Plato's Apology

Apology

"Apology" actually means "defense speech" in Greek. This Platonic dialogue recounts the story of Socrates' hearing and sentencing by an Athenian jury. Socrates is condemned to death

Socrates' exhortation to care for the soul:

"Are you not ashamed of your eagerness to possess as much wealth, reputation, and honors as possible, while you do not care for nor give thought to wisdom and truth, or the best possible state of your soul? ... Be sure that this is what the god orders me to do, and I think there is no greater blessing for the city than my service to the god. For I go around doing nothing but persuading both young and old among you not to care for your body or your wealth in preference to or as strongly as for the best possible state of your soul..."

Death Might Be a Blessing:

"What has happened to me may well be a good thing, and those of us who believe death to be an evil are certainly mistaken. ... there is good hope that death is a blessing, for it is one of two things: either the dead are nothing and have no perception of anything, or it is, as we are told, a change and a relocating for the soul from here to another place. If it is complete lack of perception, like a dreamless sleep, then death would be a great advantage." If, on the other hand, death is a change from here to another place, and what we are told is true and all who have died are there, what greater blessing could there be, gentleman of the jury? (40b-41a).

Part 1: Defense

Formal Charges ("Later Accusers") 1) corrupting the youth and 2) impiety (believing in false Gods). Informal Charges ("First Accusers") 1) He studies things in the heavens and below the earth 2) He makes the worse argument into the stronger (better) argument

Philosophy As A Way of Life

If the jury would acquit Socrates, but only on the condition that he spends no more time on this investigation and does not practice philosophy, and if caught, he would be put to death, Socrates responds, "I am grateful and I am your friend, but I will obey the god rather than you, and as long as I draw breath and am able, I shall not cease to practice philosophy"

Part 2 and 3: The verdict and Sentencing

In the rest of the Apology Socrates addresses a variety of other interesting themes such as courage, the importance of philosophizing, philosophy as a way of life, the importance of morality and goodness, the importance of the soul, the meaning of death, and others)

Reading the Apology

Part 1: Defense Part 2: The verdict Part 3: The sentencing

What is Relativism?

Relativism is the belief that knowledge is determined by specific qualities of the observer. as there is no universal moral standard by which to judge others, we ought to tolerate the behavior of others even when it runs counter to our personal or cultural moral standards In other words, absolute (universal) knowledge of the truth is impossible - one opinion is as good as another.

Wisdom and Humility

Socrates claims that as human beings we cannot have knowledge (or at least complete and certain knowledge) of ultimate matters (such as what is justice, goodness, virtue, etc.), and that only God can have knowledge of these things. His wisdom consists of the realization of his finitude and of his limitations.

Apology- Morality

Socrates claims that what matters most in life is living morally and doing the right thing. He tells the jury that one should never fear death or being harmed but only doing the wrong thing and committing an injustice. In fact, he claims that good person can never be harmed, because his soul will remain pure. When we know what the right thing is we should stand by it no matter what the consequences are!

Apology - Philosophy as the Highest Enterprise of Human Beings

Socrates claims: "The unexamined life is not worth living."

Socrates' Wisdom

Socrates does NOT claim to have knowledge of ultimate matters. However, he realizes that he is better off than most people insofar as he knows that he does not know, while the others do not know but think they know. Socrates: "I am better off than he is--for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows; I neither know nor think that I know. In this latter particular, then, I seem to have slightly the advantage of him."

Defense Against a False Reputation

Socrates explains that his friend went to the Oracle of Delphi and the oracle told him that "no man is wiser than Socrates." Socrates knows that the oracle cannot mean that Socrates knows more than most other people because he recognizes his ignorance about ultimate matters. Socrates therefore sets our to interpret the meaning of the oracle.

Socrates Is The Wisest

Socrates goes around questioning people that have a reputation for wisdom to find out what they actually know. He discovers that the people who claim to know a lot actually know very little. He embarrasses many important people and this is why he has received such a terrible reputation.

Socrates' Daimon

Socrates has a 'divine sign': "This began when I was a child. It is a voice, and whenever it speaks it turns me away from something I am about to do, but it never encourages me to do anything" (31d). He says that his divine sign "is what has prevented me from taking part in public affairs, and I think it was quite right to prevent me. Be sure ... that if I had long attempted to take part in politics, I should have died long ago, and benefited neither you nor myself. ...A man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if he is to survive for even a short time" (31d-32a)

The Philosopher as a "Disturber of the Peace"

Socrates, the annoying gadfly: Socrates says the gods have attached him to Athens, and likens himself to a gadfly - as if Athens is a great and noble horse, and he tries to rouse and awake it from being sluggish or unreflective by means of persuasion and reproach (30e-31a). He also claims that he is a gift given to Athens by the gods

Socrates' Acceptance

Socrates: My divine sign did not oppose me through my defense. "At all previous times my usual mantic sign frequently opposed me, even in small matters, when I was about to do something wrong, but now that, as you can see for yourselves, I was faced with what one might think, and what is generally thought to be, the worst of evils, my divine sign has not opposed me, either when I left home at dawn, or when I came into court, or at any time that I was about to say something during my speech" (40a-b).

The Socratic Problem

Socratic Problem: Socrates did not write any of his philosophy down, so whatever we (think we) know of his philosophy comes from secondary sources (such as Plato)

The Apology: Philosophers vs. Sophists

Sophists Elegant rhetoric Persuasive Clever Disdain for truth/do not believe in (objective) truth Philosopher (Socrates) Searching for Truth Using Question and Answer Method for Finding Truth Plain Earnest

Sophists

Sophists: Traveling teachers of rhetoric and persuasive speech who took money for teaching. Plato looked down on them, and his contempt is usually reflected in is portrayal of them. The sophists were relativists, i.e., they did not believe in the existence of "objective" knowledge, truth, and morality

Apology: Anti-Materialism

The Apology has some very contemporary messages. For instance, Socrates admonishes the Athenians not to seek treasures, money and honors, but rather to be concerned with what really matters in life and that is the soul, being good, and truth.

The Athenian Jury

Unlike today, it consisted of 500 people Prosecutor was not a public official but private citizen(s) bringing charges: In this case the citizens Anytus Lycon And, most prominently, Meletus Majority vote will decide both guilt and penalty (simple majority will suffice)