Philosophy on the Apology and Euthyphro. Creative Writing Essay

Socrates Mission
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Socrates Mission
There is a subtle set of reasons why Socrates to this day is considered to be one of the best Greek philosophers. He was a philosopher that laid out the basics of reevaluating the knowledge that exists with what is the basic truth. In his arguments and conversations, he would always insist on the fact that he did not know anything and he did not want himself and those that he interacted with to live a life where they did not examine the elements that they interacted with. In his argument, an unexamined life was simply not worth living. Relative to his teachings and approach to life, a perfect life, the life of arête! He was quite popular among the youths, who were against the traditional ways of life laid out in the Greek society and culture (Kreeft, 2002). It is for this reason that he was considered to have been corrupting the youths and was also accused of impiety. He approached every debate with his ignorance, citing that he did not know anything and that those that considered themselves wise should enlighten him. Using the famous elenchus method, he would then deconstruct the wisdom of those that considered themselves wise, through poking holes at their arguments and eliminating weaknesses in their beliefs. One of the areas that he was quite critical of is in reference to religious beliefs. Bringing the elenchus approach to both Meletus and Euthyphro, he sought to deconstruct their wisdom. The Apology and the Euthyphro are two accounts that bring out Socrates mission and method, establishing critical thinking facets.
At the heart of Socrates method, was the assumption that he did not know anything. He is ignorant. This way he was able to appreciate the knowledge that others had or rather question the wisdom that other men purported to have. He used this approach of ignorance and came from a point of deconstructing the human wisdom from divine wisdom. For most of the people that he interacted with, in this case Meletus and Euthyphro, he was keen to mention that he was ignorant. However, he also considered himself the most intelligent, given that, he was able to acknowledge his limitation relative to knowledge on such matter such as religion and the quality of life. For example when he meets with Euthyphro, he states that he is going to court against Meletus and would want to have some wisdom from him, a man who considers himself as well versed with knowledge on religion. Euthyphro in his arrogance falls in the trap of showing how ignorant he actually was relative to the beliefs that he held of religion and in particular relative to the concept of justice. ‘What Charge? A not ignoble one I think, for it is no small thing for a young man to have knowledge of such an important subject. He says he knows how our young men are corrupted and who corrupts them.’ (2c). In the quote it is clear that Socrates was referring to Meletus as being one of the men in the society that considered themselves wise as well. The element of ignorance is again carried on in the Apology, where Socrates is seen to bring out the fact that he is uninformed on the law courts language as such he should be forgiven, or that the audience should not pay attention for the lack of knowledge in court manners. ‘One thing I do ask and beg of you gentlemen: if you hear me making my defense in the same kind of language as I am accustomed to use in the market place by the bankers’ tables, where many of you have heard me, and elsewhere, do not be surprised or create a disturbance on that account. The position is this: this is my first appearance in the law-court, at the age of seventy; I am therefore simply a stranger to manner of speaking here, just as if I were really a stranger, you would certainly excuse me if I spoke in that dialect and manner in which I had been brought up, so too my present request seems a just one, for you to pay no attention to my manner of speech-be it better or worse-but so concentrate your attention on whether what I say just or not, for the excellence of a judge lies in this, as that of a speaker lies in telling the truth.’ (17c-18a). Socrates understood that wisdom did not come from having great knowledge that one could brandish at any given time; rather he understood that wisdom came from knowing he did not have all the answers and information. In this case, he is seen to admit to not having ever stepped on the inside of a courtroom and as such should be excused if he did not practice the standards of the law court language and decorum. This forms the basis for his approach to his method of deducing what it true and what is not or more important what is wise and what is not. This way he was able to evaluate the information that he was interacting with and the people. When he is referring to Meletus, he figures he is quite knowledgeable, when he compares himse...