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The trial of socrates summary
Virtue and their application
Nobility virtue
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Socrates’s apology displays his deep knowledge in philosophy as the Delphic Oracle stated ”there is no person living wiser than Socrates”. The greatest example of Socrates trial and death validates the close relationship between his character and philosophy. He believed that philosophy should triumph in practical results for the greater well being of society. Socrates attempted to establish an ethical system based on human reason rather than theological teaching. He pointed out that human choice was driven by the desire for happiness, and infinite wisdom comes from knowing oneself. The more a person knows something the greater his or her ability to reason and to make choices that will bring true happiness.
In the apology Socrates applied philosophical ethics saying “self knowledge is a sufficient condition to the good life. He identifies knowledge with virtue. If knowledge can be learned, so can virtue” meaning virtue can be taught. He believes that “the unexamined life is not worth living” one must
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Now a thing’s perfection is considered chiefly in regards to its end. But the end of power is act, wherefore power is said to be perfect, according as it is determinate to its act. Aquinas emphasized “Synderesis is said to be the law of the mind, because it is a habit containing the precepts of the natural law which are the first principles of human actions. According to Aquinas, “All acts of virtue are prescribed by the natural law: since each one’s reason naturally dictates to him to act virtuously acts, considered in themselves i.e. in their proper species, thus not all virtuous acts are prescribed by the natural law: for many things are done virtuously, to which nature does not incline at first; but, through the inquiry of reason, have been found by men to be conductive to well
In Walter Mosley’s Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, the reader is introduced to Socrates Fortlow, an ex-convict who served twenty-seven years for murder and rape. Fortlow is plagued by guilt and, seeing the chaos in his town, feels a need to improve not only his own standards of living, but also those of others in Watts. He attempts this by teaching the people in Watts the lessons he feels will resolve the many challenges the neighbourhood faces. The lessons Fortlow teaches and the methods by which he teaches them are very similar to those of the ancient Greek philosopher for whom Fortlow was named: “‘We was poor and country. My mother couldn’t afford school so she figured that if she named me after somebody smart then maybe I’d get smart’” (Mosley, 44). Though the ancient Greek was born to be a philosopher and Fortlow assumed the philosopher role as a response to the poor state of his life and Watts, both resulted in the same required instruction to their populations. The two Socrates’ both utilize a form of teaching that requires their pupil to become engaged in the lesson. They emphasize ethics, logic, and knowledge in their instruction, and place importance on epistemology and definitions because they feel a problem cannot be solved if one does not first know what it is. Socrates was essential in first introducing these concepts to the world and seemed to be born with them inherent to his being, Fortlow has learned the ideals through life experience and is a real-world application in an area that needs the teachings to get on track. While the two men bear many similarities, their differences they are attributed primarily as a result of their circumstances provide the basis of Fortlow’s importance in Watts and as a modern-...
In Plato’s dialogue, Phaedo, Echecrades asks Phaedo the details of Socrates’ last day alive. Phaedo first describes his own countenance as well as the rest of Socrates’ companions as “an unaccustomed mixture of pleasure and pain” because they all know that Socrates’ death is imminent, however they see that Socrates appears happy and without fear (58, e). The conversation with Socrates turns to why a philosopher should not fear death. Socrates defines death as the separation of the soul from the body (64, c). He states that the body is a constant impediment to a philosopher in their search for the truth. Socrates says that the body “fills us with wants, desires, fears, all sorts of illusions and much nonsense, so that… no thought of any kind ever comes to us from the [it].” (66, c). He claims that philosophy itself is “training for dying” and philosophers purify their souls by detaching it from the body (67, e). Socrates concludes that it would be unreasonable for a philosopher to fear death because they will obtain the truth they sought in life upon the separation of their body and soul, or death (67, c). After successfully proves the soul’s immortality, Socrates goes on to tell his companions a myth. This myth tells o the judgment of the dead and their journey through the underworld (107, d). It explains the shape of the Earth and how it has different surfaces (108, c- 113, d). It also tells of the punishment for the maimed souls and the reward for the pure souls, those of philosophers (113, c – 114, d). After concluding this myth, Socrates seems to emphasize that the exact details of the story are not important and “no sensible man would insist that these things are as I have described them” but it is important to “risk the bel...
Some of the best sources of information about Socrates' philosophical views are the early dialogues of his student Plato, who tried to provide a faithful picture of the methods and teachings of the great master. The Apology is one of the many-recorded dialogues about Socrates. It is about how Socrates was arrested and charged with corrupting the youth, believing in no god(s) (Atheism) and for being a Sophist. He attended his trial and put up a good argument. I believe that Socrates was wrongfully accused and should not have been sentenced to death. Within the duration of this document, I will be discussing the charges laid against Socrates and how he attempted to refute the charges.
In “The Apology of Socrates,” Socrates shares his view of his fellow Athenian citizens; he accuses these citizens of caring more about their wealth and reputation than about wisdom, truth, and the state of their souls. Socrates deems “wisdom, truth, or the best possible state of your souls” to be more important to a meaningful life. One of the reasons Socrates is on trial is because he is accused of corrupting the youth. When roaming the streets, after being called the man with the most wisdom, he begins to ask all the smartest people he can find to ask them questions. He begins to realize that the people in power are not that smart after all. Socrates comes to the conclusion that the people with power and reputation have essentially denied to themselves that they do not know, and pretended that they do. This led to the idea of Socratic Wisdom, which is basically knowing that you do not know. This idea of putting reputation over truth and wisdom is very much still prevalent today, and could even be considered human nature.
Socrates is correct when he says the “the unexamined life is not worth living” In order to discuss why Socrates is correct, I would like to discuss these various points which consist of: the significance as well as the underlying meaning of his quote “the unexamined life is not worth living”, the difference between an unexamined life and an examined life, specific examples, the importance of a person living an examined life and lastly, whether or not I’m living an examined life.
Socrates was a great Greek philosopher (Athenian) around 469 BC – 399 BC. He is known as one of the most important figures and one of the founders of European philosophy. Socrates never wrote philosophical texts. All the writings that exist and everything about Socrates such as his life and philosophy were from the writings of his students, mainly from Plato. In Plato’s eyes, Socrates was an idol, a saint, a prophet and a master in philosophy.1 However, others viewed him as a pathetic, ugly and annoying man. The reason why people didn't like him was because his mission in life was to approach people with prestigious positions and experts in their fields and to question them until he proved that all their beliefs were false (prove them wrong).This way of questioning people and making them doubt and contradict themselves was identified as the Socratic method which apparently inspired the well-known scientific method. He believed that the greatest quality of man is examining himself and others, to always try to grow and reach our utmost potential. He would say, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”2. He believed to be a moral hero, a teacher to the people of Athens and a messenger/prophet of the gods of Athens. This will be further developed in this essay with sources principally from Apology and Crito.
Socrates' ethics revolved around caring for the soul, possessing self-knowledge, regarding virtue as knowledge and focusing on the invincible nature of goodness. Essentially, Socrates' principles were based on a knowledge of human nature and proper functioning, much like Aristotle's. This proper functioning and purpose comprises o...
After reading the section, “Meno” in the book, Philosophy of Education by Steven Cahn, I believe that what Socrates thinks about the idea of knowing what you do not know is that it makes you wiser. Most men that believe they know certain things usually are the ones who run off of right opinions. In the case of their right opinions, sometimes they turn out to have the right idea and this leads them down the correct path in that one situation. A man full off of false knowledge may seem as valuable as a man who actually knows because they have guessed right, but they are really not. A man that does not know and he knows he does not obtain this knowledge, is truthfully the only wise man. This man knows that there is a value somewhere in the things
Socrates was a philosopher who set out to prove, to the gods, that he wasn't the wisest man. Since he could not afford a "good" Sophist teacher, surely a student of one had to be smarter than he. He decides to converse with the youth of Athens, but concludes that he actually is wiser than everyone he speaks with. He then realizes that their lack of intelligence is the fault of their teachers. Socrates understands that the practice of "sophism" leads to a lack of self-knowledge and moral values. Socrates was later accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and put on trial. In The Apology of Socrates he sta...
In the article, “ Introduction to Socratic Ethics”, Russo discusses how Socrates emerged as a renowned philosopher and the ethical position that Socrates establishes as a philosopher. To begin with, Socrates devoted his life to “act as a kind of “gadfly”; throughout Athens, Socrates questioned and provoked people “into recognizing their moral ignorance”(Russo 1). Socrates believed he was the wisest man in the world because he understood how ignorant he was. To implement his standpoint in ethics, and draw out ignorance from other people, Socrates used a method of argument called “elenchus” or examination. Socrates examined people for the purpose of showing “how little they actually know” about their own expertise (Russo 2).
Socrates says that God determines what is right and wrong. “I owe a greater obedience to God then to you and so long as I draw breath and have my faculties, I shall never stop practicing philosophy and exhorting you and indicating truth to everyone I meet” (Apology, 29d). God’s rules and commandments are what you need to follow in order to assure a good life after death. God and his commandments come first over everything else. Socrates believes in the divine command theory and how you must listen to Gods commandments. God decides what is moral and obedience to God is how you live justly. Socrates also says he will never stop practicing philosophy because in his eyes philosophy is the way to live life. He has said that living without examining life is a life not worth living. Questioning and indicating truth to others by pointing out their ignorance is what he saw as an essential part of being moral. Morality ties in to the question of solution by asking questions and seeking wisdom you are doing what is just and fixing the condition of humanity. Morality also relates to condition because the soul must be more important than material objects in order to be moral. He says you must follow cities laws and obedience to Gods laws as well in order to be just. On top of that you should be self-examining yourself so that you can better the soul as much as
Philosophy can be defined as the pursuit of wisdom or the love of knowledge. Socrates, as one of the most well-known of the early philosophers, epitomizes the idea of a pursuer of wisdom as he travels about Athens searching for the true meaning of the word. Throughout Plato’s early writings, he and Socrates search for meanings of previously undefined concepts, such as truth, wisdom, and beauty. As Socrates is often used as a mouthpiece for Plato’s ideas about the world, one cannot be sure that they had the same agenda, but it seems as though they would both agree that dialogue was the best way to go about obtaining the definitions they sought. If two people begin on common ground in a conversation, as Socrates often tries to do, they are far more likely to be able to civilly come to a conclusion about a particular topic, or at least further their original concept.
Socrates was a wise man who realized that life was not something that could be easily understood. He knew that questioning life would lead to a stronger conception of life and reality. When he stated that “the unexamined life is not worth living” (Plato 45), he truly meant that without questioning life, one would not be truly living. Actions would have no understanding of being right or wrong. For Socrates, a man who believed that life should be based on what was right, there would be no greater wrongdoing.
To back this up, he talks about how most philosophers accept payment for their services, but Socrates has never accepted money for his teachings. Fundamentally, his main goal is to learn from others, which leads to the true philosophical pursuit of knowledge that can only be achieved through rational arguments. Socrates goes on to speak of an experience he had at the Oracle of Delphi, in which it is revealed that Socrates is the wisest man in Athens. He questions the truth of this statement, and sets off to question the poets, politicians, and other wise men. After questioning different experts in various fields, he discovers that no one really knows what they are talking about. He concludes that he must be the wisest man because he can admit, “I do not think I know what I do not know” (21d). Overall, Socrates promotes the value of knowledge through self-reflection and logical
I think it’s important to first examine the circumstances of what was going on when Socrates stated “the unexamined life is not worth living.” To really get a sense of how critical the situation