The Apology
Socrates and the Defense of the
Philosophical Life
Discussion Questions
What traits would you
What do
you think? use to describe
Socrates’ character?
What does it mean to
be virtuous?
What do you think
about death? How
does the topic affect
you?
Historical Background
399 BC
Socrates is 71
404 BC, Athens defeated
The Thirty rules for nine months
Amnesty granted
Apologia
Did Socrates want to die?
Did he intentionally provoke the jury?
Philosophical questioning of Meletus
Suggests a ridiculous counter-penalty
Calls himself a “gift from the gods”
Begging for forgiveness is unbecoming
Did he offer a genuine defense of his life?
First Group of Accusers
The first group did not
actually accuse Socrates.
Socrates’ Reputation
“Studies things in the sky
and below the earth.”
“Makes the worse
argument the stronger.”
“Teaches these things to
other people.”
The Oracle at Delphi
Chairephon questions
the oracle
“No one is wiser than
Socrates.”
Socrates wonders,
“Whatever does the
god mean? What is his
riddle?”
Human wisdom
Second Group of Accusers
This group claims that Socrates:
Corrupts the youth
Does not believe in the gods of the city
Believes in new spiritual things
Socrates defends himself against these
charges by questioning Meletus.
What arguments does Socrates present?
Defense of His Reputation
“I do not think that it
requires a prolonged defence
to prove I am not guilty of the
charges . . . On the other
hand, I am very unpopular
with many people. This will
be my undoing, if I am
undone, not Meletus or
Anytus but the slander and
envy of many people.”
Defense of Philosophy
It would be wrong to leave
one’s post for fear of danger.
Son of Thetis avenged the
death of his friends, although
such action might be deadly.
The god has ordered
Socrates to philosophize.
Not to do so for fear of
death would be wrong.
Fear of Death
“To fear death, gentlemen, is no
other than to think oneself wise when
one is not, to think one knows what
one does not know. No one knows
whether death may not be the greatest
of all blessings for a man, yet men
fear it as if they knew that it is the
greatest of evils. And surely it is the
most blameworthy ignorance to
believe that one knows what one does
not know.”
Defense of Philosophy
“I do know that it is wicked and shameful to do
wrong, to disobey one’s superior, be he god or
man.”
If Socrates were offered an acquittal to stop his
practice of philosophy, he would not accept.
“I am grateful and I am your friend, but I will
obey the god rather than you, and as long as I am
able, I shall not cease to practice philosophy . . .”
No Harm to a Good Person
Socrates warns the jury: they might be
harming themselves more than him.
“For I do not think it is permitted that
a better man be harmed by a worse;
certainly he might kill me, or perhaps
banish or disfranchise me, which he
and maybe others think to be a great
harm, but I do not think so.”
“I think he is doing himself much
greater harm . . . attempting to have a
man executed unjustly.”
A Gadfly to Athens
“I was attached to this city by the
god” as “upon a great and noble
horse which was somewhat
sluggish because of its size and
needed to be stirred up by a kind
of gadfly. It is to fulfill such a
function that I believe the god has
placed me in the city. I never
cease to rouse each and every one
of you all day long.”
Private and Public Affairs
If Socrates is concerned
for his fellow citizens,
why did he not lead a
public life in politics?
A “man who really fights
for justice must lead a
private life, not a public
life.”
Is this true?
Socrates and Politics
As a member of the Council, Socrates
claimed it was unjust and illegal to try as a
body the ten generals who failed to pick up
survivors in a naval battle. He was the only
member to oppose the action.
When the Thirty ordered him to bring Leon
from Salamis for execution, which was
unjust. Socrates ignored the order.
The Defense Rests
In a final effort to
defend himself
against the charge of
corrupting the youth,
Socrates requests
that the corrupted
youth, or relatives,
step forward.
Counter-Penalty
“What is suitable for a
poor benefactor who
needs leisure to exhort
you? Nothing is more
suitable than for such a
man to be fed in the
Prytaneum.”
At the prodding of
friends, Socrates
suggests 30 minae.
Socrates’ Closing Speech
Socrates’ prophesy
Divine sign did not
intervene
Death is either a
dreamless sleep or
relocation
“A good man cannot
be harmed in life or in
death.”
Discussion Questions
If Socrates sought
advice for his defense,
what would you have
suggested?
Was Socrates really
guilty of the charges?
Is Socrates’ view of
death, in the Apology,
consistent?