English 10 Humanities:
Study
Guide for Plato, Apology (pp.
294- 313) from Classics of Western
Thought, Vol.1: The Ancient World
(Jacques- Louis David, The
Death of Socrates, 1788) Socrates
(469-399 b.c.) was an Athenian officer during the Peloponnesian Wars
(despite his advanced age) and then became a popular teacher in the city
during the period of turbulent political and intellectual unrest which
followed Athens’ defeat by the Spartans. Teaching in the city at the
same time as Socrates were the Sophists, a group of controversial
thinkers who had achieved important positions working with the youths of
some of Athens’ most important families. The Sophists taught that the
gods did not exist and that there was no single moral truth. They
charged exorbitant fees for teaching their students the public speaking
skills of rhetoric and grammar, essential skills in the political
debates of the day. Socrates
was considered to be another of the Sophists, but his philosophy and
method of instruction were very different. He believed that there was one
universal truth, and he believed that the duty of human beings was
to discover this truth by discovering and practicing virtue. The method
of intellectual inquiry Socrates used was called dialectic:
the systematic search for the truth through a series of questions. This Socratic
method of instruction has been adopted by teachers ever since.
Because Socrates exposed the hypocrisy and vain self-importance of the
powerful, his teachings outraged the leaders of the city, and in 404 b.c.
he was brought to trial before a jury of five hundred, charged with
teaching atheism and corrupting the youth of the city. Socrates was on
trial for his life. (p.295)
How does Socrates define eloquence as opposed to the sophist’s
emphasis on rhetorical skill?
True eloquence has little to do with sophisticated methods of
persuading people to do what you want them to do. Instead, true
eloquence comes only from a devotion to the difficult task of
discovering the truth through logic and persistence. (p.297)
How did Aristophanes lampoon Socrates in his comedy The
Clouds?
Aristophanes depicts Socrates as a thinker who walks on air,
whose notions are hopelessly abstract.
How does Socrates respond to the charge that he has committed
heresy by making ‘the worse appear the better’, ie. making the study
of earthly phenomena more important than the worship of the gods?
He argues that he has nothing to do with physical speculations
(the substance of ‘scientific’
philosophy: Anaximander’s insistence that matter possesses no divine
spark, the universe no moral order); instead Socrates pursues the truth
revealed only by questioning everything with logic, a systematic and
daily examination of his thoughts and deeds for consistency and virtue. (p.
298)
What did the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi say about Socrates?
The Oracle declared that “No man is wiser [than Socrates].” (pp.
299-300) How did Socrates prove to himself that the Oracle had spoken
truly?
He was at first skeptical about the Oracle’s truth because he
knew that he possessed no answers, no wisdom, only a method of pursuing
the good through reasoning.
Why do the following groups fail at wisdom?
The politicians: He knows nothing yet he thinks that he knows. The actors and poets: They do not understand what
they say; they only express themselves through inspiration. The skilled craftsmen: Because they do one thing
well, they think that they know all sorts of high matters.
Who alone is wise, according to Socrates?
God only is wise. The wisdom of man is worth little or nothing. (pp.
301-04) What is
Miletus’ accusation? Socrates does evil by corrupting the youth of the
city with atheism and poisons their respect for their elders by teaching
them to question everything and to accept nothing on faith. What
logic does Socrates use to reject his accusation? He argues that his whole method insists upon a
spiritual truth revealed by reason, so how could he not believe in a god
of truth. (p.
305)
Why does Socrates continue his teaching even though he knows that
he is endangering himself? A man who is good at all ought only to consider
whether in doing anything he is pursuing right or wrong.
How has he been obedient to the gods wishes by pursuing his
mission? The gods themselves commanded him to pursue wisdom by
searching within himself and to reveal hypocrisy in others. To offend
the oracle by not doing their bidding would be true evidence of heresy. (p.
306)
How does Socrates define his mission?
Revealing ignorance and pride in pursuit of the improvement of
the soul. (pp.
306-07) How does
he argue that by executing him, his persecutors do more harm to
themselves? Bad men can kill him, exile him, or deprive him of
his rights, but the evil of seeking injustice inflicts a greater injury
on the criminal than the victim: it blinds them to the path which leads
to virtue.
What does he mean when he refers to himself as a gadfly? Like an irritating bug, he stirs the lazy horse to
life; such a man is a gift from the gods to the state. (p.
308)
What punishment does Socrates suggest the jury use against him?
Reward him for his service to the state.
Why doesn’t he fear death?
Why should he fear something about which he knows nothing? (p. 310)
How
does Socrates define the greatest good of man? Daily discourse to discover virtue is the greatest
good. How does the jury vote in the penalty phase? Why?
For death. They are angry at Socrates’ insolence. How does Socrates respond?
You condemn me because I would not plead for my life. (p. 311)
How
can Socrates reason that his persecutors will suffer more from his death
They evade a true account of their thoughts and
deeds, and the young will condemn them for it.
How can he be so sure that what will happen will be for the best? His inner voice, his oracle, never halted him in his
path during the whole course of the trial, so what has happened to him
must be for the good.
Why must death be good? It is either unconscious oblivion or a journey to be
reunited with friends in a place where he will not be punished for pursuing the
truth. (325-26)
How
did they execute the man? By making him drink hemlock. He refuses to attempt an
escape because of his respect for the laws of the city. What
were Socrates’ last words?
He asks his friend Crito to repay Aesculpius the cock he owes
him.
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