Socrates, Guilty Or Not Essay - 946 Words

Socrates, Guilty Or Not Ancient Athens was the site of a growing culture. Philosophy was among the many improvements and discoveries being made. With these improvements and discoveries, great thinkers were able to stretch out their knowledge to new heights. The society they lived in, both welcomed and shunned their ideals. Socrates was one of these thinkers. It was because of Socrates open-mindedness that he was sentenced to death by two charges brought against him. One, Socrates corrupted the youth and two, Socrates believed in ‘false gods’. Yet, was Socrates guilty or not? In the Apology, Socrates examines the charges brought against him by Meletus and tries to prove that they are false. The first charge brought against him is that†¦show more content†¦Only those who had trained to teach discipline would be beneficial to the youth. Meletus’s next charge is that Socrates ‘believes in false gods’. Socrates says that he believes in Divine Spirits. Meletus takes this statement to mean that Socrates says that if Meletus believed in gods and goddesses, then he must believe in Divine Spirits. For they are the children of the gods. After hearing this statement Meletus changes his story many times saying that Socrates did not believe in any gods at all. Meletus is not sure which one it should be and continues to change it back and forth. Meletus’s action of contradicting himself, clearly showing that the charge had no validity. On the first charge that Meletus brought against Socrates that he, ‘corrupted the youth’, this charge could have been seen as true by many. Socrates was teaching his followers to think for themselves. The government and people may have seen this as a threat. They believed that the youth may the try to break away from the norms that were set up, which would have lead to havoc. Socrates, however, was not trying to make the youth go against the laws. In fact, Socrates told his followers that they should live by the laws because the laws were needed. As in the Crito, Socrates mentions that to go against the laws would be the wrong thing to do. The society of Athens, made laws for the people to follow. These laws were made to keep order. Socrates understood and respected that the lawsShow MoreRelatedSocrates : Not Guilty1610 Words   |  7 PagesSocrates: Not Guilty Intro (138) In 399 BC, when he was seventy years old, Socrates was called into court by three men: Meletus, a poet, Anytus, a politician, and Lycon, an orator. The specific charges were impiety (namely that he did not believe in the gods of Athens, and instead had introduced new gods), and corruption of the youth of the city. 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