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The Apology of Socrates

Introduction

The Apology of Socrates, written by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue of the speech of legal self-defense which Socrates (469–399 BC) spoke at his trial for impiety and corruption in 399 BC. Socrates is being accused of two charges:

  1. Corruption: corrupting the youth
  2. Impiety: Not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other Gods that are novel to Athens

Why is Socrates in the Court?

The statement of the Pythia was brought to Socrates that said Socrates was the most wise human being in Athens. Socrates did not believe so, therefore he went to visit all reputable (respected by the people of Athens and considered to be wise) people in Athens, as an attempt to dispute such claim (that he is the smartest). In the process, Socrates visited politicians and asked them to explain what "justice" is, the politicians failed to answer, therefore Socrates revealed that they were ignorant because politicians' expertise was exercising justice. Socrates also visited poets and asked them to explain what "beauty" is, the poets also failed to answer, thus implying that they were ignorant because poets expertise was to write beautiful poems, but they couldn't explain what "beauty" means. Through this process, Socrates made reputable people in Athens angry towards him, therefore they made the 2 accusations and Socrates was brough to the court for trial.

True Meaning

The meaning of Socrates' speech is more than defending himself, he is trying to convey a message.

The Meaning of Wisdom

Socrates reveals that the so-called "smart" people is afraid of acknowledging their ignorance, this is connected to Socrates' interpretation of wisdom. Socrates believed that "wisdom" is the ability to accept one's incompleteness and ignorance.

The Unexamined Life is not Worth Living

This statement relates to Socrates' understanding and attitude towards death and his commitment to fulfilling his goal of investigating and understanding the statement of the Pythia. Socrates understood the Pythia's response to Chaerephon's question as a communication from the god Apollo and this became Socrates's prime directive. For Socrates, to prevent him from investigating the statement was a fate worse than death. Since Socrates was religious and trusted his religious experiences, such as his guiding daimonic voice, he accordingly preferred to continue to seek the truth to the answer to his question, in the after-life, than live a life not identifying the answer on earth.