Plato

Due to experiencing the volatile state of the Athenian government, it is not surprising that Socrates had much to say on the topic of political philosophy. Central to his political theory was his position on how citizens ought to approach ethics and politics. In the Apology, Socrates' conduct demonstrates his belief that citizens must not be complacent when it comes to political virtue. In order to push citizens out of complacency, Socrates used a method called the “elecnhus” to prod citizens to discover the true definition of virtues (Jowett, 2009). In doing this, Socrates hoped to promote a rigorous understanding of traditional moral virtues; an understanding of what courage, justice, and wisdom, truly meant (Jowett, 2009). At first glance, it seems that Socrates is promoting the appreciation of the traditional virtues, and is therefore a conservative. On the contrary, I will argue that Socrates' conservative rationale serves only as a diversion from his radical intentions. In defending this statement, I will first outline Socrates' conduct and motives in the Apology. Second, I will present the argument for how this behaviour can be interpreted as being conservative using narratives from Crito and The Republic. Lastly, I will argue why this behaviour instead demonstrates that Socrates was a radical.
In the Apology, Plato provides a narrative of Socrates' defence for using the elenchus, an exhaustive questioning method, to stir the position of Athenian citizens on traditional values (Jowett, 2009). Derived from various arguments in The Apology, Crito, and The Republic, it can be found that Socrates had two motives for his conduct. The first motive stems from his notion of benefit in the spiritual realm, which is derived from his theory of virtue. He held that the best life for humans is a life of virtue, and a life of virtue entailed striving to comprehend the true essence of values (Jowett, 2009). The practice of valuing true knowledge was seen to be