Analysis Of Socrates

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1B. As Socrates takes the stand to defend himself against the Athenian government he began to explain why he should not be there and how he ended up at the stand in the first place. He cites an encounter with the oracle Delphi. He explains that he asked the oracle who was wisest of all men. The oracle replied that no man was wiser then Socrates (note this will be important later in describing his philosophy). Socrates knowing that he himself knew nothing and that there must be somebody out there with more knowledge than him set out on a journey. He went to many different kinds of people, poets, craftsmen, even politicians. All seemed to have much knowledge about many things. But Socrates found that even with all their knowledge of poetry, politics, and crafts none of it was true wisdom. When he would tell these people that they were in fact not wise, they wouldn’t take to kindly to Socrates. At his trial there were two kinds of accusers the ancient and the present. His accusers of the present were Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon, representing their respective fields. They claim that he is corrupting the youth, that he does not believe in the gods of the state, that he is a doer of evil, and that he makes a weaker argument seem stronger. Socrates wished to address all of these accusations and prove his innocence. On the account of corrupting the youth he calls Meletus to the stand for questioning. He basically asks if he is a bad influence on the youth then what would be a good influence. Meletus answers that the law is a fine influence for the youth. Socrates asserts that those who influence the law are only male, then Meletus asserts that the whole population of Athens is a positive influence on the youth. Socrates us... ... middle of paper ... ... superior in the Guardian class. Although not superior in all ways women in certain classes did hold more power than men in this theory. Because certain traits were just more suited for women then men. There were retorts that women were weaker in all senses because they were physically weaker then men, and many believed they were also mentally weaker. Plato asserted that they were strengthened in many fields such as child birth and nurturing. He saw men as inferior to women in these particular actions. Plato was a different thinker of his time, he could be considered one of the first true feminists. Not what we would consider feminism today but his ideas of women and the state brought about the first sparks of seeking equality for women, even if it was a very small step in that direction it would be used as a reference point for thousands of years to come.

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