Analysis of Apology by Plato

Apology, written by Plato, outlines what occurred during Socrates’ trial. Socrates was on trial because he was accused of being a doer of evil, corrupter of the youth, and not believing in the gods. His charges where those often used against philosophers. Apology tells about Socrates life and the defense that he presented to the jury. Instead of offering an apology, Socrates simply stated his defense. It is believed that Socrates knew he was going to be convicted and sentenced to death; therefore, he used his “defense” as an opportunity to confront his accusers.

Socrates starts his defense by stating that he is telling the truth and his accusers are not. He claims that his accusers have not spoken a word of truth and that he shall only speak the truth. Right from the beginning, Socrates is confronting his accusers by declaring that they are lying. Socrates is accused of collecting money for teaching others, when he really was not. Socrates states that he has no such knowledge that would be worth passing onto others.

Men of Athens, this reputation of mine has come from a certain kind of wisdom which I possess. If you ask me what kind of wisdom, I reply, such wisdom as is attainable by man, for to that extent I am inclined to believe I am wise (Apology 35).

Knowledge is a huge part of Socrates defense. It is believed that knowledge plays a part in the origin of the accusations against Socrates. When Socrates asked the Oracle of Delphi whether that was anyone wiser than he was the oracle replied saying that “there was no man wiser” (Apology 35). Socrates wanted to prove the Oracle wrong, because he knew he had no wisdom, so he set out on find someone wiser than he. This is where the evil to his name began. First, Socrates went to a politician, who had the reputation of wisdom. After talking with the politician, Socrates began to realize that he, the politician, was actually not wise. Socrates tried to explain to him that he was in fact not wise, which lead to the politician hating Socrates. Next, Socrates went to a higher philosopher than he, only to make the same discover. Man after man, Socrates discovered that the men who are thought to be wise are in fact not. All the men which Socrates talked to and told were not wise became angry with Socrates. The beginning of Socrates’ defense explains how his accusers are the men which he confronted about not being wise. After Socrates confronted these men, they became mad at him for he had just told them they were in fact not wise. These men included Meletus, a poet, Anytus, a craftsman, and Lycon, an orator. These three were Socrates main accusers.

Socrates’ accusers accused him of being a “doer of evil and corrupter of the youth, and he does not believe in the gods of the state” (Apology 38). The middle of Socrates’ defense tells the jury why these accusations are incorrect and confronts his accusers in an attempt to prove them wrong. It is believed that Socrates is a doer of evil and corrupter the youth through his belief in nontraditional gods. Socrates has a conversation with Meletus about the improvement of the youth. During this conversation Socrates shows that Meletus is lying and actually has no offense against him. To start, Meletus claims that Socrates does not believe in the traditional gods, but rather in his own gods. Later, Meletus claims that Socrates does not believe in any god(s). This fault shows that Meletus does not have his story straight and is therefore most likely lying. This confrontation Socrates had with Meletus shows that Socrates is telling the truth and his accusers are not.

To conclude his defense, Socrates states his beliefs about death and his view on his punishment. He believes that if the jury decided kill him they are also hurting themselves. Socrates also tells the jury how he will not give up his beliefs just to survive. Even though the jury would most likely settle for exile instead of the death penalty, Socrates does not want that. Socrates would continue to talk to the youth wherever he was exiled to. Exile is also thought of as a worse punishment because you are stripped of your community. Socrates believes that death is a good thing, and therefore does not fight for his life. Since his spiritual voice did not speak to him during the trial, he feels as though he is doing the right thing as he thinks the voice would have opposed if death was evil. Socrates says, “to die to gain because eternity is a single night but death is the journey to another place” (Apology 49). Socrates accusers wanted the death penalty to be placed upon him because they felt that he had committed crimes worthy of it. By informing the jury on how he feels about death, Socrates also confronts his accusers and tells them that their desired punishment is not really a punishment.

Throughout his defense, Socrates confronts his accusers and attests to them being wrong on a range of levels. At the beginning he explains how he informed his, soon to be accusers, that they were not wise, resulting in them getting mad at him. This is said to be the origin of the accusations again Socrates. Next, Socrates shows that his accusers are lying about their accusations against him. Through a conversation with Meletus, one of his accusers, Socrates is able to show that he is being illogical about his accusation against him. In the end, the accusers are confronted when Socrates informs the jury that he does not think of death as a penalty. The accusers see death as the worse penalty but Socrates believes it is a good thing and really does nothing to try to save his life. Due to the fact that Socrates knew he was going to be convicted and sentenced to death, he used his defense as an opportunity to confront his accusers.