Socrates Use Of Socratic Irony In Plato's Apology

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Apology was written by pupil Plato as he watched his teacher, and in some ways hero, stand before the jury with two harsh charges pending against him. As Socrates taught Plato, Plato learned many of his ways was there to document this trial. While there is speculation on how true the words of Plato were in the work of Apology, it is thought that because of how much Plato admirers Socrates that the words are probably a fairly accurate account. These charges brought against Socrates were that of corrupting the youth and not accepting or believing in the gods that the state accepted. This account of what happen contains many speeches made my Socrates in his defense. This directly relates to the way ‘Apology’ is used in the title. In contemporary…show more content…
The way Socrates saw things in life differed very much to the thought of others at that time, let alone contemporary thought. There are many times that Socrates says things that take extra thought. One of those things that truly shines the light in on his irony is when he discusses knowledge, “To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge,” (Pg. 516). By this, Socrates is meaning that he is wise because he is able to admit that he knowns nothing. He claims that most cannot admit this and this is something that sets most men apart. This is exactly something that explains the irony that Socrates possess throughout the entire defense trial. The Socratic irony is one of the biggest things throughout the trial that can be learned. He often offers insight through the irony of his deeper thoughts which will later be discussed. This Socratic irony can be viewed through Delphic oracle as it shows the humbleness of Socrates in his thoughts of knowledge. Through this thought it is accepted that is can be in fact more empowering to understand that one has no knowledge to think one does. This is one of the first things that can be learned through Apology by…show more content…
It can be seen through this reading that wisdom and virtue are very closely related in the mind of Socrates. One of the things that Socrates finds most important in his morals is the community or society. It is often said that Socrates looks to improve society, especially in the form of knowledge. Referring back to the previous points, it can be seen that Socrates has a rather skewed concept of what knowledge is from the everyday man, however, this is all a positive for Socrates as it allows him to think outside of the box. One of the ways that he believes man can be united in society is by working together in the efforts of knowledge and wisdom. Contrary to the popular belief, Socrates believes that knowledge is the key to society as he discusses in like 30b, “Wealth does not bring goodness, but goodness brings wealth and every other blessing, both to the individual and to the State,” (Line 30b). This all relates directly to Socrates ethic morals as it shows exactly what he believed in and all of the things he intended to do. It was recorded by Plato that Socrates wished for and believed that if all were wise, than none could do wrong by the state or the people. Overall, Apology allowed for a deeper insight of the understandings of the Socratic ethic

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