Plato, Apology

Type: 

Knowledge / Philosophical / Practical

Notes

1. Socrates addresses the Athenians at the court. 
1. Says the accusers only speak untruths and he only truths.
2. Says he won't change his way of speak, he'll use his costumary way.
3. Cites the tragedy "The Clouds" by Aristophanes, where he is shown in a misleading way;
4. "Let the speaker speak truly and the judges decide justly"
2. Defendes himself against the older accusers
1. "Socrates is evil-doer, searches for things in earth and in heaven and makes the worst look better; and teaches it to others"
2. Says he has nothing to do with physical speculations.
3. Says there're many others who charge for their supposed wisdom; not him.
4. Explains why the have the "bad fame" of wise;
1. Chaerephon asked the Delphi oracle about who's wiser than Socrates; "No man";
2. "If only I could find a man wiser than myself", his search starts with this;
3. Inquiries with politicians, poets, artisans
1. Found out the men with higher reputation knew the lesser;
2. Politicians < Poets < Artisans (The more reputaton, the less wisdom);
3. "I don't have their knoledge or ignorance"
4. Puts it as obedient to the God, as a divine mission;
5. Instead of angrey with themselves, they're angry with me;
5. Created many enemies because of this, this is the real nature of the accusation;
1. Accuser Meletus on behalf of poets; 
2. Anytus; artisans and politicians; 
3. Lycon, rhetoricians;
3. Defendes himself againt the more recent accusers
1. Meletus again;
2. If am their corrupter, who is ther improver? Meletus stays silent;
3. After pressed: "The laws", and then "the judges, the senators, etc.";
4. Socrates: "I alone am the corrupter?"
1. Happy they would be if they had only one corrupter and the rest of the world their improvers.
5. "Do not the good do their nighbours good, and the bad do them evil?", "Certainly";
1. "Does any one like to be injured?", "Certainly not";
2. "Do I corrupt them intentionaly or unintentionaly?", "Intentionaly";
3. "Either I do not corrupt them; or I corrupt them unintentionally";
6. "I mean that you are a complete atheist";
1. Socrates says this is inconsistent, how come he believes in supernaturation begins and demigods and not in gods? 
1. Rather like believing in flute-playing but not in flute-players;
4. About his behavior on trial;
1. "A man good for anything should only consider what he does is right or wrong, not if he'll live or die";
1. Nobody knows whether death is the greatest evil or greatest good;
2. "I tell you virtue is not given by money, but from virtue comes money and every other good of man;"
3. "Nothing will injure me, not Meletus or Anytus, a bad man can't injure a better than himself;"
1. The evil he is doing (unjustly taking away the life of another) is greater than the injure done upon me;
4. "You may sin againt God by condemning me, you won't easy find a successor to me;"
5. I am like a gadfly that prevents you from sleeping; without me or other fly like me, you will stay asleep;
1. Later on Socrates says undisturbed sleep would be better then living, then...
1. Examined life > Undisturbed sleep (death) > Living sleep (unexamined life);
6. "If I were in politics, I should have perished long ago and done no good to anyone;"
1. He who will fight for the right; must have a private station and not a public one;
2. This rejects the idea of going to public and making the transformation from there, but instead to transform from the private sphere;
3. I have been always the same in my actions, public as well as private;
4. "I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live" (said after condemnation)
7. Divine signs
1. Voice he hears since childhood which forbids but never commands;
2. Socrates thinks he has a duty by God of cross-examining other men;
3. Signs by oracles, visions;
8. About not having relatives on the trial;
1. They would appeal only to ask favour of a judge towards acquittal;
2. Instead, one should inform and convince him;
1. His duty is not to make a present of justice, but to give judgment;
5. About his condemnation and gives alternative punishment
1. Difference of 30 votes;
2. Looking to it before its own interests
1. I sought to persuade every man to look to himself, and seek virtue and wisdom before he looks to his private interests, 
2. and look to the state before he looks to the interests of the state;
3. Socrates rejects the followings possibilites (he proposes no penalty):
1. penalty of death: not afraid of death;
2. imprisionment: be a slave of the magistrates of the year (the Eleven);
3. exile: where unknown people would less likely accept him as this now;
4. Virtue is the greatest good of man;
5. Unexamined life is not worth living;
6. Penalty proposed:
1. 30 minae, having Plato, Crito, Critobulus and Apollodorusas sureties;
6. Final words and the meaning of death
1. For having killed a wise man, though he thinks he isn't wise;
2. Neither in war yet at law ought I or any man to use every way of escaping death;
3. The difficulty is not to avoid death, but to avoid unrighteousness;
4. The oracles were silent about the trial, Socrates takes that as meaning death is not evil (otherwise they would say something);
5. Socrates thinks there is greater reason to hope that death is a good;
1. He compares an undisturbed sleep to days of life;
2. How many days and nights are more pleasantly than that sleep?
3. To die is gain; eternity is a single night;
4. But if death is a journey to another place, all the better.
1. One could talk to ancient heros and wise figures;
2. "I shall examine them", this without the inconvenient of dying again;
6. Socrates asks the Athenian to punish his sons if they value riches more than virtue in the future in other to receive justice, both him and his sons;
7. Now is the time, I to die, you to live, which is better God only knows;