The Public Sphere has become the center of thought and the forum in which people can freely communicate their views, though it is important to realize that not always have the two been intertwined. Though today the Public Sphere is thought to have originated during the French Revolution, but it is much older than that, it held an important aspect in the Hellenistic Greek era. Because free speech and Public Sphere were not combined back then many philosophers found themselves in a tough spot when they spoke out against the norm in favor of change. Philosophers, such as Socrates, found that the Public Sphere was very important to their ability to teach/lecture to other students or passer byes (Plato p. 2). However, unlike now where free speech …show more content…
Because Socrates believed that the most important job in his life was to pursue wisdom by questioning “ the politicians...to the poets; tragic, dithyrambic, and all sorts,” making sure he questioned all of the influential people of Greek Society (Plato p. 4). What Socrates found was that “men most in repute were all but the most foolish; and that some inferior men were really wiser and better,” from these inferior men he helped raise formidable minds and also upset those within power thusly creating enemies (Plato p. 4). In his own words “This investigation has led to my having many enemies of the worst and most dangerous kind,” which led to accusations being placed against him (Plato p. …show more content…
2). Because Socrates publicly questioned the norm and backed up his comments, youth started to challenge the system, that being said Socrates argued that he “either I do not corrupt them, or I corrupt them unintentionally, so that on either view of the case,” his accusers were in fact making themselves into liars and had no real claim against him (Plato p. 7). It had been common knowledge for quite some time the aspect of free will and therefore Socrates could ever predict what people took away from his lectures as he could not determine when they first came in or how much they actually were paying attention. To polish off his accusers, he says “my offence is unintentional, the law has no cognizance of unintentional offences,” which meant that since there was no slandering of specific people, or groups that there was no lawful case against him (Plato p.
After reading “The Apology of Socrates”, I feel very strongly that Socrates was innocent in the allegations against him. “The Apology of Socrates” was written by Plato, Socrates most trusted pupil, who in fact wrote everything for Socrates. Numerous times in his defense, Socrates points out ways that what he is being accused of is false. The point of this paper is to show how Socrates did this, and to explain how he proved his innocence by using these quotes. He uses a lot of questions to the accusers to prove his points and is very skilled in speech and knowledge. This essay’s purpose is to explain why I think Socrates was innocent, and how he proves that in his speech.
1. The measure of a great society is the ability of its citizens to tolerate the viewpoints of those with whom they disagree. As Voltaire once said, “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” (Columbia). This right to express one's opinion can be characterized as “freedom of speech.” The concept of “freedom of speech” is a Constitutional right in the United States, guaranteed under the First Amendment to the Constitution:
In Plato’s Apology, when Socrates is pleading his defence, he makes a good argument against the charges of corrupting the youth of Athens. This is evident when he states that, firstly, Meletus, the man who is trying to get Socrates executed, has never cared about the youth of Athens and has no real knowledge on the subject. Secondly, Socrates states that if he was in some way corrupting the youth, then he was doing it unintentionally or unwillingly, in which case he was brought to court for no reason. Finally, Socrates brings to light the fact that Meletus doesn’t have a single witness to attest to Socrates’ corruption. This is how Socrates proves his argument that he isn’t responsible for corrupting the youth of Athens.
Socrates was not guilty as charged; he had done nothing wrong, as seen in the Apology. Not even a priest could tell Socrates what he had done wrong religiously, Euthyphro wasn’t even able to give Socrates a precise definition of piety. It is then questioned by Crito why Socrates would remain to face a penalty for a crime he did not commit. In the Crito, it is explained why, although innocent, Socrates must accept the penalties his peers have set upon him. It is his peers that will interpret and enforce the laws, not the law which will enforce it. Even if the enforcers don’t deserve attention and respect because they have no real knowledge to the situation, Socrates had put himself under their judgment by going to the trial. Therefore, Socrates must respect the decisions made by the masses because the decisions are made to represent the laws, which demand each citizen’s respect.
Socrates was indicted to a court of law on the charges of impiety, and the corruption of the youth of Athens. Three different men brought these charges upon Socrates. These men represented those that Socrates examined in his search to find out if the Delphic Mission was true. In that search he found that none of the men that promoted what they believed that they knew was true was in fact completely false. This made those men so angry that they band together and indicted Socrates on the charges of impiety and the corruption of the youth. Socrates then went to court and did what he could to refute the charges that were brought against him.
Within the duration of this document, I will be discussing the charges laid against Socrates and how he attempted to refute the charges. One of the reasons why Socrates was arrested was because he was being accused of corrupting the minds of the students he taught. I personally feel that it is almost impossible for one person to corrupt the thoughts and feelings of a whole group of people. Improvement comes from the minority and corruption comes from the majority. Socrates is one man (minority).
Socrates, according to Plato challenged the norms of society by questioning life and having others question it as well. He was labeled of “corrupting the youth” and for not believing in the Athenians gods. “Socrates is guilty of corrupting the young, and of not acknowledging the gods the city acknowledges, but new daimonic activities instead.” (The Apology, pp 654) Although, he was cast by being “corrupt”, Socrates had many followers that saw him as a wise man. Socrates trial was made up of thirty jurors, who were later known as “The Thirty.” The “Thirty” really wanted was to silence Socrates, rather than taking his life. However, Socrates did not want to disobey the laws, he did not want to be violated of his right to freedom of speech, nor did he did he want to be undermine his moral position. (The Apology, pp. 647) He stood against injustice acts several times while he was in counsel. “I was the sort...
Hentoff, Nat. Free Speech for Me – But Not for Thee. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. Print
The charges against Socrates were brought upon him by a man names Meletus. Meletus was a young man that Socrates did not know very well. These charges brought on by Meletus caused the indictment of Socrates. One of the charges in the affidavit written by Meletus against Socrates is that he is "corrupting the youth." Another charge that is brought upon Socrates is that of he is making up new Gods and disregarding the old Gods the Athenians believe in. These were the charges brought on Socrates.
In society the topic of free speech comes up very frequently. One side will argue that there should be no limit on what someone wants to say, while others believe that the idea on full free speech is dangerous and should be restricted. In a video that was presented to us there was a debate that conquered this topic on why or why not this should be allowed. This topic of free speech has gone on for decades and continues to be a fight on whether it should be limited.
Public sphere, in rhetoric, a place for citizens to express their ideas and opinion, are becoming an important concept in China during 1990s. The concept of Public Sphere was originated during 18th century by German scholar Hannah Arendt, with analyzing of the human condition, the origins of totalitarianism and the plight of the modern constitutional issues in the public domain, thus Hannah Arendt opened the public sphere theory study of the regiment.
Thomas Jefferson once said, “Where the press is free and every man is able to read, all is safe”. In his quote, Thomas Jefferson is referring to freedom of speech. Freedom of speech also referred to as freedom of expression (Roleff). The freedom of speech is an unalienable right given to every citizen of the United States of America. The Bill of Rights, which includes the first amendment, was drafted in 1789 and adopted in 1791. In 1925, the United States Supreme Court declared the freedom of speech as a civil liberty. In conclusion, state governments had to allow freedom of speech because the fourteenth amendment protected it. This paper will explain the origination of freedom of speech and arguments for free speech as well as restrictions,
Freedom of speech might be the most useful and righteous freedom a citizen could be granted with. As technology improves and society becomes more and more modernized, people get more comfortable with the social media and tend to express themselves more on those tools.As one knows, there are specific ways to express opinion or address to people and social media require specific manners and would not advise publicly intimidating another no matter what the situation is or was. That is the case for Anthony Elonis whose case will be studied and elaborated in this assignment.
Being criticized is one of the hardest things to accept as a thinker or scientist. Academic criticism questions the very premise of one’s idea, theory or hypothesis. It this openness to criticism that the Athenians show in The Symposium that show the true nature of these men. All of these men are well educated, well spoken and present well thought out ideas. The are most likely highly respected men in the community and must take some pride in their abilities. However, there is an uncanny acceptance to criticism from their peers that proves these men prioritize logic and reason over their own personal pride. An examples of this is seen when Eryximachus says to Aristophanes, “ Indeed, I am not going to attack you for I thought your speech was charming” (Burger 108). This quote displays the Athenians be able to admit they were wrong, and were able to change their views if presented with new, logical information. This is a key element in a sophisticated and accomplished intellectual community. It is at the very core of academic thinking to question and provide answers that logically explain why. If new evidence is presented, a good intellectual will change his answer to re explain this new information or question. However, in The Symposium, the reader must be careful not to use this text as a historical record of who the smartest Athenian was. Plato of student of Socrates, could have potential a large bias for his former teacher and could paint him a brighter light than might be historically accurate. It is important to understand the significance of others openness to criticism but not necessarily that Socrates was the superior intellectual of his time, just because he is the last to speak and receives very little
When Socrates was brought to trial for the corruption of the city’s youth he knew he had done nothing wrong. He had lived his life as it should be lead, and did what he ne...