The Idea Of Truth In The Apology By Socrates

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The truth can reveals many things, whether it pertains to a person’s character or helps in the understanding of a certain situation. Socrates became known as the first, true philosopher due to his own understanding and explanation of philosophy. In the mind of Socrates, philosophy was a way of life that attributed to a person’s values, beliefs, experiences, etc. He wanted to seek out the truth, and as a result he used an analytical approach on philosophy, which later became known as the “Socratic method”. Using the aforementioned method, Socrates approached people in the streets and questioned them to see what sort of knowledge he can gain, but through his discovery he noticed that those who claim to know did not know anything at all. However,…show more content…
The Apology begins with Socrates explaining that he has not perfected the art of rhetoric, but he will speak truthfully and should not be judged on the way he speaks because he is only seeking justice for the causes that he will plead. In other words, Socrates states that he will not use rhetoric or emotions to win over the citizens of Athens because he wants everyone to clearly understand the important points that he is making. Socrates goes on to explain that there was a man named Chaerephon who asked if there was any other person who is wiser than Socrates, and the oracle stated clearly that Socrates was the wisest of them all. Socrates was stupefied by the news, and went out on a quest to see if he is indeed the wisest man in Athens. He first went to a politician who had a reputation for being wise, and when Socrates started talking to him he realized that he was not as wise as he claimed to be. He told the politician that he does not possess all of the knowledge as he thinks, and the politician started to dislike…show more content…
However, when the youth was questioned they could not account for the facts that Socrates was poising their minds. In his defense, Socrates called upon Meletus to answer a few questions. Socrates asks him to explain how he is corrupting the youth, and asks him if he thinks that Socrates is teaching the youths not to acknowledge the gods that they are expected too, and to praise some other forms of entities. He goes on to ask Meletus if he portrays himself as being an atheist, and Meletus responds by saying that he does believe that Socrates is an atheist because he does not believe in the gods of the states, but instead teaches that the physical world is our God. Socrates then explains to him that he was not the one who chose the gods of the states, and states that Meletus is being a bit contradictory in his accusations because in one instance he calls Socrates an atheist who does not believe in any god, and claims that he also creates his own gods. Socrates makes it clear that he did not compel his listeners to accept a new set of ideas, but rather wanted to
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