jbmorgan86's review against another edition
ap·o·lo·gi·a
ˌapəˈlōj(ē)ə/
noun
a formal written defense of one's opinions or conduct.
Plato's Apology is a defense of the martyred Socrates. Plato recounts Socrates trial and defends his hero.
The stand-out passage for me was:
"For if I tell you that this would be a disobedience to a divine command, and therefore that I cannot hold my tongue, you will not believe that I am serious; and if I say again that the greatest good of man is daily to converse about virtue, and all that concerning which you hear me examining myself and others, and that the life which is unexamined is not worth living - that you are still less likely to believe. And yet what I say is true, although a thing of which it is hard for me to persuade you."
ˌapəˈlōj(ē)ə/
noun
a formal written defense of one's opinions or conduct.
Plato's Apology is a defense of the martyred Socrates. Plato recounts Socrates trial and defends his hero.
The stand-out passage for me was:
"For if I tell you that this would be a disobedience to a divine command, and therefore that I cannot hold my tongue, you will not believe that I am serious; and if I say again that the greatest good of man is daily to converse about virtue, and all that concerning which you hear me examining myself and others, and that the life which is unexamined is not worth living - that you are still less likely to believe. And yet what I say is true, although a thing of which it is hard for me to persuade you."
kirstinin's review against another edition
2.0
Part 1 of logging the readings from my philosophy class to make me feel better about having to read them. Prediction: I do not think I am going to be a Philosophy Girl
wafflelord1's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
henry_michael03's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
sirfrankiecrisp's review against another edition
I do not think that I know what I do not know
lingosel's review against another edition
3.0
If one day I’m in a life or death situation, I can only pray to have Socrates’ ability to speak that much in clear logic. Like, I know it's a Plato-revised version of whatever he actually said, but it's still way more logical than what I can argue even when I'm clear headed.
jatinnagpal's review against another edition
4.0
Great book. Plato is a great writer and rightfully acclaimed so, and Socrates is a good teacher for creating a student that could write his speech just by knowing what he would have said.
(Yes, according to Xenophon, Plato wasn't really present at the speech)
(Yes, according to Xenophon, Plato wasn't really present at the speech)
bridgetembooks's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.25
jmckendry's review against another edition
5.0
This is another one I read in college that I enjoyed reading more this time. Plato's "Apology" is a dialogue where Socrates stands before the court of Athens and defends himself against his accusers who say he is corrupting the youth, and that he is impious/an atheist/believes in false gods. Socrates defends himself by cross examining his accuser, Meletus, and finds many inconsistencies in his accusations.
Socrates, through logical argument, shows that he does not corrupt the youth because he does not actually set out to teach anyone anything. He simply goes around asking people questions (questions which often make people who play at being wise look stupid) and the wealthy youth enjoy listening to him, then question other people in the same manner. But Socrates has never charged anyone money for listening to him, and he does not ask anyone to listen to him.
Socrates also shows that he cannot both be an atheist and believe in false gods. He says something like, "Has anyone ever believed in flute playing but not the flute player?" where he is basically asking: if he believes in demigods, or the actions of the gods, how could he possibly not believe in the gods?
In the end, he tells the people of Athens that he will never stop going around asking questions and pursuing the truth, because that is his mission which he was given by the gods.
Even though his arguments are logical and sound, the people of Athens sentence him to death which he readily accepts because he is an old man who really has no reason to fear death. His only sorrow is that Athens will lose his inquiring mind, and that the gods may never send them another like him. While it seems pretty cocky, he was not wrong.
A fantastic dialogue, well-written and easy to understand.
Socrates, through logical argument, shows that he does not corrupt the youth because he does not actually set out to teach anyone anything. He simply goes around asking people questions (questions which often make people who play at being wise look stupid) and the wealthy youth enjoy listening to him, then question other people in the same manner. But Socrates has never charged anyone money for listening to him, and he does not ask anyone to listen to him.
Socrates also shows that he cannot both be an atheist and believe in false gods. He says something like, "Has anyone ever believed in flute playing but not the flute player?" where he is basically asking: if he believes in demigods, or the actions of the gods, how could he possibly not believe in the gods?
In the end, he tells the people of Athens that he will never stop going around asking questions and pursuing the truth, because that is his mission which he was given by the gods.
Even though his arguments are logical and sound, the people of Athens sentence him to death which he readily accepts because he is an old man who really has no reason to fear death. His only sorrow is that Athens will lose his inquiring mind, and that the gods may never send them another like him. While it seems pretty cocky, he was not wrong.
A fantastic dialogue, well-written and easy to understand.