Philosophy 201
5 November 2010
Socrates
Born in 469 B.C.E., Socrates lived his life way before his time. The practice of
the era in which he lived was ones’ of single opinion. That is where the ruler told
everyone how and what to think. What made Socrates stand out as a smart minded
willful person was his strong opinions and his teachings to the youth to develop their own
opinions and not fall in line with everyone else’s thinking. This was Socrates downfall.
He was tried and convicted by a jury of his own peers. Exactly what he was convicted of
to me is a mystery since many websites and books state different reasons. However the
most written reasons were his “corruption of the minds of the youth” (The apology) and
“irreverence toward the gods” (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/). He was sentenced to
death by ingestion of hemlock poison. Although some say that he was offered an escape plan he
chose to follow the law of the land and accepted his punishment. Due to his acceptance I do not
believe that he committed suicide. I feel that possibly deep in the recesses of his mind Socrates
felt that he had committed a crime and that this was a punishment in which he deserved. I could
also see the other side of the coin and that he may have decided that he was better off being dead than having to deal with such small minded people who forced their opinions on others. As for his ingestion of the poison I feel that due to his incarceration that this was his only option. I also believe that since this was the ultimate path chosen by his peers for death he did not need to seek other avenues. With the poison being provided to him this made his options easier. As for truly knowing what Socrates was feeling or thinking at that time we only have second hand information to go by. However no-one really knows what goes on in the minds of those who are exceptionally smart and brilliant. I also believe that due to his brilliance that he may have felt that his death was the only way to make his point clear. With that point being that everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
References
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/The Apology
References: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/The Apology
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