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The History Hit Miscellany of Facts, Figures and Fascinating Finds

• Ancient Greece

What Happened at the Trial of Socrates?

Richard Bevan

11 jul 2022.

Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher whose way of life, thought process and character had a profound influence on both ancient and modern philosophy.

The events of this extraordinary trial in 399 BC saw Socrates fighting for his life and the reputation of philosophy everywhere. The 70-year-old philosopher and ‘gadfly’ passionately defended himself and is alleged to have goaded the jurors to find him guilty.

In a relatively democratic society, why was Socrates put on trial, what happened, and how did this ultimately lead to this ancient philosopher’s demise?

Background to the trial

Socrates had considered it his almost religious duty to engage his fellow citizens in philosophical conversation, usually by asking probing questions which often highlighted and exposed their complete ignorance of subjects – a pedagogical technique since deemed the ‘Socratic method’.

Whilst Socrates was keen to profess an awareness of his own ignorance on a number of subjects under his investigation, he was also full of strong conviction for certain matters. At this time, there was a sense of anxiety in Athens about the dangers of religious unorthodoxy and the political consequences that religious deviation could bring. Thus Socrates became a widely recognised and controversial figure, and a frequent figure of mockery.

‘Alcibiades Receiving Instruction from Socrates’, a 1776 painting by François-André Vincent

Image Credit: François-André Vincent, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Socrates’ trial occurred soon after Athens’s defeat at the hands of Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. Amongst his admirers had been Alcibiades (who had betrayed Athens in the Peloponnesian War) and Critias (one of the Thirty Tyrants imposed on Athens after the city’s defeat by Sparta). Socrates’ connections with these two men in addition to his controversial exposure of the ignorance of his fellow citizens led to his trial.

The Charges

Socrates faced two sets of charges known as the ‘old’ and ‘new’ accusations, the latter presented by the Athenian Greek Meletus who was determined to bring about a guilty verdict against the philosopher for alleged atheism and corrupting the youth of Athens.

The Old Accusations

• He used rhetorical tricks to make weak arguments appear strong.
• He studied things in the sky and below the earth that had no relevance to normal living.
• That he is taught such views to others as a teacher.

The New Accusations  

These were presented by the Athenian Greek Meletus who stated that Socrates was guilty of:

• Corrupting the young
• And the more serious charge of not believing in the gods.        

The second charge was one that could put Socrates to death as Atheism wasn’t an acceptable view in ancient Greece as it was seen as a threat to the welfare of citizens. The danger for Socrates was that if the prosecutors could prove Socrates corrupted the youth of Athens it would mean the death sentence.

Socrates’ self-defence  

Socrates realised his accusers such as Meletus were persuasive speakers. He denied that he was an accomplished speaker in that he purposely deceived others and maintained that he was just a truth-teller speaking in a simple manner. Socrates pointed out that he was a victim of misrepresentation by biased playwrights who had influenced his judges since childhood. Regarding the accusation that he was an ‘atheist’ he protested that such charges were based on malicious slander.  

Philosophy seen as irrelevant

Socrates admitted that his investigations, asking questions in the streets had made him unpopular in Athenian society causing him to appear in court. He knew that the odds were stacked against him as he was aware that many citizens of Athens didn’t understand or appreciate philosophy. They saw it as a waste of time and impractical. The search for wisdom to many Athenians was baffling.  

Portrait of Socrates. Marble, Roman artwork (1st century), perhaps a copy of a lost bronze statue made by Lysippos

Image Credit: Sting, CC BY-SA 2.5 , via Wikimedia Commons

The verdict and punishment

The jury voted 280 to 221 against Socrates, who was said to have looked surprised that the vote was so close. The result indicated that the long-term bias against the philosopher and philosophy in general weighed against him.  

Following tradition Socrates was allowed to present his preferred punishment. But despite having been offered a pledge of money to pay a fine, Socrates admitted that if was allowed to live he could never stay quiet and desist from continuing being a philosopher asking questions. His famous quote reflecting on his decision for self-sacrifice was “An unexamined life is not worth living” meaning that non-reflective people aren’t really living because being reflective is what makes us human. He chose death.  

Execution by self-poisoning

The death of Socrates in 399 BC, as reported by Plato in the Phaedo, is one carried out by taking poison, possibly by drinking hemlock. The progressive paralysis that the condemned philosopher experienced, causing him to lay on his back as his legs gave way, is indicative of the drug’s effects on the body. The growing paralysis eventually reached his heart and killed him.  

The Death of Socrates (1787), by Jacques-Louis David

Image Credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Socrates’ philosophical legacy to his people was that he gave citizens the tools to be happy, not just play at being contented. His many famous quotes such as ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’ , ‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle’ and ‘ There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance’ first said over sixteen hundred years ago are still relevant in today’s modern world of politics and social relationships.  

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The Trial of Socrates

Lesson Plan

Introduction

In 399 BCE Socrates was tried by an Athenian jury on charges of (a) denying the existence of deities, (b) introducing new deities, and (c) corrupting the youth of Athens.  Socrates was found guilty and ultimately executed.  His trial and death have remained controversial until today.  This activity involves retrying Socrates, using as the sources of evidence relevant Platonic dialogues ( Euthyphro, Republic, Apology ), Aristophanes’ Clouds , Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, and secondary sources such as Bertrand Russell’s History of Western Philosophy . The lesson plan below outlines the trial activity and assessment that follow, and includes guiding essential questions for the trial. The supplemental materials at the end provide some study questions for various primary source readings.

Research:   Half the class is the prosecution team (PT) and the other half is the defense team (DT).  Each member of the team must assist in researching and preparing the case for trial.  Each student keeps a notebook containing relevant facts, potential witnesses, and proposed strategies for their team.  These notebooks are turned in as part of each student’s evaluation.

Burden of Proof : For all these charges, the burden of proof rests with the prosecution.  The prosecution must show by a preponderance of the evidence– not beyond a reasonable doubt but with evidence weightier than that presented by the defense–that the defendant (a) did those things of which he is accused and (b) did them with malicious intent or with a callous disregard for the safety of others.

Witnesses:   Each team “creates” four witnesses and prepares those witnesses for testimony.  Each team may prepare exhibits (e.g., timelines, graphs, charts, logs, letters, legal codes) as they see fit.  Exhibits to be presented must be primarily visual in nature; students are not allowed to introduce a book or a photocopy for the purpose of having a witness read it into the record.  Witnesses cannot lie or fabricate events.  They must testify to factual events, or to events that are reasonable inferences of factual events.  Under direct questioning, witnesses will be permitted to use notes but cannot be coached by other members of their team while on the stand. Although students are free to pick your own witnesses, here are some potential witnesses:

Some Potential Prosecution Team Witnesses:

• Meletus: the man who pressed charges against Socrates
• Anytus: prominent Athenian politician who threatened Socrates
• Strepsiades: a character in the Clouds who takes lessons from Socrates with “tragic” consequences
• Pheidippides: son of Strepsiades who learns to make the weak speech stronger
• Euthyphro: character in a Socratic dialogue on the nature of piety or holiness
• Aristophanes: playwright who won a competition for performance of his comedy, Clouds
• Critias, Charmides: participants in Socratic dialogue who later supported the Thirty Tyrants
• I.F. Stone: contemporary writer and critic of Socrates

  Some Potential Defense Team Witnesses:

• Plato: philosopher who documents the trial in The Apology , represents Socratic method in his dialogues (e.g. Euthyphro ), and honors Socrates in his “Allegory of the Cave” from the Republic
• Crito and Charmides: pupils of Socrates
• Alcibiades: Athenian general who can testify to Socrates’ military career and devotion to Athens
• Socrates: the defendant
• Don Nardo: contemporary historian and defender of Socrates
• Pericles: leader of Athens during its “golden age” and early years of the Peloponnesian Wars

Disclosure:   By the end of the third day of work, each team must tell the other which witnesses they will call to testify.  Teams also must share sources of information used to prepare each witness for trial.  This is particularly important to help witnesses and attorneys prepare for cross-examination.

Roles:   Each team should have students performing the following roles:

Coordinator: The coordinator assigns responsibilities (see below) to individual team members, monitors the progress of the team in preparing its case, and troubleshoots when problems arise.  The coordinator ordinarily presents the closing argument.

Opening Statement: The opening statement introduces team members and describes their assigned roles; informs the court of witnesses that will be called; and explains how each witness will strengthen the team’s case. Students who make opening statements also are expected to assist their team as researchers retrieving or photocopying information as needed.

Direct Attorneys: Four attorneys are responsible for direct questioning of their team’s witnesses.

Cross Attorneys: Four more attorneys from each team are responsible for cross-examining the opposition’s witnesses.

Witnesses: Each team will call four witnesses. Students use the sources as well as their imaginations to identify the best witnesses for their cases. See above.

Closing Statements: Each team delivers a closing statement, preferably prepared and presented by the team coordinator. The closing statement should be a persuasive and detailed summary of all evidence presented by the team as well a last chance to respond aggressively to testimony or evidence provided by the opposition.

Judge: The teacher or an outside adult chosen by the teacher serves as the judge, who reaches the verdict on each of the three charges.

Organization:   Team organization during the first two days of preparation will likely determine both the quality and outcome of the trial. After choosing roles, coordinators should divide their teams into three “sets,” each one consisting of (a) a direct attorney, (b) a witness, and (c) a cross-examination attorney.

Trial Procedure:

(PT)  Prosecution Opening Statement

(DT) Defense Opening Statement

Case for Prosecution

P Direct Examination of Witness 1

D Cross-Examination of Witness 1

P Direct Examination of Witness 2

D Cross-Examination of Witness 2

P Direct Examination of Witness 3

D Cross-Examination of Witness 3

P Direct Examination of Witness 4

D Cross-Examination of Witness 4

Case for Defense

D Direct Examination of Witness 1

P  Cross-Examination of Witness 1

D Direct Examination of Witness 2

P  Cross-Examination of Witness 2

D Direct Examination of Witness 3

P  Cross-Examination of Witness 3

D Direct Examination of Witness 4

P  Cross-Examination of Witness 4

Closing Arguments

PT closing argument

DT closing argument

Objections:

The judge will recognize properly presented objections.  If an attorney wishes to object that attorney must (a) rise, (b) and say, “I object to that question, Your Honor,” and (c) then wait for the judge to recognize the attorney.  When the judge recognizes the objection, the judge will ask the attorney for the basis of the objection.  The following are acceptable grounds for objections:

• “ Your Honor, that is a leading question.”

Attorneys on direct examination must ask open-ended questions and refrain from telegraphing the answer; on direct examination yes/no questions are not permitted;  on cross-examination leading questions are permitted.

• “Your Honor, there has been no basis established for the question…the question is irrelevant.”

Attorneys must sequence their questions so that the relevance of each question is established .

• “Your Honor, the witness has no basis for answering the question.”

Attorneys must establish the credibility of each witness before they can offer factual or opinion testimony.

• “Y our Honor, the question has been asked and answered by the witness.”

Attorneys are not to testify on behalf of their witnesses, or to ask complex questions which include evidence and opinion.

Major Themes and Questions Surrounding the Trial of Socrates:

• In what way is Socrates’ story fundamentally a story of the conflict between perennial and axial age beliefs?
• How did the Peloponnesian War set the stage for the accusations against Socrates? (See Nardo)
• What exactly was Socrates accused of? (See Nardo and Plato’s Apology )
• How much merit was there in the charges leveled against Socrates? How did Socrates defend himself against the charges at his trial? (See Plato’s Apology )
• What was Aristophanes’ critique of Socrates? Does the critique have merit despite its exaggeration and caricature of Socrates? (See Aristophanes’ The Clouds )
• Why did Socrates not resist his death sentence? (See Plato’s Crito ).
• How can Socrates be seen as a courageous seeker of truth and virtue who sacrificed his life for the good of Athens? (See Plato’s Allegory of the Cave , Apology , and Crito )

Trial Evaluation

Students are evaluated for both the quality of their preparation and the quality of their arguments and counter-arguments during the trial.  Among the criteria guiding evaluation are contribution to team strategy, diligence, collaboration with team members, thoroughness of research, and command of relevant concepts and arguments.

Written Assessment

Students may choose either the formal essay or dialogue option below. The goal in this assignment is to demonstrate deep engagement with the profound issues raised by the Trial of Socrates. Students must include a bibliography for any sources found in the library as well sources provided in class.

• Dialogue:  Assume the following scenario. A recently discovered fragment reveals that the polling of juries was introduced by Socrates at his trial in 399 BCE. Having tried Socrates for crimes against the state religion and corruption of the youth, the jury, composed of 501 citizens, found him guilty. After noting that he would have been acquitted had thirty jurors voted the other way, Socrates asks the jurors to share their thoughts about his guilt or innocence. A debate among the jurors ensues. (Note: A model dialogue, titled “Socrates Revisited: The Jurors Speak,” by Steven Goldberg, can be found in Philosophy Now , Issue No. 19, Winter 1997/98.)

Students should single-space lines spoken by a single character but double space when you shift from one speaker to another. Dialogues should not imitate normal colloquial conversation or use short one or two-line statements. Students can use any characters they wish (e.g., the jurors, family members at the dinner table, your classmates), but you need to analyze the issues in depth. They shouldn’t sacrifice depth of analysis for cleverness or literary flair. Dialogues should be roughly three to four pages in length. Standard margins and 12 point Times Roman font.

• Essay :  Did the trial of Socrates represent a betrayal of Athens’ values, or did Socrates pose a genuine threat to the Athenian city-state that justified his trial and execution? Represent both sides of the argument and defend your thesis. You should show your command of ALL the primary sources Aristophanes’ The Clouds , Plato’s Euthyphro , Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” Plato’s Apology , and Plato’s Crito ) by analyzing relevant ideas and arguments in depth; and you should draw upon selected secondary sources (e.g., I.F. Stone, Nardo) that were assigned or that you used in your research for the trial.

The essay should address each of the following: Athenian politics, religious tradition, recent history (e.g., Peloponnesian Wars), the role of drama in shaping attitudes toward Socrates, Socrates’ philosophy as represented by Plato, and the conduct of the  trial. Students also might want to draw from biographical information contained in the Apology and other sources. The essay should consider whether the city’s criticism of Socrates was justified, even if you disagree with the verdict or the harshness of the sentence. Please note that, unlike a closing statement, the essay or dialogue should show the complexity of the issue and represent competing points of view. The essay should be double-spaced with standard margins and a 12 point Times Roman font. The essay should include a clear thesis in the introduction and a clear topic sentence for each paragraph that reinforces or develops the argument. Your essay should be roughly three to five pages in length.

  Conclusion

The combination of the trial format and use of primary sources as evidence challenges students to exercise and stretch their intellectual skills. Students synthesize complex ideas from historical (Thucydides), dramatic (Aristophanes), and philosophical (Plato) texts. Working both independently and collaboratively, they analyze and craft arguments and counter-arguments grounded in both historical evidence and philosophical reasoning. And students must follow Socrates’ own example by presenting their ideas in an effort to persuade their peers. A second and perhaps even more important reason for the trial is that it both brings to life for students the historical crisis of Athens over two thousand years ago and motivates timeless fundamental philosophical questions that were brilliantly examined then and that continue to vex us today.

A word of advice to fellow teachers. The trial roles call for specialization and run the risk of giving students only a piecemeal understanding of both history and philosophy. This risk can be mitigated by (a) introducing the relevant texts to the entire class, (b) instructing students to research collaboratively as a team before assigning trial roles (typically only once they have picked their witnesses), and (c) assigning a culminating essay or dialogue that requires students to move beyond their trial role and show command of the larger questions and themes surrounding the trial.

Supplemental Materials:

Guiding Questions on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave :

• What do you think is symbolized by the cave and by the world outside?
• Who are the prisoners and why are they chained?
• What are the shadows? What are they meant to symbolize?
• Who is the one prisoner released from his chains? Did Plato have someone in mind?
• Why is he reluctant to leave the cave? Why is he reluctant to return?
• Why do the other prisoners regard the one who has returned to guide them as mad?
• What does the Allegory of the Cave suggest about education, how humans learn, and the nature of knowledge?
• What does the allegory suggest about who ought to rule the state and why? Speculate: Do you think Spartans would be sympathetic to Plato’s critique? Is Plato’s critique anti-democratic?
• Do you think the Allegory of the Cave relies upon a grim or pessimistic view of human nature?
• Do you think the Allegory of the Cave offers an axial age model of the seeker that embodies the best possibilities in humans?

Guiding Questions on The Apology :

• What kind of speech does Socrates say he will give? How does his speech differ from speeches normally made in court? (17a-18a)
• Who are Socrates’ first accusers?  How does he defend himself against them? (18b-20b
• What is Socrates’ mission? What is his explanation for why he seeks someone wiser than himself? What is the implication for the accusation that Socrates is an atheist? How does Socrates account for growing hostility from Athenians? (20c-23e)
• How does Socrates try to show that Meletus has contradicted himself or made illogical charges on impiety and corruption of the young? Does he make good arguments? Do you think Socrates directly addresses the charges or that he is evasive? (24b-29a)
• Why does Socrates refer to his war record? How does Socrates defend not just himself but his mission to philosophize? How does he argue that as a “gadfly” he actually benefits and improves Athens through his philosophizing? How does Socrates argue that he has put the welfare of Athens ahead of himself? (29a-33c)
• Why does Socrates choose not to seek mercy from the court? What does he see as his purpose in defending himself before the jury?  (34c-35d)
• What does Socrates propose as a counter-penalty? What is his defense of this proposal? Is it reasonable, and why? (35e-38b)
• What is Socrates’ judgment of Athens after he is sentenced with death? Is the sentence just? Why? (38c-42a)

Guiding Questions on Aristophanes’ The Clouds :

Questions about the Plot:

• How does the play show that Socrates denies the existence of Zeus, introduce novel Cloud-goddesses into Athens, and teaches a young man that incest and father-beating are permissible?
• Why does Strepsiades go to Socrates’ “thinkery?” Why does his son, Pheidippides, refuse?
• How does Strepsiades quickly discovery that the Socratic course of instruction goes far beyond training in courtroom oratory?
• After Pheidippides turns out to be a star pupil and drives away his father’s creditors, they get into a heated argument. What is the nature of the argument?
• How does Pheidippides then justify beating his father? What is Strepsiades’
• How does the Socrates of The Clouds (a) differ from the sophists and (b) resemble the philosopher described by Plato?
• How does the Socrates of The Clouds differ sharply from Aristophanes’ Socrates? (For example, does Plato’s Socrates teach people how to “make the weak speech stronger?”)
• How does the Socrates of The Clouds demonstrate the nonexistence of Zeus? Does he see the Clouds as Zeus-like deities, or do they represent the denial of gods and traditional religion (e.g., mere mist, air)?
• Do you see a connection between the view of clouds as governed by natural laws (“necessity” as opposed to the will or choice of gods) and Pheidippides appeal to what is “natural” in challenging traditional family values (e.g., defense of beating one’s mother and committing incest)?
• Does the Socrates of The Clouds show any interest in questions of piety and justice, themes that are important to Plato’s Socrates?
• How is Just Speech, the spokesman for the old-fashioned, traditional way of life in Athens, defeated by Unjust Speech, who shamelessly celebrates decadent self-indulgence?
• Do you think Unjust Speech is a spokesman for Aristophanes’ Socrates, or do you see decisive differences between them?
• Does either Just Speech or Unjust Speech go beyond received opinion or convention? Does either pursue knowledge of nature by learning?

Guiding Questions On Aristophanes’ Criticism of Socrates:

• How does Aristophanes make a serious argument that Socrates is ignorant of, or indifferent to, the fundamental requirements of political life? (Think about what we mean when we say that someone’s head is in the clouds…)
• How does Aristophanes make a serious argument that Socrates is ignorant of the human soul (e.g., (a) overestimating the ability of men to think rationally, as shown by his willingness to reveal his secret teachings to the ignoramus Strepsiades; (b) forgetting the power of human love of family) and man’s need for sacred gods—as opposed to empty air?
• How does Aristophanes make a serious argument Socrates is ignorant about the truth of the gods? Note that although Socrates wants to know the truth about the nature of things, for Aristophanes philosophical speech is like Socrates’ Clouds themselves: pure puffery, mist, smoke that teaches us nothing real, valuable, or sustaining. Perhaps the philosopher’s chief error is to believe that rational speech can guide us to ultimate truths and provide an adequate guide to life.

Guiding Questions on Plato’s Euthyphro

• What is the setting for the dialogue? Why are both Socrates and Euthyphro at court?
• How does Socrates try to restrain Euthyphro from prosecuting his father? Compare to Aristophanes’ Clouds where Socratic influence leads Pheidippides to beat his own father?
• Why motivates the effort of Socrates and Euthyphro to define piety?
• What is Euthyphro’s first definition of piety? How and why does it fail?
• What is Euthyphro’s revised definition? How and why does it fail?
• What is Euthyphro’s third definition? Explain the central dilemma posed by Socrates’ question to Euthyphro: Is something loved by the gods because it is pious, or is something because it is loved by the gods? What is the significance of this question for the trial?
• Note that Socrates shifts emphasis from an essential property of an object to a new model of explanation: relation of part (piety) to whole (justice).
• How does Euthyphro’s attempt to apply this model result in the same confusion as before? How has Euthyphro moved in a circle? Is this due to Euthyphro’s failings or to Socrates’ shortcomings? Explain.
• How does the dialogue end?

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Home — Essay Samples — Philosophy — Euthyphro — Three Points of View on Socrates’ Trial: Analyzing the Sources

Three Points of View on Socrates' Trial: Analyzing The Sources

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Published: Jan 4, 2019

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• Arts & Humanities

Plato's "The Trial and Death of Socrates"

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Why does Socrates assent to his sentence? 

Socrates assent to his sentence because according to Meletus, he was found guilty of refusing to recognize the gods that were being recognized by the entire states and he introduced new divinities (Morrison, 2011) . He was also found guilty of corrupting the young people. All these penalties called for a death sentence. Even though Socrates had reasons for his beliefs during the trial, he was not willing to take an advice from the judges. He declared that he shall continue to obey God only and will continue teaching and practice the philosophy he believed was true and right. On the contrary, he became apologetic during his defense and was willing to die. This is because he was not going to stop teaching people about the new philosophies. 

Does he contradict the values, morals or ideas he expresses throughout his trial? 

Socrates did not contradict values and morals throughout his trial because he used apology. Even though his teachings and philosophies were not accepted at the time because it was not honoring the gods of the states, he did not contradict values and morals during his trial. He understood that if he gave in during the trial, it would show that his teachings were not valuable and could be a lie. He remained consistent in his speech and was willing to die as a way of defending the philosophies (Woods & Pack, 2007) . At the end of the trial, he rebuked the judges asking them if they had no untroubled conscience after pronouncing the penalty for his charges. 

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What is Plato’s attitude about Socrates? 

Plato admired his teacher Socrates and had trust in him. He had seen his previous works and was pleased about how he was a passionate religion leader. However, during the trial, Plato had a theory that was backed up by Phaedo and led to the death sentence of Socrates (Morrison, 2011) . 

Why is it considered moral or immoral? Who has the authority to decide? How does that person or institution get the power to decide? 

The sentencing of Socrates was immoral because he was accused of teaching new philosophies that were not matching with the beliefs at the times. The gods’ religion had dominated over the state for many years and the authority was not willing to welcome any other new philosophy. Instead of accusing Socrates, the leaders should have evaluated the new philosophies and try to find the truth. Suppressing one religion at the expense of the other form of religion was not okay. The chosen authorities were to decide what best for all people and allow people to make choices. Even though during the Socrates trial, more judges voted for guilty while less judge voted for not guilty, it was not enough to save Socrates from the death penalty (Woods & Pack, 2007) . The person or institution is to get the power to decide from the society through democratic nomination. Finally, the death sentence was immoral because it did not show the value of respecting human life. 

What would Socrates say? Would he think the thing or choose what is moral or immoral? What would be his rationale or justification for his belief? 

Socrates believed that his teachings were moral and that is why he accepted the death sentence. He was not willing to abandon his beliefs in exchange for his life. Throughout his trial, he did not contradict is believes in the favor of the judges’ judgment (Morrison, 2011) . He remained true to his words. The rational or justification of his belief was the source of his teachings. The philosophy was not new, it was only new in the states he was living because the majority of the people believed in gods. This is what brought a problem between him and the religious leaders. 

References 

Morrison, D. R. (2011). The Cambridge companion to Socrates. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. 

Woods, C., & Pack, R. (2007). Socrates of Athens: Euthyphro, Socrates' Defense, Crito, and the Death Scene from Phaedo. San Francisco, California: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. 

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Athens Put Socrates and Philosophy on Trial Essay

Introduction, unexamined life.

Philosophy is an ancient field of study that entails systematic study of knowledge, nature, existence, reality, mind, and reason through logical and rational arguments. Philosophers use logical and rational arguments when explaining their perception of life and their existence. For centuries, humans have been accumulating knowledge about their existence in a bid to understand the nature of life.

In Athens, Socrates was the most prominent philosopher who examined the lives of Athenians and found that they were groping in the darkness of ignorance since they did not understand their existence. Thus, Socrates argued that ‘unexamined life is not worth living’ after observing the how the Athenians lived.

As he tried to enlighten the people, Athenians leaders observed that Socrates was spoiling the minds of the youths, and thus guilty of using his philosophies inappropriately. Hence, this essay argues that Athenian leaders put Socrates and his philosophy on trial, for they did not like to examine and assess their lives using philosophy.

Socrates was an Athenian philosopher who made a significant contribution to the development of the Western philosophy. Although Socrates was one of the wisest men in Athens, he considered himself as ignorant. He argued that gaining wisdom only begins when one understands own ignorance as it forms the basis of knowledge.

During his life, Socrates observed that Athenians lived miserable lives since they could not understand the essence of life. Thus, Socrates decided to examine the lives of the Athenians and teach the youths on how to attain better lives as he envisioned.

According to Socrates, ‘unexamined life is not worth living’ because people are groping in the dark, and thus unable to attain real meaning of life or live worthy lives. Therefore, Socrates talked to Athenians while examining their lives and teaching youths on how to gain wisdom and live worthy lives.

Socrates used the Allegory of the Cave to describe how Athenians are groping in the darkness without hope of attaining real meaning of life. In the allegory, Socrates argues that Athenians are seeing illusions in life and taking them as reality, just as prisoners in the cave assumed that shadows are real people walking across the wall.

The prisoners in the cave have accustomed to the shadows until they could not differentiate reality and illusions. In this view, Socrates asserts that philosophers like him are among people who have come out of the cave and are able to differentiate reality and illusions. Hence, the work of Socrates was to enlighten the Athenians so that they can transform their understanding of life from cave illusions to the reality in the world.

Although Socrates tried to enlighten the youths, Athenian leaders had a different perception. The Athenian leaders perceived that Socrates was spoiling the minds of the youths with philosophical doctrines that are against laws and regulations of the Athenian empire. In essence, what Socrates did was to examine the lives of the Athenians in a bid to enhance their understanding of life and resolution of issues affecting their lives.

Despite Socrates’ important role in enlightening the youth, the Athenian leaders charged Socrates and dismissed his philosophy as destructive. In response, Socrates protested that the jury did set the penalty very high that he could not afford to pay, and thus putting him and his philosophy on trial. Despite his plea and protest, the jury still sentenced Socrates to death.

In the course of examining the lives of the Athenians, Socrates also questioned the existence of the piety. Socrates analyzed Euthyphro concept and asserted that the gods love pious things and hate impious things. In his argument about piety, Socrates came up with the Euthyphro dilemma since he wondered whether the gods loves pious things or the gods make things pious by loving them.

Socrates believed that things are pious on their own and independent of the gods. Hence, piety is an inherent attribute of things and not gods. The Euthyphro dilemma attracted massive criticisms from Athenians because it touched on a sensitive matter about the Athenian gods and their deity roles.

If god cannot make anything pious, it means they have no ability to transform the lives of people from impiety to piety. Such dilemma made the Athenians charge Socrates for introducing new doctrines that are against their gods. Hence, Athenians accused Socrates of introducing foreign gods while relegating Athenian gods.

Socrates was a noble philosopher who examined the lives of the Athenians and realized that they were ignorant about life. According his assessment, Socrates argued that ‘unexamined life is not worth living’ because people grope while searching for the real meaning of life.

Despite the fact that Socrates examined the lives of youths and taught them, Athenian leaders accused him of corrupting their minds while introducing foreign gods. Eventually, the jury sentenced Socrates to death for alleged destructive teachings and impious philosophy. Thus, the Athenians put Socrates and his philosophy on trial when they sentenced him to death and rejected his philosophy as destructive.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, March 3). Athens Put Socrates and Philosophy on Trial. https://ivypanda.com/essays/athens-put-socrates-and-philosophy-on-trial/

"Athens Put Socrates and Philosophy on Trial." IvyPanda , 3 Mar. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/athens-put-socrates-and-philosophy-on-trial/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Athens Put Socrates and Philosophy on Trial'. 3 March.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Athens Put Socrates and Philosophy on Trial." March 3, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/athens-put-socrates-and-philosophy-on-trial/.

1. IvyPanda . "Athens Put Socrates and Philosophy on Trial." March 3, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/athens-put-socrates-and-philosophy-on-trial/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Athens Put Socrates and Philosophy on Trial." March 3, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/athens-put-socrates-and-philosophy-on-trial/.

• Plato: Piety and Holiness in "Euthyphro"
• God and Piety: The Euthyphro Problem
• Euthyphro: Concept of Holiness and Piety
• Plato’s "Euthyphro"
• Socrates: Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living
• Concept of Piety in Plato’s “Euthyphro”
• Socrates Versus Euthyphro: Holiness and Piety
• Piety in Socrates and Euthyphro's Dialogue
• The Unexamined Life and the Buddhist Four Noble Truths
• Divine Command Theory Definition
• Khun's Contributions to the Philosophy of Science
• Socrates on Teaching and Learning
• Socrates by Aristophanes and Plato
• Todorov's View on Structuralism
• John Locke, an English Philosopher and Physician

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