“And therefore, Athenians, I say, whether you acquit me or not, I shall not change my way of life; no, not if I have to die for it many times” (stanza XVII).The question that arises before us is whether Socrates was in fact guilty of the crimes charged against him. The answer however appears rather misty and ambiguous. If we seek to resolve this peculiar complexity, we may have to look at three different hypothetical situations that can be ascribed to the textual presentation:
- Socrates has done wrong but believes that he has done right. (Here the idea of right would be that which is conventionally right and Socrates has done wrong in so far as he has neglected it.)
- Socrates has done right but Athenians who put him to death believe he has done wrong. (This might point at some higher principle of morality. In so far as Socrates was rationally convinced that he is right, he was not morally at fault. Athenians however working within confines of conventional morality believed he was wrong. This points at a kind of conflict of principles.)
- Socrates has done right and Athenians who put him to death know so, but put him to death for extra moral/legal reasons. (For e.g., they might have wanted to get rid of Socrates, who had humiliated them in public by demonstrating their ignorance.)
Any exploration of the problem involved will then seek to capture the justifications that buttress the three perspectives presented here. Socrates is quoting Sophocles when he says in The Apology that the unexamined life is no life at all for man. In discussing philosophy in the agora (marketplace) where the youth were his constant companions, Socrates examined persons who thought they were wise when they were not wise. In doing so he completely shook the conventional understanding of ideas like justice, courage, love, knowledge, etc. But whether in doing so he was ‘misleading’ and ‘corrupting’ them, remains unresolved. Posted by Silika at 7:52 PM Sunday, August 05, 2007 Permalink Chiaroscuro The Melting Pot Silika Mohapatra
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