The Unjust Execution Of Socrates :: essays research papers

The Unjust Execution of Socrates In the vortex of life, many evils have transpired. Vices such as plagues, unforeseen deaths, and corruptness. Among the tragic acts of malefic proportion was the death of the Greek philosopher, Socrates. He tried to prove and invalidate many theories through reasoning, and he was murdered for his beliefs. His execution was not justified because the charges that were brought against him were false and unfounded. The fist crime that Socrates was charged with was that of impiety. This charge was invented primarily to discredit him and make him unpopular with the citizens. The charge was that of not acknowledging the same gods that the state believed in. Throughout the book, Socrates refers numerous times to the fact that it is because of the gods that things are as they seem to be. "Do you suggest that I do not believe that the sun and moon are gods, as is the general belief of all of mankind?" (57). The fact that Socrates did not publicly speak about the gods attributed to the fact that the charge was heresy. Socrates maintains that he is not like other philosohers. He is a free-thinker, and his beliefs are those of private and intimate thoughts of Gods. Socrates also states that he is not a teacher, however he was not at all happy with the analogy, but took it as a compliment and used it in his defense. He used these accusations to his advantage by saying that he never charged charged anyone for believing or listening to them. The combination of these arguments should have cleared Socrates of the charge of heresy. The second charge brought against Socrates was that of corrupting minors. Socrates battled this charge through the use of the same arguments. The argument that he did not consider himself a teacher, the fact that he never accepted any money for talking or listening to people, and the fact that he believes in gods are what Socrates used to defend himself. By confronting the accusation that he was corrupting the minors, Socrates tried to clear himself by manipulating his arguments so that Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon (the men who brought both charges against Socrates) had to answer questions about these charges. When the questions of Socrates were placed before Meletus, his answers seemed to have proven that Socrates was innocent. However, when the verdict was announced, it demonstrated the opposite. Upon hearing the verdict, GUILTY, it was plain to see that the Greek assembly was like every other political assembly, corrupt. "I should never have believed that it would be such a close thing; but now