Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Giving a Defensive Agrument
Today, we debated on whether Socrates gave a good defensive argument or a bad defensive argument in the Apology. In a brief description of what was discussed in classed, state whether or not Socrates gave a valid argument in his defense and explain your reasons for why or why not.
3 comments:
I feel that Socrates gave a good definition, with the exception of one fatal flaw. He had small problems with his definitions, but Meletus agreed anyway, so those weren't the problem. The main problem is when he says that he will never stop doing philosophy, which in the eyes of the people, is the reason that he is here in the first place. I feel that this was his downfall. Can you imagine if a murderer was defending his case, saying that "these are the reasons that the charges are out of line and these are why I couldn't have committed the crime. Furthermore, as long as I live, I will continue to kill people." He is completely contradicting himself and in a way proving himself guilty. Socrates says that he will continue to do this as long as he is alive, which I have nothing against, but he should not have said that in a court case defending himself.
-Doug M, the only one who thinks his argument was bad...
I believe that socrate's argument was good, especially towards the end, where he told the jury that killing off those who would not agree with them would not help the situation. The main problem was that socrates was tried in a court of people who disagreed with him and did not under stand his position on philosophy
Malcolm M.
I believe Socrates gave an overall good argument. But I also believe he made a very fatal mistake. While saying that he should not be singled out because he wasn't the only corrupter was a valid argument, he did use a character attacking (Ad Hominem) fallacy "Meletus has never been at all concerned with these matters" 26B. This has nothing to do with the truth of whether Socrates corrupted the youth or not. Socrates failed in trying to not be found guilty. But, it is after the sentencing, however, where he made his crucial mistake. Instead of adjusting his argument to achieve a lighter sentence than death, Socrates eliminates all other alternatives by saying if exiled or jailed, he will still do philosophy. He says he has no money to pay a fine and as long as he lives, he will continue to do philosophy. By eliminating all other options for punishment, except death, Socrates seals his own fate.
Post a Comment