How Did Socrates Corrupt Youth
In The Apology by Plato, Socrates defends himself against the accusations claiming that he corrupts the youth with his teachings. As a Philosopher, or in the context of the text, a juror, or a judge , it is important think critically and logically when examining arguments from both sides of the conflict. One of Socrates’ arguments against the charges brought upon him for corrupting the youth is this: “For if I am really corrupting the youth, and have corrupted some of them already, those of them who have grown up and have become sensible that I gave them bad advice in the days of their youth should come forward as accusers and take their revenge” (Plato). Here, Socrates is making a valid and sound argument refuting his accusations, and although there could be other factors that make his argument false, the argument still resonates with me as sound. Socrates is arguing here that if he had indeed corrupted the youth and has been doing so for a while, the people who he had corrupted would likely have approached him in anger and in search of revenge. I believe that Socrates’ argument is valid and sound, is a great defense to his
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Some may object and say the argument is unsound because of different factors. One objection to this argument may be that people won’t seek revenge on Socrates because he is old and poor already and that those corrupted do not feel the need for revenge. Or possibly, he corrupted them in such a way which would prevent them from turning back on Socrates. These are some objections one may have, but in my opinion, they are not strong enough to make the argument unsound. If people did not feel the need for revenge despite what had happened to them due to Socrates’ teachings, then they were clearly not corrupted. I believe that if Socrates corrupted all of the people he taught, at least one of them would have come forward to seek some sort of
Some may object and say the argument is unsound because of different factors. One objection to this argument may be that people won’t seek revenge on Socrates because he is old and poor already and that those corrupted do not feel the need for revenge. Or possibly, he corrupted them in such a way which would prevent them from turning back on Socrates. These are some objections one may have, but in my opinion, they are not strong enough to make the argument unsound. If people did not feel the need for revenge despite what had happened to them due to Socrates’ teachings, then they were clearly not corrupted. I believe that if Socrates corrupted all of the people he taught, at least one of them would have come forward to seek some sort of