Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Thus, in The Apology, Socrates attempts to defend himself and his conduct—certainly not to apologize for it. For the most part, Socrates speaks in a very plain, conversational manner. He explains that he has no experience with the law courts and that he will instead speak in the manner to which he is accustomed: with honesty and directness.
Socrates' Defense. How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was - such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth.
1 “Apology” means “defense”. The trial of Socrates took place in 399 BC. Whether this speech represents the exact or nearly exact words of Socrates offered in his own defense or is Plato’s posthumous defense of his master put in his master’s mouth is unknowable.
The Apology of Socrates, by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue in three parts that cover the Trial of Socrates (399 BC): (i) the legal self-defence of Socrates, (ii) the verdict of the jury, and (iii) the sentence of the court.
Socrates’ defense—or apologia, in Ancient Greek—begins after his accusers have read the deposition outlining the charges against him.
In his brilliant work The Apology, Plato summarized the speech Socrates delivered in his defense. The speech is especially fascinating because it provides a summary of Socrates' life and of his devotion to philosophical questioning.
In the next post, I’ll discuss how Plato’s Apology showcases Socrates bringing his defense to a crescendo as he makes some of his most powerful and compelling points yet. “No one is more hated than those who speak the truth.”