The death of Socrates, written by Plato, has become a classic that has been praised throughout the ages. What is there to celebrate about his death? Let's start with a rough idea - the death of Socrates marks the death of a philosopher defending philosophy. Doing philosophy is not a crime, right? Let’s see why.

Socrates' crime

Socrates often went to the streets to debate philosophy with people. His discussion method is very unique and is known as "Socratic dialogue". He often humbly (not sure whether he is pretending or really) asks others a seemingly childish question such as "What is bravery?" and then continues to follow the other person's answer. Within a few back and forth, the answer will definitely be flawed. All kinds of things. He is not like other philosophers who hope to put forward a positive view on a certain issue. On the contrary, his philosophy aims to use questions and problems to make people realize their ignorance. He has a famous saying that sums up his philosophical attitude: "The only thing I know is that I know nothing." Therefore, we can see that his humility actually comes from his awareness of ignorance, and his "arrogance" in the eyes of others ” also comes from frankly exposing other people’s ignorance.

Then Socrates is a "waste old man" who is famous for offending many people and being very annoying. What crime did he commit that warranted execution? When the Athenians put Socrates on trial, they mainly accused him of two crimes: "bewitching the youth" and "not worshiping the Athenian gods." Many people today cannot take seriously this largely "unfounded" crime. What is interesting is that Socrates still used philosophical methods to deny this accusation in his defense.

What’s the crime of “bewitching young people”? Could it be that the naughty Socrates "taught bad children" by behaving vulgarly on the street? Of course not, he just consistently held philosophical discussions with young people. In fact, Socrates also knew that this crime was not the real reason for his accusation. Educating young people had never been their real concern. In fact, once you carefully study this crime, you will know the underlying reason for Socrates' death: politics.

Touch the sensitive nerves of the "Free City"

The trial of Socrates took place during a period of decadence after the peak of Athens, and the death of Socrates was actually the beginning of the decline of Athens. disease.

Not long before the trial, Athens had just been defeated by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431404 AD), and then the new ruling "Thirty Tyrants" composed of people close to Sparta were brutal. Ruled Athens for about a year, attempting to transition Athenian democracy to oligarchy. In the process, a large number of opponents were killed and expelled. The war also brought plague and financial difficulties to Athens.

What follows is the painful restoration of Athenian democracy after the overthrow of the Thirty Tyrants. After more than twenty years of defeat and being ruled by "lower culture", fatigue, humiliation and resentment are probably the common feelings of the Athenians. In this state, it may be difficult for a person to maintain a tolerant attitude and tolerate an existence like Socrates - a "gadfly" who likes to challenge everyone.

In addition to the "arrogance" that is attributed to the "Socratic dialogue" that exposes people's ignorance, there is another characteristic of Socrates' philosophy that exposes him to dangerous crowds. Compared with other sages, Socrates particularly liked to discuss issues of good and evil morality. This is not difficult to understand: when talking to people on the street, Socrates cannot always explore things that ordinary people think are "unrealistic", such as the origin of the universe or logical paradoxes. Topics that can arouse ordinary people's interest are of course about behavior. of right and wrong.

But doing so actually makes people more suspicious of his intentions - "Why do you want to challenge our common sense?", "Aren't these views the value of Athenians?" Some conspiracy theories suspect that he has ulterior motives. Naturally, there is a market: Socrates is an enemy of Sparta. This conspiracy theory is particularly shocking because it seems to explain many things. For example, it can explain why he survived the rule of the "Thirty Tyrants" and it can also explain his annoying and strange behavior. He was probably hired by Sparta. Think poison!

Under this conspiracy theory, the charge of "contempting young people" is understandable.

Aristophanes, the famous Greek comedy writer, once described a group of young people close to Spartan political opinions as "Socratic" in his play "Birds" (414 AD) ( Socratified). It can be seen that Socrates' philosophy has begun to be characterized as "treason" in the sensitive political atmosphere. Coupled with the religious reasons mentioned above, Socrates is now apostate and treason, and the crime is enough to warrant death.

The contempt of the Athenians: clowns and "little brats"

In addition to arranging some charges to stir up public sentiment, many Athenians actually despised Socrates for a long time. Aristophanes had described Socrates as a clown in another play "Clouds" (423 AD) published earlier, which made the Athenians laugh. Socrates also mentioned in his defense that the play described him as "walking on air and talking nonsense." In the play, Socrates is in a basket, and the closer the basket is to the ground, the more confused he becomes.

The Athenians not only despised Socrates, but also probably despised philosophy. It is not difficult for us to find clues to this phenomenon from Plato's works. Plato put popular negative thoughts into the mouths of his various interlocutors. For example, in Gorgias:

Philosophy is an attraction if a man dabbles a little in his youth. But if he spends a lot of time studying it later, it will ruin any man... Just as when I see a child slurring his words and playing tricks, I enjoy it... but when I hear an adult If a man does the same thing, it seems ridiculous and unmanly, and he should be whipped.

Another example in "Utopia":

Those who love philosophy... who spend a long time in it will become quite strange. We're not saying they were completely bad, but... became useless to the city-state.

In short, the public at that time felt that philosophers were "little brats" who had no social experience, made no contributions, and were constantly showing off their cleverness.

Threatened not to compromise and not to be afraid of death

In fact, Socrates had many opportunities to avoid death, but he did not make any strategic compromises or concessions and always stayed true to himself. belief.

When Socrates was tried, the jury was composed of Athenian citizens and decided by lot. The number of people was about 500. The penalty was also decided by a direct vote of the jury, not by a jury like today. The judge decides.

In court, Socrates knew that if he softened his attitude and spoke respectfully to the jury, the chances of winning the case would be greatly increased, but he did the opposite and only said that he thought it was right. thing. Before sentencing, he said:

I have incurred some bitter hostility. If there is anything that can destroy me, it is the hostility, not from my accusers, but from the slander and jealousy of a large group of people. These slanders and jealousies have killed many people in the past and will continue to do so in the future. They don't stop after hitting me.

However, some people also asked: "Don't you regret that you have chosen the path that brings the danger of death?" Socrates told him clearly:

My friend, if you If you think that a worthy person should spend his time on matters of life and death, you are wrong. Before doing anything, he only needs to consider one thing: the right or wrong of his actions. Does he seem like a bad guy or a good guy.

After being found guilty, Socrates had another chance to avoid death. That is, after the accuser proposed the death penalty, Socrates, as the defendant, could propose another punishment instead, and then the defendant could propose another punishment. The jury decides which one to take. However, Socrates actually said:

Everyone, I propose that I should receive some reward... The truly just punishment is for the state to bear my livelihood... Maybe you think I am deliberately acting stubborn. . No, I am sure that I have not harmed anyone...

In fact, everyone wanted Socrates to propose banishment instead of the death penalty, but in the end Socrates just wanted to replace the death penalty with some borrowed money. .

As for the suggestion that he should spend the rest of his life quietly and no longer take to the streets to discuss the proposal, he said:

If I tell you, discussing kindness and other issues every day, and reflecting on yourself and others is what one person can do. The best thing, and the unreflected life is not worth living, you won't believe me.

The last chance Socrates had to avoid death was when a friend offered him a way to escape Athens while he was in prison waiting to be sentenced. However, he sternly refused, and believed that since he accepted the laws of Athens, he must obey them to the end. Socrates' attitude is nothing more than adhering to a major principle: people should be loyal to just things without fear of death.

The haze after death: Opposing the city-state system and being prudent and protective

A philosopher was loyal to the cause of philosophy, challenged people's common sense and authoritative views, and finally ended up being executed by a group of ignorant people. , is admirable today, but it was a very hurtful event that day. Plato knew Socrates, who was both his teacher and friend, when he was young. What would he think about this matter?

On the one hand, Socrates taught him a final lesson, teaching everyone to insist on justice even in the face of the threat of death. On the other hand, the court's wrong decision cost the life of one of his friends and was a tragic example of the failure of democracy in the city-state of Athens.

Socrates seemed to embrace the spirit of Athenian democracy. He wanted to persuade the masses with reason whether on the streets or in court. In the end, even if the democratic system wanted to take his life, he always chose to obey it. However, after this incident, Plato slowly took a different path from Socrates.

Plato left Athens after the death of Socrates and traveled around the country, passing through Egypt, Sicily and the Italian Peninsula. He studied mathematics with Pythagoras and also served in the army and fought on the battlefield. Finally, he returned to Athens and founded the Academy. Soon after, he wrote the dialogue "Utopia", which clearly discussed the position of the anti-Athenian city-state. I can't go into too many details here.

It is worth mentioning that Plato had an extremely negative view of the people and regarded them as savage beasts. Plato also believed that philosophers should leave politics and live a comfortable life to preserve themselves in the corrupt politics of reality. Plato wrote:

He neither wanted to do evil together, nor was he able to contend with all the beasts. Before he could help the city and his friends, he died and became useless to himself and others. people. After considering all this, he remained silent and went about his business. Like in a storm, he sheltered behind the wall from the dust and sand carried by the wind.

Contrary to Socrates' attitude, in the face of dangerous public sentiment and city-state atmosphere, Plato believed that one should not try to persuade the masses, but should avoid threats to life. Since then, preserving oneself in troubled times has become a wise choice. This seems to echo Aristotle's moral philosophy based on personal happiness. If someone says that this kind of thought is the philosophical haze left by the death of Socrates, it seems not unreasonable.