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Socrates uses metaphors and imagery to explain the place of the philosopher and politics. Some of these famous analogies include the gadfly and the horse and the ship of state. Both of these images show the philosopher in similar ways while also using different contexts and symbolism. The first of these images is described in the Apology, where Socrates compares himself to a gadfly and the state of Athens to a horse. The second is in the Republic, in which Socrates uses the image of the ship of state. A closer look into the metaphors help in the understanding of the philosopher and politics. The similarities between these images are clear upon first reading them. Although similar the differences can be seen in a considerably more in-depth reading …show more content…
and analysis. The first of the two images take place during one of Socrates’ speeches in Plato's Apology.
During this dialogue, Socrates states that “as though upon a great and well-born horse who is rather sluggish because of his great size and needs to be awakened by some gadfly” (Apology 30e). In the horse and the gadfly image, Socrates refers to himself as the gadfly and the state of Athens as the horse. Gadflies are persistent pests that annoy the much larger and more sluggish horse. A gadfly, according to the dictionary is referred to as any fly that bites or annoys livestock. In a direct sense this is what Socrates was referring to in terms of the gadfly but there is another definition that also fits the analogy. The other dictionary definition of a gadfly is “a person who stimulates or annoys other people especially by persistent criticism”, this definition directly relates to why Socrates ended up on trial in the …show more content…
Apology. Socrates uses this analogy to describe how the state of Athens needed him. Socrates refers to himself as a gadfly because just as the gadfly bothers a horse and prevents it from becoming sluggish and sleeping, Socrates creates conversations around the Athens and prevents the people from becoming thoughtless and narrow minded. Socrates goes on to explain that the god sent him down to Athens as a type of gadfly, “the god seems to me to have set me upon the city as someone of this sort” (Apology 30e), so that he can “awaken and persuade and reproach each one of you” (Apology 31a). In this line, he is saying that by criticizing them he is trying to awaken them, because he believes they are becoming lazy in the search of the truth, which according to Socrates is the key to a happy life. The horse in this analogy not only represents the political state of Athens but also the common people. The second allegory is the ship of state which takes place during a discussion between Socrates, Glaucon and Adeimantus in The Republic of Plato.
Socrates tells the story of a ship owner in search of a new captain for his ship. Socrates describes why the owner does not pilot the ship by saying “the shipowner surpasses everyone on board in height and strength, he is rather deaf and likewise somewhat shortsighted, and his knowledge of seamanship is pretty much on the same level” (Republic 488b). The sailors on the ship fight with each other, occasionally killing one another, for the position of captain. When any of them won the position, Socrates stated that “they either kill the others or throw them out of the ship” (Republic 488c). These crew members also tried to persuade and even begged the owner to make them captain. Socrates mentions that “they were always crowded around the shipowner himself, begging and doing everything” (Republic 488c). In the line “the true pilot will really be called a stargazer, a prater and useless to them” (Republic 489a), Socrates is referring to how the other sailors believe that the true captain is useless or not fit for the
position. Socrates is comparing the state of Athens to an elaborate and expansive ship. Socrates uses this ship analogy as a metaphor to describe why the philosopher would make the best leader in a society. The ship owner in this metaphor represents the common people in a society. Those who are in the running to be leader of the society, or politicians running for office, are represented by the sailors who fight over the position of captain. The true pilot, or captain, of the ship represents the philosopher. Socrates uses this analogy to explain why democracy does not work because philosophers do not want to be rulers, but he believes the true and most just rulers of society are philosophers. The similarities between the two images are noticeable from first glance. One major similarity between the two is that the common people do not seem to know what is good for them. Both images are used to describe philosophers in relation politics and policy. The philosopher is only self-interested and does not care for the common good. This is show in both metaphors by the gadfly who pesters the horse for his benefit and the true pilot who does not fight for his position as captain although he knows he is best fitted for the job. Another similarity is that in both stories the philosopher is vulnerable. In the horse and the gadfly story the philosopher, or gadfly, is much smaller and easily killed by anyone and anything that chooses to. This is shown in the line, “but perhaps you may be vexed, like the drowsy when they are awakened, and if you obey Anytus and slap me, you would easily kill me” (Apology 31a). While in the ship of state story the true pilot is considered useless and he could easily be killed or removed by the other sailors if given the position of captain. The common people are also similar in both allegories by being viewed as sluggish and slow because they believe what the politicians are saying and they do not stand up for themselves. In the ship of state story the ship owner allows himself to be persuaded and tricked, “enchaining the noble shipowner with mandrake, drink or something else” (Republic 488c). In the gadfly story the horse, who represents the people of Athens, is asleep and need to be awaken by the gadfly that represents the knowledge of the philosopher, in this case Socrates. To notice the differences in these images one must look deeper into each of them. Although both metaphors relate philosophers and politics they show it in completely different ways. When looking into how the common people are considered blind to politics and policy one can find that it is shown in two very different ways. In the ship of state the ship owner is actually blind, or shortsighted, and in the gadfly the horse is asleep and unaware of problems. Another difference in the allegories is that the philosopher is also described differently. In the gadfly story the philosopher is an annoying pest the pokes at and provokes the horse. The ship of state describes the philosopher as being seen as useless and does not seemed bothered by the state. One major difference in the two stories is that only one has any direct mention of politicians. While the gadfly metaphor can be used to express how politics makes the common man ‘drowsy’ it has no mention of anyone other than the common people and the philosopher. The ship of state story the politicians, or sailors, are mentioned and described as corrupt throughout. Socrates uses these among other analogies to discuss the relationship between philosophers and politics. Socrates uses these metaphors and images to explain the place of the philosopher as a person of superior knowledge and the true ruler of society. These two famous analogies are the gadfly and the horse and the ship of state. Though similar the differences in them are noticeable but have no effect on the overall message of the philosopher in politics. In conclusion, the two images depict Socrates believe that philosophers are best suited for politics although they have no interest in being a part of it.
One would expect Socrates to win against his non-philosophical interlocutors. However, this is not the case. The more the conversations proceed, the more they are infiltrated by anger and misunderstanding, the more one is under the impression that Socrates may well silence his interlocutors but he hardly persuades them. His last interlocutor, Callicles, not only is not persuaded by him, but at one point even refuses to talk to Socrates and leaves him with the choice between abandoning the discussion altogether and performing a monologue.
In Athens, there were two wise men named Socrates and Pericles. In the short story "Plato's Apology", Socrates is on trial, and is speaking before his peers so that he may be judged. In "Pericles's Funeral Oration", Pericles himself is giving a speech at a funeral on behalf of the fallen soldiers of Athens. In both speeches, Socrates and Pericles believe it will be hard to talk about the subject because the people listening might not believe what they say to be the truth or the whole truth. Both men were considered wise, but Socrates believed men were not virtuos, and Pericles believed that man does strive to become virtous. I believe that Socrates's arguments are a rebuttal to Pericles's Funeral Oration, and although they are both wise, only Socrates has true wisdom.
For these two articles that we read in Crito and Apology by Plato, we could know Socrates is an enduring person with imagination, because he presents us with a mass of contradictions: Most eloquent men, yet he never wrote a word; ugliest yet most profoundly attractive; ignorant yet wise; wrongfully convicted, yet unwilling to avoid his unjust execution. Behind these conundrums is a contradiction less often explored: Socrates is at once the most Athenian, most local, citizenly, and patriotic of philosophers; and yet the most self-regarding of Athenians. Exploring that contradiction, between Socrates the loyal Athenian citizen and Socrates the philosophical critic of Athenian society, will help to position Plato's Socrates in an Athenian legal and historical context; it allows us to reunite Socrates the literary character and Athens the democratic city that tried and executed him. Moreover, those help us to understand Plato¡¦s presentation of the strange legal and ethical drama.
In his work Socrates’ Apology to the Jury, Xenophon produces an account of the Socratic deliberation –and indeed the logic that seemed to inform that deliberation- over his trial. Specifically, Xenophon, provides his readers with an ambivalent justification of Socrates’ chosen rhetoric during his trial, namely his “boastful manner of speaking” or megalegoria (Patch, footnote 2). Indeed, instead of choosing to deliver a speech that would gain him the jury’s sympathy and the city’s acquittal, Socrates proceeds to deliver a speech that is characterized mainly by its ironic arrogance. Xenophon goes so far as to provide his readers with a kind of statement of purpose that frames Socrates’ megalegoric speech; Socrates had, in the words of Xenophon,
Aristophanes wrote a comedy about this accusation and Socrates does refer to this in his trial. The comedy portrays him as someone who “swings around claiming he’s walking on air and talking a lot of other nonsense on subject that I know neither a lot nor a little but nothing at all about.” (Plato 650) Socrates goes on to explain that he has “acquired this reputation because of nothing other than a sort of wisdom.” (Plato 651) He goes deeper into this explanation by saying he possesses “human wisdom. For it may just be that I really do have that sort of wisdom, whereas the people I mentioned just now
In Plato’s Apology, Socrates uses religious appeals, proof by contradictions and various examples to argue for his innocence in court. Socrates is forced to argue for the sake of his life to prove that he is not guilty. In Socrates’ speech, however, he is not apologizing for anything instead, the word comes from the Greek word “apologia,” that translates to a speech made in defense. In this paper, I will argue that Socrates’ decision to stay in Athens and to accept suicide was unethical, because he purposefully antagonized the people who control his fate and this ultimately led to the death penalty.
During this essay the trail of Socrates found in the Apology of Plato will be reviewed. What will be looked at during this review is how well Socrates rebuts the charges made against him. We will also talk about if Socrates made the right decision to not escape prison with Crito. Socrates was a very intelligent man; this is why this review is so critical.
Socrates was a revolutionary thinker. He brought new ideas and processes of thought to Athenian society and his work still has its place in the world today. However during his time, his ideas were not always thought of as a good thing. Many viewed him as a corrupting influence on other people and accused him of forcing his ideas upon others. Perhaps most frequently the center of controversy was his thoughts on theocracy and piety as seen in the Plato’s Euthyphro. Socrates also appears at the butt end of Aristophanes’ comedy Clouds, where he is satirically ridiculed and seemingly corrupting the youth of Athens in his school, the Thinkery. Although virtually completely seen as a positive influence now, in ancient times, Socrates may have done more harm than good for his society.
In his defense, Socrates claims over and again that he is innocent and is not at all wise, “…for I know that I have no wisdom, small or great.” Throughout the rest of his oration he seems to act the opposite as if he is better than every man, and later he even claims that, “At any rate, the world has decided that Socrates is in some way superior to other men.” This seems to be his greatest mistake, claiming to be greater than even the jury.
In the opening of The Apology, Socrates informed the jurors how he intends to address them, what they should pay attention to in his remarks, and what he sees as his greatest obstacle in gaining an acquittal. How does he intend to address the jury? Socrates’ approach towards addressing the jury is way different than what you would see a normal defendant doing. Socrates does not stand in front of the jury and beg that he doesn’t get charged. Instead, Socrates believes that you shouldn’t have to cry and beg for the right to live in court if the defendant has done nothing wrong. The first thing that he says when speaking to the jury was to basically hear him out, and listen to even if he started to talk in his language of habit. He then said they should excuse that because he is seventy years old and has never appeared in court. “I must beg of you to grant me one favor, If you hear me using the same words in my defense which I have been in habit of using, and which most of you may have heard in the agora, and at the table of the money-changers, or anywhere else, I would ask you to not be surprised at this, and bot to interrupt me (Dover p. 19).”
A. Under trial for corrupting youth and not worshiping the Gods in Athens, Socrates takes an attitude that many might interpret as pompous during his trial. Rather than apologise, as Plato’s dialogue title Apology suggests, Socrates explains why he is right and those who accused him are mistaken. He speaks in a plain manner, as if the jury is just another of his followers. Socrates first cites the profit at Delphi for why he behaves in ways that lead to him being under scrutiny of the law. He explains that his friend, Chaerephon, went to ask the oracle if anyone is wiser than Socrates and the oracle responded no (21a). Socrates then explains his interpretation of this being that he is wise in knowing that he does not know certain things, where
While reading Plato’s Republic there were many rich passages that were filled with metaphors, imagery, and ideas. One in particular stuck out to me and that was the use of a painted statue. In a conversation between Socrates and Adeimantus they talked about what happiness is and how could it be obtained for everyone to experience. In while doing so they agreed that for happiness to be obtained, they must not focus on one's individual happiness but everyone in general. To establish a city that is well and good you have to involve everyone as a whole and not focus on a single individual group not matter how important they may be.
The underlying explanation for the apparent discrepancy between the character Socrates’ stance on politics in the Gorgias – that he is amongst the few that practice true politics (Gorg. 521 D) – and in the Apology – that he does not practice what is often viewed as politics (Ap. 31 E) – is reliant upon the subtle distinction that Socrates makes between those two fields; between what politics truly is and the art of politics as it is commonly practiced. Further, this distinction itself is heavily reliant upon the role of ῥητορικός, or lack thereof, in the art of common politics and in the practicing of politics itself. This is made quite clear in the Gorgias.
In The Republic by Plato. Socrates and Adeimantus discuss the makings of a true philosopher in book VI, one particular passage describes Socrates’ analogy of a ship captain and his ship that subsequently leads into a discussion of what a true philosopher must be. “But that the true pilot must pay attention to the year and seasons and sky and stars and winds, and whatever else belongs to his art, if he intends to be really qualified for the command of a ship, and that he must and will be the steerer, whether other people like or not—the possibility of this union of authority with the steerer’s art has never seriously entered into their thoughts or been made part of their calling. Now in vessels which are in a state of mutiny and by sailors who are mutineers, how will the true pilot be regarded? Will he not be called by them a prater, a star-gazer, a good-for-nothing?” Socrates asserts that qualification among other things is extremely important and he describes the true philosopher as the antithesis of a “good-for-nothing.” Adeimantus however is not very easily convinced. Adeimantus and Socrates
The death of Billy, one of Socrates few friends, is the match that rekindles his want for something better. Billy was very old but he never gave in, “The rooster was horse in his old age, his crow no more than a whisper. But as least that motherfucker tried” (Mosley, 24). Despite being totally incapable of saving himself the rooster gave the slightest whisper as he died which was more than Socrates would do if he didn’t start some change and quick. Fear is what kept Socrates from doing almost anything, but with Billy having done more with his little rooster life than he had accomplished in his own, he knew that if he didn’t alter his life he would die useless. Making friends with Darryl and being willing to help him however he can is Socrates first step towards healing himself. As there friendship develops he realizes that Darryl is a lot like him and to save him would be a way to help redeem himself.