Charges Leveled Against Socrates
Socrates was accused of false teaching and heresy. His accusers argued that his acts were wicked. The accusers claimed that Socrates was criminally curious to explore things under the earth and heavens and make his quest appear to be the best cause by teaching it to others (Cary, n.d). The accusations were so gross that Socrates saw them as things presented in comedies. The accusers claimed that Socrates was corrupting the youth by training them through his teachings on false teachings. Since he taught them voluntarily, he was evil, and evil begets evil. Socrates was also accused of corrupting the youth by taking their money for his teachings. Heresy was related to his belief in a divine being, the reason why he began studying about that which is wisest and beyond human understanding. Socrates saw himself as a blessing from the gods by likening himself to a gadfly who walked through the city, initiating conversations to eliminate the ignorance that made people think they were knowledgeable, yet, they were not (Cary, n.d).
Responses to the Charges
Socrates argued that if he was misleading the youths, why is it that fathers were not against their sons paying to visit the sophists? He argued that it would be an honorable thing for a man to teach and instruct men without pay (Cary, n.d). Socrates argued that people would be blessed to have a person who would instruct their sons in ways that allows them to understand their nature as men. The teacher would also be proud of himself for having such knowledge to share with the young. Thus, Socrates denied speaking falsely since his human wisdom originated from an authority that deserved credit. He referred the authority to as the god whom he called his witness to his wisdom if at all he had any.
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The defendant defended himself by explaining the origin of his misfortunes. He claimed that he visited an oracle to understand their wisdom in an attempt to understand human wisdom. During his conversation with the oracle, Socrates found that ht oracle considered himself the wisest through the opinions of others (Cary, n.d). Thus, Socrates showed him how wrong he was and how he knows nothing. Thus, the oracle and those present became odious with him. Socrates considered himself wiser than the oracle because he did not claim to know that which he did not. People thought of him as considering himself the wisest of all, becoming their enemy. However, he engaged in the activity to understand human wisdom since the highest in the society were the most deficient of knowledge. To him, the purpose of human wisdom was to unearth the truth, and that is what he was seeking when studying the oracles, politicians, poets, and others in an attempt to identify ignorance in himself.
Socrates declared that he was exposing society's ignorance since people thought that they knew everything about the other because they excelled in one thing (Cary, n.d). Since he was eloquent about his findings, he attracted opposition from people who thought of themselves as wiser than him. Socrates argued that he better remain as he was than being like those men full of ignorance. He claimed he endeavored to fulfill the god's desires to show men that human wisdom is worth little or nothing. Thus, it was his responsibility to show men that they were not wise no matter how highly they thought of their wisdom. His occupation subjected him to poverty since he was not studying people for any pay or serving the state's affairs but the gods.
Young men from rich families were following Socrates willingly (Cary, n.d). They were delighted in Socrates' ability to test men, and they imitated him by testing others. As a result, the young men understood the nature of men to fancy to know things they know little or nothing. Therefore, those defeated by the young men became angry and considered Socrates as misguiding and corrupting them. Since the youths learned not to claim to know that which they did not, they were seen wiser than others. Thus, Socrates' quest was seen as an attempt to search things in the heavens and beneath the earth by seeking to tell the truth to those he detected to claim to possess knowledge. All his accusers represented the elites in society who considered themselves wiser than others. Socrates gave an example of Meletus, who accused himself on behalf of the poets, Anytus the artisans, and Lycon the rhetoricians. They reacted since Socrates told them the truth, and they could not risk their status in society by undergoing questioning from the youth. Therefore, with respect to the charges leveled against him, Socrates had the right to instruct the youth, just like the Judges or the Senators, to increase their wisdom.
Socrates maintained his innocence by defending his study, and he was ready to die for it, just like the good men who came before him. His quest made him enemies among the multitude (Cary, n.d). He argued that no man should fear to die if he is standing for the truth since death awaits every man. Man is not alone when doing the right thing. Thus, death is more just than staying alive to become an object of ridicule and disgrace since men are not ready to accept the truth. Thus, it is better to die for obeying God than the man who is ignorant of knowing things they do not have knowledge of.
References
Cary, H. (n.d). The Apology of Socrates by Plato.
