Plato's Apology Essay Example

Socrates apology by Plato is the dialogue of Socrates that presents the speech of self-defense legally utilized by Socrates to defend himself concerning his accusations of corruption and impiety. It believed to be the most authentic account that has been preserved concerning his defense during his trial before the Athenian council. The apology plays essential role acting in a well-articulated harmony concerning the trial which occurs in other dialogues presented by Plato. The apology seems to keep a record of the exact words utilized by Socrates while defending himself during the trial. During the trial, the words were not recorded but judging from the fact that Plato was present during the trial proves that the words used to win the apology have been credibly recorded and we can conclude that the account given contains the words of Socrates just as Plato said them. The essay aims at discussing significant parts of the apology how Socrates presents himself, his purist of wisdom and the response that we hold personally towards Socrates (Hackforth & Reginald 2014).

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The apology is made up of many parts first one is the statement that he makes concerning the manner that he presents his apology to the people followed by his account of all the accusations leveled against him concerning his daily life and replies individually to each. After making his defense, a report at mitigations is leveled against him towards his attempt of relief against the penalties imposed on him by the council. Eventually, he ends up making a prophetic and rebuking statement at the judges stating that they shall not live at ease after making the type of judgment that they had imposed on him by sentencing him. The dialog kicks off with Socrates making a short statement through which he offers an apology for utilizing colloquial style in defending himself (Bonner & Robert 2017). However, his accusers had already warned the judge to be stern and not be altered by his eloquence lest they become convinced by him and let him free. However, Socrates insists that he makes no claim of being eloquent in his speech and explains further that he is not a rhetorician and they should be ashamed for claiming that he would lead them astray using his eloquence. He tells them that the only type of rhetoric he holds is that sets forth the pillars of truth in a way that they can all be able to clearly understand which is significantly different from the one they had implied in their earlier warning to the judges. The main reason for Plato to write down the apology was to meet something more than the public eye and interest. He wanted to depict the role of Socrates as a martyr to exhibit the character of Socrates from within which was worth noting by the public (Bonner & Robert 2017). In this case, by writing down the apology, Plato presents Socrates martyrdom as an exaltation of one who had been treated unjustly. Leading to the untimely death of a man who was obedient to divine command and spent most of his life devoted to the good of the society who would not stoop so low as to fight for his freedom knowing very well that he was innocent.

According to the understanding of Socrates, the limits of knowledge implies that "he knows that which he knows and makes no assumption of knowing anything more or less." Within the apology, Plato tries to describe the life and trial of Socrates and how they influence human understanding concerning the existing element of wisdom which states that "We are only as wise as our awareness of our ignorance." To describe Socrates life Plato accounts for the life of Socrates through the statement, "I know that I know something." Socrates tends to highly assert himself in Plato's writings to the point of saying that he would die for it if need be (Saxonhouse & Arlene et al. 2017). At some point, Socrates said, "I do not think I know what I do not know." Within the quote, he is trying to explain the fact that despite the claims laid upon him he does not possess knowledge within fields he has not studied and that he bears no pretense within his understanding. Within the apology, he also states that "I know very well that I possess knowledge worth speaking of." And in this case, he ends up contradicting his quotes in which he states that he knows nothing. Socrates routine discussion of understanding and intellect manifests itself in his intelligence. Eventually, his quest for wisdom is proven solid when he states that "to fear death is to think that we know what we do not." and agrees to his sentence to prove a point to the society (Hackforth & Reginald 2014).

Conclusion

Bearing in mind that Plato was both a pupil and deep admirer of Socrates I tend to think that Plato could bias the information in favor of whom he regarded as wise and mighty. However such stories tend to have a significant impact on society, and in the case of Socrates, some stories have risen concerning his life. He appears to be a law abiding citizen and not at all violent or corrupt. His trial seems to be based on religious grounds, and the charges placed on him look ridiculous. His life has been regarded as one of a top class martyr whose actions have played a great deal to the cause of justice and freedom.

Works Cited

Hackworth, Reginald. The composition of Plato's Apology. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Bonner, Robert J. "The Legal Setting of Plato's Apology." Plato and Modern Law. Routledge, 2017. 147-155.

Saxonhouse, Arlene, et al. Readings of Plato's Apology of Socrates: Defending the Philosophical Life. Lexington Books, 2017.