Meaning of apology in the Apology of Socrates
When I started doing the work, the first thing I did was analyze the meaning of apology. Word of Greek origin that means the discourse that takes place in defense or praise of someone. In the apology of Socrates, this defends itself from a series of accusations of corruption that imputes it.
From the beginning of their defense, Socrates makes it clear that he will make them hear the whole truth. The truth is the topic chosen by me in this work and I will try to renew the text in relation to it. It seems to me a current issue;In daily life, in politics, in social relationships, in relatives … people in general lie, they admit lies as something normal in their daily behavior without being aware of the repercussions that this entails. The truth dignifies the person, gives it value, helps to be better. For this reason it seems remarkable that in the second half of the fifth century a person, in this case our protagonist Socrates, seeks at all times of his life justice and truth, but not only for himself, but also for others,being willing to assume everything negative that this entails. Including death. Want people to know themselves to improve. For him, virtue is wisdom, knowledge of oneself that leads the person to act correctly. It is knowing how to go personally on the journey of our life in the most appropriate way in order to achieve the happiness to which we all aspire.
Socrates denies from the beginning to have oratory skills, and expresses his intention not to base his plea on eloquence and persuasion but on truthfulness. He begins by saying that nothing that his accusers have said is true and that he will make them hear the whole truth because what he is going to say is fair. (17 A, B, C). He does not want the judges to be worried in the manner in which they will express themselves, but to pay attention to the fact of whether it is fair or not what he says, since he considers that the virtue of the judge and that of the speaker consists in telling the truth(18). I think that Socrates shows the art of asking, which demonstrates his intelligence when differentiating between the accessory and the fundamental with the intention of reaching absolute truth by interacting with his accusers and the judges.
Socrates wants to help people find their truth and rational sense in their lives. For him the truth must be based on reason. People must get to the truth, based on that reason. Throughout his speech he is calm because he knows that he has the whole truth and that none of those who accuse him has that advantage. “This is the truth, Athenian gentlemen, and in what I say neither hide nor hide anything, neither big nor small. However, I am almost certain that for that reason I am awakening hatred. Socrates is aware at all times that he can be sentenced to death, but despite this he is not willing to resort to deception. We, in some way, we must also try in our life that the truth guides everything we do. Only then will we live with a quiet conscience. Defending our principles, our beliefs, our values will be the only way not to lose our reason for being. Otherwise our life would be meaningless. Although this, sometimes, leads us to nonconformity. We must be critical people, with righteousness of intention.
Throughout his life and how it seems to be demonstrated in apology, Socrates’ goal when he gave the talks in Greece’s squares was to teach for free. He clarifies it when he says he did not charge for it, nor did he have political aspirations. "Well, I am presenting a sufficient witness, I think, that I tell the truth: my poverty" (31c). To teach was a sacred work.
The world is full of sophists who, like those of the time of Socrates, believe in the hands of absolute truth. They believe they wise when, on the contrary, as Socrates explains, the person who truly knows the whole truth is just the one who recognizes that he knows nothing. You can then get to the truth recognizing that we do not know what is true. We should all apply Socrates’ maximum in our life: to be humble. Humility must always guide us, because only then will we be able to learn from our own mistakes and move forward.
Socrates, as he says, the only thing that cares is not to commit any injustice or impiety (32D). Is convinced of it.
Socrates wanted to get to the truth of everything. He cared about himself from the moral point of view to act correctly and that other people also really met themselves. For him this personal knowledge was vital to be able to reach goodness and happiness. The man had to take care of his soul and not deal with material things so much, of money … He was concerned about ignorance. Acting badly and unfairly is a consequence of ignorance. For Socrates, evil is ignorance and as anyone considers badly wanting, the person who works badly should not be punished but educated. He considered this mission so important that he was not willing to give up the practice of this activity in the future. (28-34b5). Consider that the god of the oracle has entrusted the mission of seeking the truth and helping others to also seek it and find it, for this reason they are not afraid of death. (33c).
Here is a new lesson, in my opinion, to learn from Socrates, the personal knowledge of ourselves that leads us from reflection to self-control and serenity that are so important and necessary in our day to day. That personal self-knowledge that we can also reach through conversations with others, listening to them, because surely they can contribute something new. In this way we also expand our knowledge, our horizons. We tried to see things from the perspective of others. And through that behavior, as Socrates did, we also have the possibility to have a positive influence on others, attracting their attention, while we are personally.
After the guilt verdict, Socrates says again as at the beginning of apology that he is not there to defend his life but the truth. "I am now condemned to death by you, but they are convicted of iniquity and injustice for the truth" (39b). Likewise, he asks those who condemn him now to treat his own children in the same way he treated his fellow citizens. "… if you give you the impression that you care about wealth or anything else before virtue … do the same reproach as I did to you, for not dealing with what is due and for believing in something,Without having any merit ”(41e).
Socrates in his apology inspires us a series of values, which I have been referring to in the previous lines, which today and should always be in force, such as justice (which is what he wants), the truth (he only wantsspeaking based on her), humility (he does not consider himself wise), wisdom (he always knows what he is talking about unlike his accusers) and courage (to accept his final destination).
For my Socrates it was a sage who just wanted to reach virtue through truth so that man could thus achieve happiness doing good freely. As Jesus Christ taught us "the truth will make you free" (Jn 8, 32).
Leave feedback