Socrates post Revised

1. Do you think these charges are legitimate?  Is this a fair trial? 


          Socrates, one of the greatest thinkers to ever walk the earth, is sentenced to death by a jury of his peers in ancient Greece. The charges are "...corrupt[ing] the young men growing up." and "...for instituting religions reforms" (Euthyphro 2). I admit, the only side I have of the story is that of Platos' dialogues of Socrates (which is widely believed to be very accurate), but if what they attest to is true, than I must say that these charges are unjust.


        The first charge is completely unjust right from the get go. Socrates isn't a man who would teach a particular view. Socrates is a man who mainly taught through questions. If you have a particular viewpoint, he wouldn't say your wrong. Socrates would question to see if you truly understand your viewpoint. He would make you think critically and then you yourself would change your own mind. If teaching one to think critically is corruption, than he is surely guilty.


       The second charge of religious reforms is, if not false, than greatly exaggerated. In the text, Meletus even states that he knows Socrates believes in divinities (Apology 33). Thus, the question of whether or not Socrates is an Atheist is settled. However, did Socrates believe in the city of Athens gods or make up his own? The answer to that isn't as clear. Even if he didn't, the punishment would have been negligible.


      With that said, was this a fair trial?  As I am not greatly familiar with the justice system of ancient Greece, I can only draw comparisons with our current one. Those comparisons are a jury of your peers and the right to defend yourself in front of those peers. With this information, I conclude that even if the accusations were false, the trial was fair. Socrates tried to raise reasonable doubt and he failed. Although we today may believe he is innocent, the majority of his jury didn't. As Socrates says, "But we say that every man of you who remains here, seeing how we administer justice, and how we govern the state in other matters, has agreed, by the very fact that of remaining here, to do whatsoever we till him. (Crito 63)" Socrates could have escaped prison, but this would have been an injustice in his eyes. Socrates believes that because he stayed in Athens, because he believed that the justice system was fair, because he had the option to leave and didn't, that he would receive the punishment given to him.