Apology by Plato
Analysis of Apology by Plato
The Apology is an account by Plato of Socrates’ speech given at his trial in 399 BC. Socrates was an Athenian philosopher accused of two crimes: corrupting the youth and not believing in the gods. In Socrates’ speech, he explains to a jury of 501 Athenians why he is not guilty of the crimes he is accused of. He uses a variety of logical arguments to refute his charges yet in the end he is still found guilty and sentenced to death (Grube 21). Socrates’ use of logos and his absence of the use of pathos makes for an extremely logical speech, however his guilty verdict raises questions about the legal systems and society of Athens at the time, the importance of ethos when defending yourself in the court of law, and even the society of modern day. For the majority of his life, Socrates spent a good deal of his time asking questions of the people of Athens. His goal was to arrive at a set of political and ethical truths. Contrary to many people at the time, Socrates did not lecture about the things he knew; he actually claimed to be rather ignorant. He claimed he was wise only because he recognized his ignorance and did not claim to know what he did not know (Grube 26). The questions Socrates asked forced his audiences to think through a problem and arrive at a logical conclusion. At times, the answers seemed so obvious his opponents often looked foolish. His “Socratic Method” of questioning as it came to be called later, was adored by Socrates’ followers but despised by others throughout Athens (“Socrates Biography.”). Five years prior to 399 BC, Athens had just suffered a defeat to the Spartans, bringing an end to the Peloponnesian War. Its once strong democracy was taken over by Thirty Tyrants for nine months who executed over one thousand Athenians. However, by the end of nine months, an army of democrats restored democracy to Athens, but not without losing significant power in the Greek world (Colaiaco 13).
The Apology is an account by Plato of Socrates’ speech given at his trial in 399 BC. Socrates was an Athenian philosopher accused of two crimes: corrupting the youth and not believing in the gods. In Socrates’ speech, he explains to a jury of 501 Athenians why he is not guilty of the crimes he is accused of. He uses a variety of logical arguments to refute his charges yet in the end he is still found guilty and sentenced to death (Grube 21). Socrates’ use of logos and his absence of the use of pathos makes for an extremely logical speech, however his guilty verdict raises questions about the legal systems and society of Athens at the time, the importance of ethos when defending yourself in the court of law, and even the society of modern day. For the majority of his life, Socrates spent a good deal of his time asking questions of the people of Athens. His goal was to arrive at a set of political and ethical truths. Contrary to many people at the time, Socrates did not lecture about the things he knew; he actually claimed to be rather ignorant. He claimed he was wise only because he recognized his ignorance and did not claim to know what he did not know (Grube 26). The questions Socrates asked forced his audiences to think through a problem and arrive at a logical conclusion. At times, the answers seemed so obvious his opponents often looked foolish. His “Socratic Method” of questioning as it came to be called later, was adored by Socrates’ followers but despised by others throughout Athens (“Socrates Biography.”). Five years prior to 399 BC, Athens had just suffered a defeat to the Spartans, bringing an end to the Peloponnesian War. Its once strong democracy was taken over by Thirty Tyrants for nine months who executed over one thousand Athenians. However, by the end of nine months, an army of democrats restored democracy to Athens, but not without losing significant power in the Greek world (Colaiaco 13).