The TRIAL OF SOCRATES - Corruption and Atheism: The Apology by Plato - Harvard Classics Rev- HC2 Ep4 

Something to keep in mind in reading the works of the ancient philosophers is that when they use the word "God" in the singular, it is not necessarily intended to denounce the existence of many Gods, let alone as professing a belief in a single, monotheistic God. Later Christian scholars and writers, especially once Christianity had been firmly established and believed polytheism to be exterminated, they read these text from a monotheistic mindset, and with a firm belief in the "self-evident" superiority of monotheism over polytheism. Basically, they had a preconception which they then applied uncritically to these texts, and thus propagated an image of many ancient philosophers as proto-monotheists. This bias can also filter into how these works were translated, picking and choosing terms in the translated language (whether consciously or unconsciously) that reinforced these preconceptions. In reality, when the word "God" is used in the singular without referring to a specific God, it is typically meant as a collective singular. Think of expressions like "Man discovering fire", where the word "Man" is used in the singular, but denotes the totality of humankind. Just so could Ancient Greeks use "God" to mean the totality of the Gods. Regarding the charges of atheism and not acknowledging the Gods recognised by the state, this too is often interpreted as Sokrates being an atheist or proto-monotheist. These charges, however, accuse Sokrates of betraying his country. The main Gods of the polis, the specific customs and traditions of their cultus, etc. were inextricably tied with the polis as a whole. Regardless of ones belief in the existence of the Gods, by not participating in the traditions of the polis you are putting yourself outside of the polis. Turning your back on ones country and your ancestors. Endangering the social cohesion and good fortune of the community. And, combined with the charge of corrupting the youth, it implies that Sokrates was getting young men to similarly abandon their country and community. As a sidenote, Christians, too, would later be viewed as atheists by many polytheistic societies, since they denounced the Gods and traditions of their ancestors. I wanted to make these notes, because this is important information to keep in mind when reading the Apology and other writings of ancient philosophers. As a disclaimer, I am not saying the charges against Sokrates were thus justified in any way, or that the trial wasn't a politically motivated trial to try and get rid of him. Which it did. Just that there is some important background info needed to actually understand properly what Sokrates was actually accused of.

Thank you. I love this 9:30 "It doesn't matter about death, you shouldn't be scared about death if it's somthing that's righteous that you should do should be doing. There are a few times in life when you get the chance to be unashamedly brave, when you realize that the decision to be honest and truthful in the face of death, allows you to die with an honor, that not many people in life are given the opportunity to experience." I have a hard time accepting my death and I found that one powerful. Have a nice day !

Excellent job sir. I really enjoyed The Apology and always marvel at how writings so old can seem so fresh and prescient. The more things change the more they stay the same indeed.

I'm just beginning my reading and discovery of the Apologia. This was a great introduction. You've given me good grounding to know what I'll get from this work and I appreciate your thoughts.

The amazing thing is, the court didn't want to kill him. They expected him to confess, apologise, and then they expected to exile him. But Socrates wouldn't do it and forced the court to sentence him to death.

Completely recognise your point about how we’ve come so far technologically but, from a psychological perspective, we are exactly where we are 2,500 years ago. We might know more about the brain, development, behavioural psychology but we still struggle with really simple concepts like logic, reason, morality, virtues, etc. Maybe we need a Surak (for any Star Trek fans out there)

These are books that should be read more than once

Two books I would recommend for examination and plato would be Fr. Timothy Gallaghers, the Examen prayer, and Dr. Peter Kreefts philosophy 101.

Rob, I’ve really been enjoying your videos having discovered them a few weeks back. Keep up the great work and all the best for a Happy New Year!

Excellent video! In the Apology, Socrates treats the entire judicial proceedings with contempt, ridicules the jurors, and proposes a penalty that the jurors cannot accept. He seems to seek death, or at least he does nothing to avoid it. In some of Plato's other dialogues, Socrates speaks of life as a hindrance to his pursuit of truth. He speaks of life as a disease for which he eagerly awaits the cure - death. Sometimes I think he is sick and deranged. Sometimes I think he is one of the most virtuous men in history. At 5:55, I think that the quote should end with "...knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing." I think the quote means that human wisdom is nothing compared to God's wisdom. My favorite quote is the following: "I have seen men of reputation, when they have been condemned, behaving in the strangest manner: they seemed to fancy that they were going to suffer something dreadful if they died, and that they could be immortal if you only allowed them to live; and I think that they were a dishonor to the State, and that any stranger coming in would say of them that the most eminent men of Athens, to whom the Athenians themselves give honor and command, are no better than women. And I say that these things ought not to be done by those of us who are of reputation; and if they are done, you ought not to permit them; you ought rather to show that you are more inclined to condemn, not the man who is quiet, but the man who gets up a doleful scene, and makes the city ridiculous."

Great overview of The Apology. I highly recommend everyone read it. Due to your videos I have been looking for my own set of Harvard Classics.

Hope you enjoyed this episode! What are your thoughts on the trial of Socrates?

To get a full analysis of what Socrates probably meant by the youth being corrupted, read, Ayn Rand's, "The Comprachicos". It's still going on today, everywhere and it's horrible.

Keep slinging them out Rob!

Thank you for your commentary on this, I really enjoyed it. I agree the Apology is a masterpiece but regarding the trial, we do need to remember the larger context here... Socrates had made the mistake of, if not obviously supporting Critias, at least of failing to resist his rather bloody tyranny in any way when others had taken the risk and resisted. Critias was a former pupil who, along with the rest of the 30 tyrants, presided over an honest-to-goodness reign of terror (Critias has been described as "the first Robespierre"). During the tyranny, Socrates's personal conduct was _very_ weaksauce. He knew the reign of terror was wrong but did and said nothing against it, even going so far as to simply go home when ordered to take part in an unjust arrest, rather than trying to get word to the victim to flee. But of course the more violent Critias and the 30 became, the stronger the resistance became and eventually the tyrants were overthrown. Once it was all over and democracy restored, it was forbidden to put anyone on trial (other than the 30 tyrants themselves) for prior shady political connections and this would include Socrates. So, yeah, the citizenry brought trumped-up BS charges against Socrates but the underlying beef they had with him was very, very real.

Brilliant observations. Thank you.

Very interesting, awesome work

My god that AI art at 2:13 is horrifying

14:00 "the unexamined life is not worth living" this could be looked at from multiple perspective and you give a holistic pov, now we could also look at it from a more individual pov, if we examine our life, frame by frame (like how anime are made), we may see its not worth living as some may be abusive to others or even family members but treat outsiders good, they may rip other people off and the likes..

I'd say modern day Socrates (speaking the truth openly, urging others to think for them, would be Andre tate, I'm not a crazy fan of him but I do respect him for those things

#11:55 not sure if you know but the Islamic Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had these same things where the state wanted him to keep quiet and even offer him wealth, kingdom, woman and everything a man could desire yet refuse