In_Socrates_Defense…

In Socrates Defense… In Socrates Defense… The Apology, by Plato, is an account of the speech given by Socrates at the trial in which he is charged with corrupting the youth, not recognizing the Athenian gods, and believing in new deities. The issue that I will address in this paper is whether or not Socrates is guilty of worshipping new and different spiritual beings. Socrates’ takes the position that he is definitely ‘not guilty’ of being and atheist. The basis for his defense to this allegation can be found on lines 27b – 27e. According to the chief prosecutor, Meletus, Socrates is guilty of not believing in any gods at all. However, as Socrates points out, Meletus appears to contradict himself when he accuses Socrates of worshipping other gods and being an atheist as well. This is the reason I chose to address this issue. In essence, Socrates uses his usual rhetorical approach to skillfully detract from the words of his accusers. To prove that he does believe in the gods, Socrates basically points out that believers in human activities must believe in human beings, therefore: he who believes in divine socrates, socrates’, gods, believe, say, guilty, divine, believing, beings, being, activities, worshipping, words, since, points, out, opponents, new, must, meletus, issue, innocence, human, however, found, easily, different, case, believes, been, based, atheist, arrogance, address