Socrates' Systematic Defense

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Plato's Apology begins with the opening statements of Socrates. The jurymen's ears are still ringing with the sound of his accuser's well-crafted arguments, and the stage is set for Socrates to defend himself. The reputable orator surprisingly begins his defense by stating that he is not going to “toy with words” but will argue his case with the first words that come to mind (17c). The tension becomes evident as Socrates' systematic defense leads him to contradict his opening statements and undermine the ethos he sought to establish in the beginning of the dialog.

Socrates' accusers have warned the jurymen not to be deceived by the accomplished speaker. In response, Socrates says that he is “particularly surprised” by this lie and offers two definitions for “accomplished speaker.” The first is to speak persuasively, but deceitfully, to use “embroidered and stylized phrases” or rehearsed, well-crafted speech intended to convince the jurymen of a lie. Socrates attached this definition to his accusers saying, “I was almost carried away in spite of myself, so persuasively did they speak. And yet, hardly anything of what they said is true.”

The second definition Socrates gives for “accomplished speaker” is one who tells the “whole truth, spoken at random and expressed in the first words that come to mind” (17c). This is the definition that Socrates claims for himself. He even begs the jurymen to pay no attention to the common language he is accustom to using, claiming to have no knowledge of the rhetoric appropriate in a courtroom and asks that their ears not be offended by his strange manner of speaking (17d).

Also, Socrates consistently elevates truth over rhetoric with statements such as this: “Pay no attention t...

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...teacher and mentor seem more consistent. Perhaps Plato was as committed to the truth as Socrates was and simply wanted to give us an accurate historical account of his beloved instructor.

Consequently, Socrates has been shown to have made a systematic defense, contradicting his opening statements and undermining the ethos he sought to establish in the beginning of the dialog. The evidences make it clear, and it is more than reasonable to assume, that Socrates formulated a well-thought-out defense and executed it in an extremely sophisticated manner. He had the opportunity to craft such a response. He had the presence of mind to attack the credibility of his accusers before stating his case. And, he put forth arguments with high level of ordered detail while anticipating rebuttals and answering them with skillful reasoning. All of this works against him.

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