The Apology

Questions:
1.What are the charges against Socrates?
2.What are Socrates' main arguments of defense in regard to each charge?
3.Why does he take such care to avoid securing his own acquittal? He could have begged for clemency, used his wife and children to get a pity vote, offered a reasonable alternative sentencing, promised to behave differently.
4.Is he really an example of a man who lived and died by his own philosophy? Or is he a self-appointed martyr? Are they mutually exclusive?
5.Is there virtue in being a martyr?
6.Do you believe that Socrates believes himself no wiser than any other man? What exactly does he mean by that?
7.And finally, is retaining one's ethical dignity (living by one's principles) worth dying for? For Socrates? For you?

1. Socrates is charged with impiety (lack of recongizing God) and corrupting the young. He was found guilty and sentenced to death.

2. Socrates main argument was that he was the wisest of all men because he knew nothing. He describes the knowledge of a poet, a politician and a artisian for the first charge of impiety. For the second charge he interrogates Meletus, who is the man who is mainly responsible for bringing Socrates to the jury. He asks him a series of questions. The interrogation started with the question "You think a great deal about the improvement of youth?" Socrates questions him asking who is the improver of them. Socrates is being accused of corrupting the youth because he is supposively atheist.

3. In the beginning of the Apology he told the readers he will speak in his accustomed manner of honesty and truth. He wants to tell his story and get a message out to all that being honest and telling the truth...!!

4.To me, Socrates seems like he is a person who lives by his own philosophy because of the way he is expressing himself. "Necessity is laid upon me: 'I must obey God rather than man'" (page 24). He preaches in front of everyone his philosophy and the way he must obey God not the Men of Athens on page 23. I think he was a man who lived and died by his own philosophy. I don't think he is a martyr at all. He doesn't suffer death because he talks about religion through the whol Apology. He talks about what he believes and it is God. The two aren't mutually exclusive because he preaches about his philosophy.

5.I think there is some virtue in being a martyr. Sometimes people stand up for what they believe in and if not renouncing their religion means they have to die, then sometimes it is worth it. I can see why it's worth it because to a lot of people religion is more important than life.

6.On page 10 he says: “I went about searching after a man who was wiser than myself: at first among the politicians; then among the philosophers; and found that I had an advantage over them, because I had no conceit of knowledge.” This quote makes me think he wants everyone to think he is equal with everyone else and isn't wiser than anyone else, but his character shows that he does think of himself wiser than most.

7.Yeah!! I think it's everything. Why would someone want to live their life letting other people rule their life? That would be a life not worth living. For Socrates and for me. It is worth dying if a person is standing up for what they believe in.
a person who willingly suffers death rather than renounce his or her religion.
a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief