PHL105Y Introduction to Philosophy Wednesday, October 11, 2006

1
PHL105Y Introduction to Philosophy Wednesday,
October 11, 2006

• For next Mondays class, read to page 57 of the
  Plato book ( finish the Crito).
• Your draft of your first essay is due today. If
  you dont have your hard copy with you now, you
  can still count as on time as long as you (1)
  upload your paper to www.turnitin.com by 11pm
  tonight, and (2) bring a hard copy to tutorial on
  Friday. No late drafts accepted without a
  documented excuse (e.g. doctors note) your
  first essay will not be graded unless you handed
  in a draft.
• Please write your TAs name on your essay
  (Poyraz, Dedourek or Manoukian).
• Tutorials continue this Friday. For this week,
  answer one of the following two questions, in
  about 200-250 words (about one typed
  double-spaced page).
• Describe Socrates attitude to death, as
  portrayed in the Apology. What reasons does
  Socrates give in support of this view of death?
• At 41d Socrates makes the claim that a good man
  cannot be harmed either in life or in death.
  Why does he think this?

2
The Apology
3
The charges

• Socrates has been charged with
• 1. corrupting the young, and
• 2. not believing in the gods in whom the city
  believes, but in other new spiritual things
  (24b)
• In fact, Meletus agrees that the way Socrates has
  done (1) is by (2) he has corrupted the young
  exactly by undermining the local religion (26b)

4
Corruption and harm

• Meletus says, under pressure from Socrates, that
  the citizens of Athens generally improve the
  young Socrates alone corrupts them
• Socrates also gets Meletus to agree that
  corrupted people harm those who associate with
  them closely

5
Corruption and harm

• Socrates then gets Meletus to agree that no one
  wants to be harmed, and to confirm that he takes
  Socrates to have corrupted the youth deliberately
  rather than accidentally.
• Hard question what does Socrates mean by harm?

6
Evaluate this argument

• Corruption makes people wicked.
• Wicked people harm those close to them.
• No one wants to be harmed.
• No one would deliberately corrupt those who are
  close to them.

7
The charges on religion

• Socrates is charged with
• 1. Not believing in the gods of the city
• 2. Teaching others to believe in new spiritual
  things.

8
The charges on religion

• Socrates is charged with
• 1. Not believing in the gods of the city
• 2. Teaching others to believe in new spiritual
  things.
• At 26c, Socrates gets Meletus to clarify that by
  charge (1) he means to say that Socrates is an
  atheist.

9
The charges on religion

• 1. Not believing in the gods of the city
• 2. Teaching others to believe in new spiritual
  things.
• Why does Socrates think that these charges are
  incoherent?
• How good is his argument on this point?

10
A change of topic

• Having argued that the charges concerning
  corruption and religion are incoherent, Socrates
  devotes the rest of his speech to a defense of
  his way of life and attitude towards death.

11
Should death be feared?

• To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to
  think oneself wise when one is not, to think one
  knows what one does not know. No one knows
  whether death may not be the greatest of all
  blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they
  knew that it is the greatest of all evils. And
  surely it is the most blameworthy ignorance to
  believe that one knows what one does not know.
  (29ab)

12
At last, something Socrates claims to know

• Having said that he lacks knowledge of what might
  happen in the underworld, Socrates goes on to
  say, I do know, however, that it is wicked and
  shameful to do wrong, to disobey ones superior,
  be he god or man. (29b)

13
Retirement?

• How does Socrates respond to the hypothetical
  suggestion that he quit questioning people about
  philosophical issues?

14
Retirement?

• How does Socrates respond to the hypothetical
  suggestion that he quit questioning people about
  philosophical issues?
• as long as I draw breath and am able, I shall
  not cease to practice philosophy (29d)

15
What has value?

• Socrates contends that there is no greater
  blessing for Athens than his practice of testing
  the knowledge of its citizens.
• I go around doing nothing but persuading both
  young and old among you not to care for your body
  or your wealth in preference to or as strongly as
  for the best possible state of your soul, as I
  say to you, Wealth does not bring about
  excellence, but excellence makes wealth and
  everything else good for men . (30ab)
• Why should the state of ones soul be ones first
  concern?

16
The rhetorical conclusion

• Socrates notes that it is customary to appeal to
  the jury for mercy, to attempt to stir up pity by
  presenting ones family, and declines to do so
  (although he does mention his family at 34d).
• It is not the purpose of a jurymans office to
  give justice as a favor to whoever seems good to
  him, but to judge according to the law . (35c)
• What sort of fallacy is Socrates suggesting he
  wants to avoid? Is he avoiding it?

17
Conviction

• Should Socrates be convicted on the charges
  brought against him?

18
The counter-appraisal

• Meletus has asked for the death penalty Socrates
  now has the opportunity to counter-propose
  another outcome, and the jury will then vote on
  which sentence should be carried out.
• Note that the jury was not far from evenly split
  (221-280 against Socrates) Socrates suggests
  that with more time he could have won an
  acquittal.

19
What does Socrates suggestas a penalty for
himself?
20
What does Socrates suggestas a penalty for
himself?

• Free meals in the Prytaneum (the customary reward
  for top Olympic athletes)
• The Olympian victor makes you think yourself
  happy I make you happy. (36e)

21
What does Socrates suggestas a penalty for
himself?

• Free meals in the Prytaneum (the customary reward
  for top Olympic athletes)
• The Olympian victor makes you think yourself
  happy I make you happy. (36e)
• At 38b he sets the penalty at a fine of 30 minas
  (put up by his friends).

22
Why does Socrates propose no real penalty?
23
Why does Socrates propose no real penalty?

• I am convinced that I never willingly wrong
  anyone. (37a)
• (What would it be to wrong someone, on Socrates
  theory of what has value?)

24
Why does Socrates propose no real penalty?

• I am convinced that I never willingly wrong
  anyone. (37a)
• Since I am convinced that I wrong no one, I am
  not likely to wrong myself, to say that I deserve
  some evil and to make some such assessment
  against myself. (37b)
• Socrates then argues that since he does not know
  whether death is a negative outcome, it does not
  make sense for him to put himself down as
  preferring some outcome that he does recognize as
  negative.

25
The heart of the Apology

• it is the greatest good for a man to discuss
  virtue every day and those other things about
  which you hear me conversing and testing myself
  and others, for the unexamined life is not worth
  living for men (38a)

26
The heart of the Apology

• it is the greatest good for a man to discuss
  virtue every day and those other things about
  which you hear me conversing and testing myself
  and others, for the unexamined life is not worth
  living for men (38a)
• What is the unexamined life? Is it really
  worthless?

27
The heart of the Apology

• Having said that the jury will likely fail to
  believe his comments about needing to serve the
  god and being unable to keep silent, Socrates
  goes on to say, if I say that it is is the
  greatest good for a man to discuss virtue every
  day and those other things about which you hear
  me conversing and testing myself and others, for
  the unexamined life is not worth living for men,
  you will believe me even less. (38a)
• Socrates is not directly affirming that the
  unexamined life is not worth living he may very
  well hold this, but here he directly states only
  that such an affirmation would not be believed by
  the members of the jury who have voted against
  him.

28
Death and wickedness

• After the jury votes to execute him, Socrates
  again expresses his conviction that moral harm is
  worse than physical harm, and suggests that his
  adversaries have suffered more harm than he has
  it is better to die than to do wrong. (39b)

29
A prophecy

• To his accusers, Socrates says, you did this in
  the belief that you would avoid giving an account
  of your life, but I maintain that quite the
  opposite will happen to you. There will be more
  people to test you . To escape such tests is
  neither possible nor good, but it is best and
  easiest not to discredit others but to prepare
  oneself to be as good as possible. (39d)

30
An affirmation

• To his supporters, Socrates emphasizes that he
  has no regrets concerning his defense, and adds
• You too must be of good hope as regards death,
  gentlemen of the jury, and keep this one truth in
  mind, that a good man cannot be harmed either in
  life or in death . (41cd)
• Why are the good impervious to harm?