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Socrates
Sophists
Wise men—non-Athenians.
Professional itinerant teachers. Paid by
individuals.
Encouraged skepticism by stressing two-sidedness
of every question.
Outlook was superficial and practical
Aimed at producing cleverness and efficiency
rather that wisdom and goodness
Tended to have inflated sense of their own wisdom
and self-importance
Sophists
In order to participate effectively in Greek
political life, one had to be able to speak
effectively. Sophists trained Athenian men in
rhetoric. Skill of clever debate which aimed at
winning arguments with little concern for the truth
Sophists taught others to persuade. They were not
concerned with how their pupils used this skill.
They would teach one to prove anything.
Sophists gained a reputation of being opportunists
and men with a lack of principles.
Socrates’
Reputation
Not physically attractive
Enormous personal magnetism
Extraordinary powers of endurance
Always walked barefoot
Would stand in a trance for hours
Socrates’ self-control (During
Peloponnesian War, he stood out of doors in
cold from sunrise to sunrise)
Socrates’ Primary Concerns
Arête—excellence in a moral sense
Virtue
Soul is the essence of the individual,
improved by virtue and ruined by its
opposite.
Virtue =knowledge
One could not be virtuous without first
knowing what virtue is.
Virtue
Elimination of ignorance is first step in
leading men to virtue.
Men commit evil only out of ignorance.
Socratic method
Asking questions to show another’s
ignorance.
Socratic method
Used questions to point out ignorance of fellow
Athenians.
This method caused him to make enemies.
Socrates was convinced that fellow Athenians
were ignorant, yet he did not see himself as wise.
His wisdom lay in the fact that he realized he
didn’t know anything, while they , although
ignorant, thought themselves to be wise.
Socratic method
Socrates’ profession of ignorance is often an
example of Socratic irony. “Irony” is derived
from Greek word meaning pretended ignorance.
Designed to confuse one being questioned.
Socrates did not consider himself a teacher in the
usual sense.
Saw himself as an assistant to the birth of
knowledge.
Socratic method
Unlike the sophists, Socrates believed
knowledge was attainable.
Yet only real knowledge is that which the
student attains with the active use of his
own mind.
Purpose was to put young men on right
track toward truth and virtue.
Mind of Socrates
Not creative
Yet clear, critical, and eager
Tolerated no pretense
Conduct and thinking were both logical
Believed firmly in moral goodness
Identified goodness with knowledge
Socrates
Not merely a moralist
A sincerely religious man
Might have believed in a single God
Believed he had a supernatural voice within
him that spoke directly to him.
Spoke when he was doing something
wrong, but silent when doing something
right.
Socrates
Ideal companion
Spent his days in the agora
All honest seekers of the truth admired and
revered him
Was a prophet, but not a martyr
Historical background
Athens defeated by Sparta in Peloponnesian
War.
Democracy does not survive.
Assembly voted to choose 30 men to form a
temporary gov’t.
First step taken by 30 was to rid Athens of
those politicians whose bad advice had
contributed to downfall of Athens.
Historical background
Ultimate aim of the 30 was to eliminate
their political opposition
30 became autocrats
Became known as 30 tyrants
Passed a law that they could put to death
and confiscate the property of anyone
included on their list of 3000 citizens
End of Tyranny
Tyranny of 30 led to mass exodus of
disenfranchised Athenians. Socrates did not
leave.
Two generals, Anytus and Thrasybulus led a
small army and defeated the forces of the 30
Democracy restored
Restoration of democracy
Amnesty decreed
No citizen could be brought into court on a
charge of political wrongdoing committed
before the restoration of democracy.
Only persons excluded were 30 themselves
and their close associates
Trial of Socrates
Took place in 399 BC, 4 years after the
restoration of democracy
Socrates was an associate of Critias, the
leader of the 30.
Fact that he had remained in Athens while
30 were in power did not endear him to
democrats in exile
Two sets of accusers
Negative public opinion—prejudice against
Socrates reinforced by the comic
Aristophanes.
Three citizens—Meletus—represents
offended poets and traditional education;
Anytus—represents politicians and
craftsmen
Lycon—represents rhetoricians and orators
Trial
Prosecutors—Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon brought
a public action against Socrates.
Private individuals brought charges; there was no
public prosecutor or District Attorney in Athens.
Litigants had to state their own case, without the
help of counsel.
These three had probably never met Socrates.
Trial
Prosecution spoke first
Defendant replied
Jury consists of 500 representative citizens
Jury not chosen; any citizen who chooses to
show up
Verdict is given by a majority
King Archon is judge, but he has almost no
power.
Charges against Socrates
Heresy (Hard to prove b/c Socrates was attentive
to religious observances.)
“Had corrupted the minds of the youth of
Athens”—he encourages thinking.
Religious and political hostility. Socrates doesn’t
accept the Homeric view of the gods.
Socrates is on trial b/c he has put the city of
Athens—citizen by citizen--on trial in the
marketplace
Public caricature of Socrates
Materialistic natural scientist who substitute
impersonal physical forces for the gods.
Sophist. The sophists were both scorned
and sought after. Socrates’ dialectical
question/answer method was confused with
the debate of sophists.
Corrupter—taught young people irreligion
and debate.
Apology
Means defense or a defense speech
Apologia means “speech before”
Socrates is NOT apologizing or making
excuses.
Speech was not written ahead of time
Can Socrates hope to educate the crowd of
510 judges?
Transcribed by Plato and Xenophon.
3 parts of Apology
Socrates’ defense
His counter-proposal for the penalty
Final address to the court
Terms to understand
Ethos
Pathos
Logos