Plato’s Apology: Fake Charges

In this paper I will be discussing the four charges brought against Socrates in Plato’s essay The Apology and why exactly each of these charges is completely fictitious. The four charges brought against Socrates were that he argued the physical over the metaphysical, he argued the weaker claim over the stronger claim, he went against the gods, and he was corrupting the youth. Each of these four charges is false for varying reasons and I will be addressing each explanation on why each charge is a complete sham, after discussing each charge.
The first charge made against Socrates was that he argued the physical over the metaphysical. This charge says that he believed in reason and science over the teachings of the gods. This alleged crime helped form the basis for the hatred and distrust the Athenians felt toward Socrates. Socrates’ accusers claimed, “Socrates is an evil-doer and a curious person, who searches into things under the earth and in the heavens”.
This claim is completely false for multiple reasons. Primarily, Socrates simply did not argue the physical over the metaphysical; he just wanted to find true knowledge. He did not have any interest in this argument at all. In Socrates opening statement to the court, Socrates identified the first charge to be false by directly confronting the philosophers who actually did this style of teaching. He stated,” I will ask you then to assume with me that my opponents are of two kinds: one more recent, the other from the past. I will answer the latter first, for these accusations you heard long before the others. In this statement Socrates was referring to the Pre-Socratics as the true perpetrators who argued the physical over the metaphysical. They even held a high social status for...

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...everything in Athens improves the youth except for Socrates. This statement by Melatus illustrates that Melatus doesn’t have any knowledge on how to help the youth and that his main intention is to get Socrates sentenced to death.
In this paper I talked about Plato’s essay The Apology, in which Socrates was accused of committing four crimes against the people of Athens. These four charges were that he argued the physical over the metaphysical, he argued the weaker claim over the stronger claim, he went against the gods, and he corrupted the youth. Each of these claims was completely erroneous for their own reasons, however the court sentenced him to death anyways. The fact that he was executed despite being falsely accused and the fact that he accepted death instead of abandoning his beliefs helped make him the philosopher that is loved and revered still to this day.