thinks he knows, and slowly analyze those claiming while comparing with his knowledge before reaching to a conclusion. This portrays that Socrates has no knowledge of his own to put forward, for he believed in the power of reasoning out together. However, for The Apology, it is presented in almost a monologue manner, because Socrates is not discussing any one particular claim, he is more of defending himself than debating with the other party; thus, this work is an invaluable commentary on the other dialogues.

Conclusion

For Socrates, wisdom and virtue are intimately connected; hence his main aim is to spread knowledge to improve the whole society. Socrates believed that if everybody is made wise, then the essence of doing wrong deeds will reduce, since nobody will be willing to do wrong, and self-knowledge will lead to healthier, pleasing and fulfilling lives. Hence according to the philosopher, Socrates is not only interested in spreading knowledge and wisdom to people for fun, but he is also engaged in the activities of the highest moral value, to ensure that people relate well in the society among themselves, for peaceful interrelationship.