Socrates Defense in the Apology

Socrates responds by arguing that the charges are false, that they were brought against him by people with ulterior motives having nothing to do with the search for truth or the good of Athens or its people, and that instead of being punished for impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens, he should be treated as a hero.

Socrates "apology" for philosophy, actually a powerful and humble defence of philosophy, offers a self-portrait based not on impiety or pride or false gods or corruption or teaching lies for pay, but rather on a vigilant attention to and exposure of shoddy thinking and false wisdom and knowledge.

Socrates asks how he can be accused of putting himself and his knowledge above others, of putting his version of reality above that of the city's, when in fact the basis of his philosophy is that he knows nothing and knows that he knows nothing. All he has done his whole life is attempt to rationally, simply, and usually civilly expose those who claim to know something---or everything---when in fact they know nothing as well.

Socrates himself, ironically, refers to the Delphic

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ave no time to give either to any public matter of interest or to any concern of my own, but I am in utter poverty by reason of my devotion to the god (72). In other words, Socrates is saying that he is obeying God, or the god, or the Oracle, rather than defying or denying God, when he sets out every day to prove the Oracle right when it was declared that no man was wiser than Socrates. Socrates argues that the fact that his humble work caused so many powerful people and institutions such fear and consternation indicates the true power of philosophy, of a philosopher who merely investigates carefully and reasonably whether what people say is true or not. To Socrates, it is the mission of philosophy to do precisely what he is doing. He is, he says directly, a "gift" from God to the city and people of Athens. He argues at one point not for his own sake, but for the sake of Athenians "that you may not sin against the God by condemning me, who am his gift to you." He tells the city and its people that "if you kill me you will not easily find a successor to me, who . . . am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by God" (85). Socrates sees himself as the conscience of the city and the people, keeping them honest, exposing their
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Delphi Pythian, Plato's Apology, Socrates Socrates, Oracle God, Socrates Apology, Athens Socrates, city people, Delphic Oracle, York Heritage, wiser socrates, city people athens, prove oracle, people athens, socrates apology, charged socrates, wisdom truth, interpretation oracle, 85 socrates, ,
Approximate Word count = 1354
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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