Spring 2009 201 Sample Student Work

Return to Human Nature main page.

Student Journals

Journal 1

In the Apology by Plato, Socrates has two separate charges against him. His first charge is being a curious person and studying things in the earth and in the sky, and his second is teaching/corrupting others. These charges were brought to him because he did a study to confirm what the god at Delphi said to his friend Chaerephon; that Socrates was the wisest. Socrates then did a study on the politicians, poets, and craftsmen in the community and found that each of them had the same fault. Because of the success of their craft, they thought themselves “very wise in other most important pursuits, and this error of theirs overshadowed the wisdom they had.” To his defense he says that he is to be as he is. Which means that he doesn’t pretend to have any special wisdom or ability.

A detail in the excerpt that I found especially interesting was how Socrates was not afraid to die and how calm he was when he heard his conviction. I thought it very inspirational when he talked about the story of Troy. Even though Socrates knew that he might die at the end of the trial, he was much more afraid to live a coward on earth.

In Socrates defense he says that he in no way misleads or “brain washes” people. He doesn’t pretend to have any special ability, but he is what he is. He calls out the politicians and poets by saying that they came to the accusers to convict him because he questioned their wisdom. Which he did and found that they pretend to know more than they actually do, and in turn threatened them and their position. He defends himself by saying if he corrupted anyone then why hasn’t anyone come forward. Which I thought was a very good defense. He backs it up by pointing out many of his followers in the court who are there in his support. I am very surprised in the end how they actually convict him of the crimes he was accused of and put to death.

The part of the excerpt that I had a question about was when Socrates says if he has corrupted anyone, then why hasn’t anyone come forward? He goes on to say that many of the people who learn from him were there in the courtroom supporting him. How could the jury accuse him on “here say” and gossip? Was the jury convinced that he was a “brain washer” because he had superior speaking abilities? The part of the excerpt that I sill wonder about is what really did Socrates get convicted of? Was it because he was very wise and could speak the truth, or was there a corrupt jury?

Nicolas Gutierrez

Journal 1

In Plato’s Apology, two different sets of accusations are brought against Socrates. The fist of these two was the informal charges. Socrates had been a longtime enemy of many of the aristocracy in Athens, so many of them claimed Socrates to be a Sophist. Sophists were known for being paid teachers and masters of rhetoric (qualities not looked upon fondly by Athenians). A man named Meletus headed the new formal charges brought against Socrates up. Meletus and the other Athenian aristocracy claimed that Socrates was corrupting the youth and a believer in gods not supported by the state. In fact they claimed Socrates to be an atheist at one point. The defense Socrates uses is actually quite simple. With regards to the old accusations, Socrates makes the point that he cannot be a teacher because he does not know anything, and the boys that listen to him speak only do so out of entertainment. Socrates also points out that masters of rhetoric are excellent orators, and in his first few lines he states that he is not a skilled orator at all. When the matter of dealing with the second set of charges, Socrates approaches the religious charge first. He speaks about what he believes is a mission given to him directly by the god Apollo through the oracle of Delphi. He is in fact trying to understand why the oracle of Delphi has claimed that no other man is wiser than Socrates. In the end Socrates discovers that it is his knowledge that he does not know everything that makes him the wisest of them all. By sharing this story with the jury, Socrates states that there is no way he can be an atheist when his whole life mission is based upon his belief in the Athenian gods. When Socrates deals with the accusation that he is corrupting the youth, he simply states that he is not a teacher, and if in fact he has corrupted them, how come they themselves have not come forward as witnesses or if not them, a relative. In my opinion, Socrates’ defense was very well played. He used just enough to get his point across, while burying things he could not really answer. I do however, think that his emotions took the best of him. He did not have to die, but his poor behavior after hearing the verdict pretty much put the nail in the coffin. Socrates was a great man that clearly swayed numerous of the Athenian aristocracy in his defense. Unfortunately too much bad blood was just enough to produce a guilty verdict.

By Andrew Krug

Journal 1

In the Apology, it becomes clear that Socrates becomes falsely accused by the Athenians. The charges brought up against Socrates included such things as that he was guilty of “wrongdoing in that he busies himself studying things in the sky and below the earth; he makes the worse into the stronger argument, and he teaches these same things to others” (18). All of these charges were brought upon Socrates simply because he contained a certain wisdom. The wisdom that Socrates speaks of is very simple, it’s not necessarily how much you know about the world around you, but more that you are wise enough to admit to yourself and others that you do not know everything. Socrates found himself getting into trouble with the Athenians when he decided to go around through the town testing people on their wisdom. This caused people to dislike him greatly.

In Socrates defense he was doing his work in the name of God. He was following the request of God and doing what was asked of him. Socrates in many ways did nothing wrong and he knows that. By Socrates going around to all of the wisest men in Athens he proved that no one man was truly the wisest and that he, himself, was the wisest because he could admit that he truly did not know anything of true value. What really draws my attention is the final lines of the Apology: “Now the hour to part has come. I go to die, you go to live. Which of us goes to the better lot is known to no one, except the god” (33). Socrates was the one trying to show the Athenians that they really didn’t know everything they thought they did. He called them out on their ignorance. The Athenians, you could say, were scared of what Socrates new. And all Socrates knew was that you only have wisdom when you can admit you don’t know everything. If you think about it, that was the one thing the Athenians refused to do, admit that they did not know it all.

Katelan Redmon