Philosophy

Philosophy Study Guide

©2018 of 126 were more important than anything, even his life. He refused to make emotional appeals to the court. False appeals had a long and infamous history of human affairs, also known as fallacies. Socrates pointed out that appealing to the court for pity or sympathy to influence them to find him innocent or lessen his punishment was illogical and it would be a violation of their oaths to decide the case based on justice. Socrates was sentenced to death and died willingly for the moral principles and values on which his life was constructed. Socrates’ trial symbolizes the eternal struggle between reason and chaos, enlightenment and ignorance, integrity and corruption. Socrates understood that his death was necessary in order for his revolutionary beliefs to have their fullest impact on future generations, etching wickedness and righteousness on the consciousness of mankind. 2.5 Socrates’ Legacy Socrates was the catalyst for a significant advancement in human consciousness. Prior to Socrates, thinkers and writers had focused their attention on past events and the physical universe. Socrates was the first important Western thinker to focus on the light of human reason and intelligence in human beings themselves. For the first time in recorded history, humans became the subjects of systematic study; our psyches, our moral aspirations, our relationships with one another, our quest for self-understanding and meaningful lives, our souls—everything was explored. Socrates believed in the supreme importance of thinking, and for him, everything in the human experience was an appropriate subject for exploration and critical analysis. Socrates developed a method of dialectical inquiry that was qualitatively different than anything the world had seen, and continues to be the bedrock of philosophical thought. Socrates’ method insisted on the criteria of logical soundness, clear definitions, consistency, and freedom from self-contradiction. Socrates was committed to making our actions reflect our convictions, developing consistent and rigorous standards of conduct through the choices that we make. There is an intimate connection between knowledge and virtue and as we gain intellectual understanding, we should live more enlightened lives. Socrates was a heroic martyr to enlightened thinking and virtuous living because he died willingly for the moral principles and values on which his life was constructed. There were numerous ways he could have avoided death, but all of them would have meant betraying his principles and violating his character in some significant way. Socrates seemed to sense that fulfilling his mission on Earth meant dying for the beliefs that he so valued. Socrates’ commitment to rational inquiry lived on through his disciples and became the standard for Western culture. The Apology by Plato Achieve Page 22