Jury At Socrates Trial example essay topic

The Innocence of Socrates The goals of this paper will be to explore the death of Socrates and to support the thesis that the jury at Socrates' trial was not justified in its decision to sentence him to death. One of the major charges against Socrates in his trial was that of 'impiety. ' This allegation specifically referred to Socrates' neglect of the accepted public gods of the city and introducing new gods. 'Neglecting the public gods' may have referred to Socrates' individualistic optimism when regarding their nature. He believed that the gods were benevolent beings and disagreed with the written legends that depicted them as evil.

Most Greeks did believe the pessimistic theological speculation of popular poets, andSocrates' failure to follow this trend likely contributed to his being accused of neglecting the gods. As for the charge of introducing new deities, it was actually a common practice for Greek cities to modify their roster of public gods. Therefore, Socrates' only crime may have been doing so on his own rather than following changes in accepted religious dogma. A second charge against Socrates was that of 'corrupting the youth.'s pacifically, this referred to the allegation that he made his followers idle, lazy, and weak.

He also supposedly undermined parental authority, encouraged disrespect for one's elders, and promised to make youths wiser and otherwise superior to their parents. It was feared that Socrates' teachings would prompt young men in the Athenian democracy to vote against the beneficial policy of imperialistic expansion. Imperialism would have benefited Athens by bringing in monetary wealth and creating jobs for its citizens in institutions such as the navy and government. A third argument in favor of Socrates' punishment was his close association with three Athenians who proved to be iniquitous in the year following Athens' loss to Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. Following Athens' defeat in 404 B.C. E, the city was surrendered to Lysander who pressed for a Commission of Thirty to be appointed for the purpose of drawing up legislation for the future government of Athens.

Later the Thirty Tyrants were expelled from power and a modern democracy was re-established by the end of the year. Unfortunately for Socrates, two of the Thirty Tyrants, Charm ides and Critics, had been his close friends. In addition, Socrates' devoted follower, Alcibiades, turned out to be a notorious traitor to both Athens and Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. It is not unreasonable to assume that the Athenian democracy would speculate that Socrates' influence on these men somehow contributed to their immoral actions during and after the Peloponnesian War. A fourth factor which is less clear-cut is likely to have played a role in his being found guilty by 281 votes out of a jury of 501.

This factor is simply Socrates' aforesaid habit of persistently questioning anything he saw fit. In fact, there was nothing Socrates held too high or sacred to be questioned. Most listeners quickly found conversation with Socrates to be unpleasant and took offense before they could agree with him on whatever truth he happened to be seeking. Those who did not have the patience to endure Socrates eclectic method of argumentation were left with the mistaken impression that he was merely a troublemaker or a fool. Death was the only honorable choice for Socrates under his unfortunate circumstances.

The only way he could have gained acquittal would have been to admit guilt and request forgiveness. Since Socrates had been unjustly indicted, this action would have finally provided support for the popular assumption that he used sophistry for his own gain. Socrates could have prolonged his earthly life by rejecting everything he stood for, but his remaining years would have been a life more ignoble than he considered worth living. By choosing to remain true to himself, Socrates exchanged a short extension of his life or a martyrdom that would lead to the positive historical reputation he enjoys today. His courageous integrity while on trial is perhaps the best evidence that he cared more about the probity of his society than his personal welfare. The charges brought against him were unwarranted, and the jury's decisions to condemn him and sentence him to death were inappropriate and unjust..