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Socrates' Controversial Approaches to Philosophy

Socrates' Controversial Approaches to Philosophy

Socrates was a teacher and a very wise man. He was very controversial because of the way he approached things. He often questioned people to get his points across. In the Trial and Death of Socrates, he is charged with impiety, corrupting the youth, introducing new gods, and atheism. He is brought to trial for these accusations.

Socrates explains during the trial that a friend of his went to the Oracle of Delphi(a temple of Apollo) and is told that Socrates is the wisest of all men. Socrates goes to the politicians, artisans, and writers to see if this is true. He discovers that none of them are smarter than he. From this, Socrates explains the difference between the wise and unwise is that the wiser people admit when they do not know everything. The unwise pretend that they do know, but Socrates does not see this as wisdom. He believes the only true being is God.

As the trial goes on, Socrates defends the charges brought against him. He explains to Meletus, an accuser, that the introduction of new gods charge and the charge of atheism are false. These two things are impossible to have together. Socrates cannot both introduce and believe in gods if as an atheist he does not even believe in gods. Also, Socrates claims that he is not a corruptor of the youth. As he argues, he asks if everyone else improves the youth, and he is answered yes. Then, he says it is not logical that he is the only corruptor of the youth in the whole world and so this accusation is false. Finally, Socrates explains that he is not a sophist. Everyone knows he is poor so how would he be receiving payment to teach.

Socrates believes the real reason he is on trial is because others hate him for showing them that they are not as wise as he is. This makes sense because people in power do not want to be made out to be fools, especially in front of other citizens. Socrates sees this whole thing as his mission to show others that they are not as wise as they think. He argues that people need to analyze themselves better to be wiser.

Socrates goes on to say that he is not ashamed of his life. The jury would allow Socrates to live if he stops questioning everything...

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