Socrates Guilty Corruption

Socrates Guilty Corruption

Although Socrates instills within the youth an insatiable hunger to acquire knowledge, the means by which the children do this jeopardize the respect of elders and officials, the overall necessary assimilation required for culture to flourish, and the fundamental order set by the Logos, thereby creating an anarchic presence among the youth, thus making Socrates guilty of corrupting said youth. Throughout the text, it is obvious that Socrates continually practices philosophy in nearly all acts of his life. Socrates shows this in his frequent questioning of those who claim to be wise or to have certain knowledge of things. However, after a few simple questions, whether public officers or elders, Socrates publically shows society that these people who claim to be wise aren’t in actuality as they cannot even answer basic questions pertaining to their field of supposed prowess: “I [Socrates] still go around seeking and investigating in accordance with the god any townsman or foreigner I suppose to be wise. And whenever someone does not seem to me, I come to the god’s aid and show that he is not wise” (72). This constant disgracing of townsmen elicits from the people an angry response towards Socrates as he challenges the presumed cultural truths of omniscient public officials and such. As Socrates continues his habitual discrediting of the hubristically-inclined, the opulent youth begin to follow Socrates, especially during his inquiry of certain persons. This coalition youth’s interest with Socrates is initially harmless; however, soon, the youth begin to participate in this public harassment in order to emulate his actions. Socrates mentions this when he talks to the jurors: “…the young who follow me of their own accord—those who have the most leisure, the sons of the wealthiest—enjoy hearing human beings examined. And they themselves often imitate me, and in turn they attempt to examine others” (72). Because the youth imitate Socrates,...