Socrates s View On Plato s The And Aristophanes s The...

Elenchus, as a famous Socratic method for education, uses dialogue and questions to approach philosophical truths. The method is presented in both Plato’s the Euthyphro and Aristophanes’s the Clouds. However, Socrates’s personal image and characteristics, as well as the nature of his questioning differ a lot in these two works. While the Euthyphro presents a philosopher king guiding the less wise people in discovery of truths, Socrates in the Clouds has little interest in either exploring the ethical truth or helping others get out of â€Å"Plato’s cave†. Instead, he is portrayed as a sophist who corrupts people with mysterious and useless knowledge, ignores traditional Athenian education, and debilitates Athenian men. Compared to Plato’s focus on Socrates’s wisdom reflected in the dialogue, the Clouds is a distorted interpretation of Socrates’s elenchus. Rather than justifiably criticizing Socrates, Aristophanes depicts him fr om a common Athenian s perspective. It is this misunderstanding of the value of Socrates’s teaching by Athenian citizens that constitutes the failure of elenchus in both the Clouds and the Euthyphro. Socrates’s image in the two works differ firstly in his attitude towards knowledge and towards himself. A typical statement of Socrates, both in the Euthyphro and in other Plato’s works, is that he has no clear knowledge. He is different from the public because he knows that he does not know. Neither does he claim to teach or corrupt the young (Euthyphro, p.2Show MoreRelatedAristophanes Making Fun of Socrates in His Plays: An Analysis1039 Words   |  5 PagesSome of the earlier works by Plato called The Republic, in the piece there are conversations between characters Socrates and Glaucon, Aristophanes, Adeimantus where they try and explain ideas and views of justice and what a truly just man and/or just state would appear How we come to the decisions as human beings that would be for the greater good of a man and/or state. One conversation between the parties was that of how a truly just state would look like and Socrates answers by declaring thatRead MoreThe Trial of Socrates: an Analysis and Construction of Socrates Defense2369 Words   |  10 PagesThe Trial of Socrates: An Analysis and Construction of Socrates Defense Understanding the decisions made by the jurymen in Socrates trial will always be a mystery, but one can perceive why some would have voted the way that they did. Politically and historically Athens was a thriving place of innovation and philosophical advancements. Athens could very well be divided, morally on various aspects, one of them being which â€Å"political† affiliation Athenians related themselves with. Some choicesRead MoreSocrates : Not Guilty1610 Words   |  7 PagesSocrates: Not Guilty Intro (138) In 399 BC, when he was seventy years old, Socrates was called into court by three men: Meletus, a poet, Anytus, a politician, and Lycon, an orator. The specific charges were impiety (namely that he did not believe in the gods of Athens, and instead had introduced new gods), and corruption of the youth of the city. The account of Socrates’ trial is preserved in the Apology by Plato, a dialogue that ought not to be considered a verbatim report of Socrates’ defenseRead MoreSocrates Summary2196 Words   |  9 PagesAccusations made against Socrates:†¨corrupting of youth, allowing them to question authority not respecting traditional gods introducing new gods He was ugly so people thought he was evil Socrates Life: 469BC- 399BC Born: 469 B.C. Birthplace: Athens, Greece Died: 399 B.C. (execution by poison) Best Known As: The great Greek philosopher who drank hemlock Socrates is the ancient Greek thinker who laid the early foundations for Western philosophical thought. His Socratic Method involvedRead MoreSocrates and Properties Essay3228 Words   |  13 Pages Socrates and Properties By Characterizing himself –Socrates- as both ignorant and wise, he presents us with one of the most striking paradoxes. Like so many of the other philosophers, is provocative in that its apparent self-contradiction hides an important idea for us readers to discover. Though out this text Socrates ignorance results from his belief that he has no knowledge of moral idea, or moral properties, such as justice, virtue, piety, and beauty. He asserts that, if only he knew theRead MoreEducational Theory of Socrates4392 Words   |  18 Pagesinsight into the educational theories of Socrates. It is rather difficult to gain any information from first hand written accounts of Socrates work as he hardly ever took down notes and the only accounts that have stood the test of time are those that were documented by Plato, a student of Socrates. In actual fact most of what we know is from later people such as Aristophanes, Xenophen, Plato and Aristotle. These accounts are what have been formula ted into Socrates theories. This poses some questions