Term
| True or False: Rhetoric is always used to persuade people that something false is true. |
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Definition
| False. (Rhetoric is artful speech that can be used to persuade people of true things or false things, although Socrates suggests that one uses either rhetoric or the whole truth. |
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Term
| True or False: Socrates claims that the informal charge against his is easier to disprove than the formal charge. |
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Definition
| False. (Socrates says that the old accusers are a bigger threat than the formal accusers, indicating perhaps, that the most serious conflict between Socrates and Athens has to do with what the old accusers say about Socrates.) |
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Term
| Why might Socrates find it necessary to use rhetoric in addressing the Athenian jury? |
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Definition
| Because they could not understand him if he spoke the simple truth as he knows it. (Plato is exploring the relationship between community and the wise and the good person. The use of rhetoric suggests that Socrates cannot explain what he does and make it acceptable to the people of Athens by just telling the simple truth.) |
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Term
| What is one important thing that Socrates does not say when he attempts to prove that the people should not be prejudiced against him? |
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Definition
| That science presents no threat to the beliefs of the Athenian people. (That he does not make such an argument indicates his understanding that science is a threat. All political communities are based upon some shared beliefs that are harmful to question publicly. In this case the basic beliefs are religious.) |
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Term
| What is the Athenian people's prejudice against science based on? |
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Definition
| Science can be dangerous to the beliefs upon which the Athenian regime is based. (All communities are more stable if certain things are taken for granted without question.) |
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Term
| In the Apology why did Socrates question the politicians, artisans and poets? |
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Definition
| Because of the Oracle story. (Although this is what Socrates claims, we might wonder whether that is the real reason he does it.) |
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Term
| True or False: The Oracle story shows Plato's reader clearly that Socrates did believe in the god Apollo. |
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Definition
| False. (The fact that Socrates goes out to "prove the Oracle its mistake," says that he is willing to question the gods, something which a true believer would not do.) |
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Term
| Why did Socrates tell his Oracle story? |
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Definition
| The simple truth did not convince the jury. |
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Term
| True or False: Socrates questions the Athenian politicians to demonstrate that democracy is an unjust form of government. |
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Definition
| False. (Socrates' goal is not immediately political, although his activity has political effects. He is trying to learn things, not change the regime. |
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Term
| In his speech before the jury, why might Socrates use rhetoric? |
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Definition
| He knows that the jury will not accept the simple truth as he knows it. (Every time in the Apology, Socrates says he is telling the simple truth, the jury doesn't accept it.) |
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Term
| True or False: Socrates treats Anytus as his most important accuser. |
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Definition
| True. (Anytus was a respected political figure. Several times Socrates treats him as the key accuser - the one whose opinion about political stability is important. Meletus gets no such respect.) |
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Term
| What are the formal charges against Socrates? |
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Definition
| He is an atheist, and he corrupts the youth. |
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Term
| What does the Apology show about the conflict between science and religion? |
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Definition
| It shows that the conflict might be reasonable because science necessarily raises questions about basic beliefs in the gods. (Wondering about the truth of religious teachings can undermine the belief in those teachings, which can be a problem especially in a community where morality is based on religion.) |
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Term
| At the beginning of the Apology, Socrates professes only to tell the simple truth. When he proposes his penalty, he does tell the simple truth. What is the result? |
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Definition
| The jury doesn't accept it. (They shout him down. This indicated that the people cannot accept or understand the whole truth from Socrates.) |
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Term
| While defending himself against charges that he is a scientist, what does Socrates reveal? |
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Definition
| His admiration and curiosity about science. (It indicates that Socrates does not share the prejudice against science, and appreciates the value of science.) |
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Term
| Who are Socrates formal accusers? |
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Definition
| Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon |
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Term
| Why does Socrates say that he does not take a part in politics? |
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Definition
| He is afraid of being killed. (Plato makes Socrates say that a person who insists on justice in any political community cannot survive. This suggests that there is something in the nature of politics that makes communities have to be unjust to be stable.) |
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Term
| True or False: As presented in the Apology, Socrates seems to undermine the stability of Athenian democracy. |
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Definition
| True. (By questioning things that the community does not consider questionable, and by publicly humiliating the esteemed public figures, Socrates seems unintentionally to undermine the stability of the community.) |
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Term
| What does Socrates indicate, in the Apology, when he says that he would disobey a law against philosophy? |
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Definition
| He considers himself to be above the law in all cases. (Logically if he can say in one case that he knows that a law is unjust, he is asserting this his understanding of justice is superior to that behind the laws. |
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Term
| True or False: Socrates says that an unexamined life is not worth living. |
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Definition
| True. (This is a very important point, because it is Socrates' explanation of why he does what he does, and of what is best for human beings. |
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Term
| In the Apology, why does Socrates claim that he is the best citizen in Athens? |
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Definition
| He tries to make the people of Athens into good human beings. |
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Term
| In his appeal to the jury against Socrates, what does Meletus seem to count on? |
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Definition
| The jurors prejudice against Socrates. (We know Meletus is counting on the prejudice because he is so ready to call Socrates an atheist even though he contradicts himself to do so.) |
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Term
| Socrates states that he would not accept acquittal on the condition that he give up his pursuit of wisdom. Why? |
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Definition
| He could not continue to ask questions of himself and others as he has in Athens. (He claims that he does what he does because it is the most important, best things for humans to do. |
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Term
| In the Apology, why does Socrates conclude that he lives the way he does? |
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Definition
| The best way for a man to live is to make speeches about excellence every day. |
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Term
| What does Socrates' final speech to those who voted to acquit him show the reader? |
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Definition
| That Socrates can keep many friends only if he does not tell them everything he knows. (The basic problem Plato explores in the Apology is this fact that communities need certain assumptions to be taken for granted. One who insists that those assumptions are questionable will cause trouble for the community.) |
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