Plato - The Last Days Of Socrates

Nicole Vallencourt
Exam 1, Question 3
Pynn MW 2pm
12 February 2007

Socrates was put to death in 399B.C.E. The charge was impiety on the grounds that he was failing to acknowledge the city’s gods, introducing new divinities, and corrupting its youth. He came to philosophy when the oracle of Delphi said there was no one wiser that he. This prophecy created a tension within him, as he thought he possessed no wisdom at all, at least none that was on any importance. Socrates had to find a way to solve this riddle the gods presented him with and as well devise a way to deal with his newfound tension, so he set out to find a man who truly was wise. What he found was that the men he questioned didn’t really know about the values of society they claimed to live by. They were too concerned with wealth, fame, and power to worry about what is really important. Socrates said he was living “the good life” and defined the good life when he was explaining to the court that he could not discontinue his questioning.
“If I say this would be a disobedience to God, and that is why I cannot ‘mind my own business’, you will not believe me – you’ll think I’m pulling your leg. If on the other hand I tell you that to let no day pass without discussing goodness and all the other subjects about which you hear me talking and examining both myself and others is really the very best thing that a man can do, and that life without this sort of examination is not worth living, you will be even less inclined to believe me (38a).” The good life is giving thought to goodness, truth, and perfection of the soul. He said to have perfection of the soul and self-understanding you had to possess and understand the core Athenian values, which were piety, justice, knowledge, courage, and temperance. To achieve this perfection, you had to have all of these. Socrates’ mission was to find someone who did. He questioned and examined those who had reputations for being wise about the knowledge and ideas they held and the values they claimed to live by. What he found was that everyone he examined claimed to have knowledge they did not in fact possess. The lack of thought these people had given to their values that were supposedly finely crafted became apparent. Euthyphro is a perfect example of this. He couldn’t stand up to Socrates’ examination. When his line of reasoning proved contradictory over and over again, Euthyphro lost his courage and fled. Socrates could not find anyone who truly knew who they were. He found not only did they not know anything about the values they claimed to have so much understanding of, but they also acted on this knowledge assuming they did. The inconsistency of their thought was reflected in their lives. Socrates thought it was necessary for knowledge to guide our actions. If the knowledge of the gods always benefits the world, then human intellect would always assist human kind. They did not use their intelligence to question themselves or others about their actions and the reasons behind them. This fell far short of the Aristos Socrates was looking for.
It was the very people who claimed to have this knowledge that would “deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean (22c).” They claimed to have a “perfect understanding of all other subjects of which they were completely ignorant (22c).” This is of extreme importance because what Athenians claimed that distinguished themselves from other Greeks was that they thought before they acted. They believed themselves to be rational and introspective. They prided themselves on living the examined life when in fact it was quite the opposite. They were so concerned with the pursuit of wealth, fame, and power that they didn’t even contemplate on what was just. They didn’t really know what holiness was. They lost their courage; they had no knowledge, and therefore had no understanding of who they truly were. Socrates ran into trouble with society mainly because he said all of the things they considered of extreme importance were merely trivialities. He said that living a life of acquisition, fame, and power is one that ignores the things that are of supreme importance. The reasons why Socrates was put to death are ironic, because his execution exemplified exactly the ignorance that Socrates was exposing.
A Socrates in twenty-first century America would have most likely been met with less adversity, as America holds great importance in the freedom of speech and thought. As a man wielding questions rather than ideas, Socrates would have had a brilliant impact as a journalist, exposing the true objectives of the most prominent organizations, religious fundamentalists, or politicians alike. Coming from an unbiased standpoint, his passive interrogations would undoubtedly reveal impurities and dubious motives within our ruling body. To say that he would be met with no adversity at all, however, would be a stretch. As he was considered an annoyance in his day, Socrates would clearly raise the warning flags of those not wanting to be under his scrutinizing and truthful depictions of their purpose. With our media capabilities, Socrates might have amassed celebrity on a global level, and in turn have possibly met an untimely end at the hands of a group or an individual who felt insulted or threatened. Aside from continually opening eyes to the truth in the world around them, Socrates could have made a wonderful self-help guru or life-coach. His quest for temperance and restraint would prove to be key elements in learning how to focus your everyday actions into positive and useful tools for your future and the betterment of oneself. He also places extreme importance on being a freethinking being. He would encourage his subjects to truly examine the principles inside of them and not be swayed by public or familial opinion to be a certain way. As a good therapist, he would direct his clients to examine what it is that truly makes them happy; to help them see what truly positive things in life they should strive for, rather than the seek the superficial and accepted norm. No matter what profession a modern day Socrates chose, he would offer his services pro bono, not accepting a fee and criticizing those that did. His message would still be this same: “Make your first and chief concern not for your bodies or for your possessions, but for the highest welfare of your souls (30b).”
As Euthyphro would be viewed as a more conservative and religious fundamentalist in this day, Socrates would unwittingly proceed as the rival libertarian with a penchant for pacifism. Standing up to the falsehood of those with a potentially harmful amount of hubris and proving through questions and conversation that anyone professing to know everything will soon fall short of their own haughty claims, Socrates might have found himself nominated to take a seat in a local or national government to protect those who are not pious and search for a deeper truth. Oftentimes, public opinion is something passed down onto people who simply accept a set of rules, rather than looking into the reasons why or why they shouldn’t believe in something. In the time of Socrates, much like today, people were quick to adopt what was mere public opinion and make it their own personal opinion, without examination, simply because it was easier and required less actual thought. The idea of free-thinking is important in that it encourages people to seek the real meaning and motive behind their actions and beliefs; to question if their actions are what is expected of them instead of what is good for them.
Socrates said to the men of Athens, “Are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honor, and give no attention or thought to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul (29e)?” This message would apply to every American today. He would criticize our capitalistic nature. Few Americans think about that matters that Socrates considers of extreme importance. In the teachings of Socrates, a large part of living the good life is understanding what makes a person who they are and reaching their true potential by achieving perfection of the soul. Most Americans are content to have a family and a good job. We are so concerned with finding “the American dream” that we give little attention to matters of the soul. We have to constantly keep ourselves entertained to distract ourselves from thinking about who we are and what we are capable of. Americans today aspire to mediocrity instead of perfection. We don’t even believe perfection is possible. Instead of thinking, we accept public opinion. Instead of improving our mind, we improve our standard of living. Instead of discussing truth, we watch television. Socrates says this mix up of values is what makes civilizations fall. The United States has become what it is because of its desire for wealth, fame, and power. All Americans should take Socrates message seriously, or our ignorance could ultimately lead to our demise.




Works Cited
Plato. The Last Days of Socrates. Trans. Hugh Tredennick and Harold Tarrant. New
York. Penguin Group. 2003.