Why Was Socrates Sentenced To Death

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Proposing questions about the world around us is something seen as a natural occurrence in both human beings and animals. We question the thoughts and actions of others and even ourselves. This is viewed as a normal observation in everyday life and is an innocent act. Annoying at times, but nevertheless, innocent. Socrates was a man who questioned many things. With his questioning, he would tend to open the minds of others. This is something that we now see as good but was once condemned. Socrates was sentenced to death for two reasons: corrupting the youth of Athens and impiety. Socrates was sentenced to death because he was questioning the acts of the world around him and broadening the minds of others, but in doing so, he was questioning things outside of the cultural norm. If Socrates was guilty of anything, it would be allowing others to think on their …show more content…

Starting with young minds and their imaginations. This is where Socrates is accused impiety, or not believing in the gods of Athens. The youth are gullible and believe what is told. It is not that Socrates didn’t believe in the gods, but he believed that some details of the gods should be left out of the stories and poems told to children. The bad in the stories of the gods will then harm the soul of the youth. He believed that if you think as a bad man, you will become a bad man. He speaks this in regards to a child’s imagination. Socrates says, “They mustn’t be spoken in our city, Adeimantus. Nor must it be said within the hearing of a young person that in doing the extremes of injustice, or that in punishing the unjust deeds of his father in every way, he would do nothing to be wondered at, but would be doing only what the first and the greatest of gods did” (55-56). Here he is saying that if the children see only the good done by the gods, then they will in turn only do good. In this case they will only imitate the good and decent

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