Essay on Socrates - 2140 Words

The First Advocate for Free Speech – Socrates The precise facts about how and why the great Greek philosopher Socrates was sentenced and executed remains one of the biggest puzzles in history, even to this day. Socrates lived and philosophized in Athens, which is said to be the ancient model for a democracy. Yet, it seems like the Athenians sentenced to death a respected member of their society for speaking his mind and standing by his principles. Now how democratic is that? What makes the situation more riddling is that the only two journals for the events surrounding the death of Socrates are written by Plato and Xenophon, who are his followers. Some historians argue the picture they presented in their works is intended to imply†¦show more content†¦Trying to be humble and denying his believes would probably be the right strategy, but Socrates just stays true to his principles. Even when saying we is a humble man who knows nothing, it is obvious he does not mean it, he just puts a meaning behind it. In the progress of the trial Socrates also claims that apart from being not guilty, he should be actually viewed as a hero. He mentions his service in the battles against Sparta, and again going one step further he compares himself to the great hero of the Trojan war - Achilles. The analogy made here is that Socrates like Achilles does not keep into account â€Å"the matters of living and dying† (28b, Apology). Just like Achilles even fear of death will not make him stop exercising his way of thinking and philosophizing the way he always did. This basically means that the only way to make Socrates stop doing what he was accused of is by sending him to death. He sees his manner of living as a duty. Socrates never got paid for his work as a teacher, and therefore has never been restrained by the need of having to satisfy anyone but his feeling of self-content. So what he does here is, saying that even though he loves Athens, it will never make him change who he is and what he is destined to always do. Socrates makes a point about how his way of thinking is the right one and should be adopted by this democratic society, but is aware this is unlikely to happen now and will mostShow MoreRelated Socrates Essay1261 Words   |  6 Pages SOCRATES Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived between 470-399 B.C. He turned Greek attention toward questions of ethics and virtue and away from those of the heavenly bodies. Socrates spent much time in the Agora (marketplace) where he held conversations with townspeople. Socrates believed that real truth could be found out through thought and collaboration with others. He was known for exposing ignorance, hypocrisy, and conceit. Despite having many followers, Socrates was disliked by mostRead More Socrates Essay1087 Words   |  5 PagesThe problem remains making philosophy friendly to politics. The questioning of authoritative opinions is not easily accomplished nor is that realm of philosophy - the pursuit of wisdom. Socrates was the instigator of the conflict. While the political element takes place within opinions about political life, Socrates asks the question quot;What is the best regime and how should I live?quot; Ancient thought is riddled with unknowns and can make no such statement as quot;how should I live.quot; TheRead MoreSocrates Essay1985 Words   |  8 PagesSocrates Worldview Intro Socrates was a raggedy old man that spent his time searching and looking for all of the answers to the world. The readings we started on took us to Socrates in his last days and arguing with friends if he should escape or not. We will get to look at though the worldview analysis Socrates findings of his years searching and his personal view portrayed by ones around him. Condition Bodily Attachment Socrates believes the human problem is inside us ourselves. WeRead More Socrates Essay1596 Words   |  7 Pages Socrates believes that the everyday world is an illusion compared to the world of knowledge. People are often too distracted by money and materialistic things to appreciate truth and reality. Socrates says, â€Å"the capacity for knowledge is innate in each man’s mind.† This exemplifies the point that man has the ability to look into the world of truth, but when one is caught up in superficiality then truth does not receive the attention and glory that it should. This is why Socrates feels that the artsRead More Socrates Essay1353 Words   |  6 Pages Socrates was perhaps the most interesting and influential thinker in the fifth century. He was dedicated to careful reasoning and he wanted genuine knowledge rather than the victory over his opponent. He learned the rhetoric and dialectics of the Sophists, the ideas of the Lonian philosophers, and the genera l culture of Periclean Athens. Socrates used the same knowledge by the Sophists to get a new purpose, the pursuit of truth. He called everything into question and he was determined to acceptRead MoreEssay on Socrates1116 Words   |  5 PagesPlato recounts the last days of Socrates, immediately before his execution was to take place in Athens. In the dialogue, Socrates’ pupil, Crito, proposes that Socrates escape from prison. Socrates considers this proposal, trying to decide whether escaping would be â€Å"just† and â€Å"morally justified.† Eventually, Socrates concludes that the act is considered â€Å"unjust† and â€Å"morally unjustified.† Socrates then decides to accept his fate and proceeded with his execution. Socrates was a man who was in pursuitRead MoreSocrates Essay728 Words   |  3 PagesSocrates Socrates spent his time questioning people about things like virtue, justice, piety and truth. The people Socrates questioned are the people that condemned him to death. Socrates was sentenced to death because people did not like him and they wanted to shut him up for good. There was not any real evidence against Socrates to prove the accusations against him. Socrates was condemned for three major reasons: he told important people exactly what he thought of them, he questioned ideasRead More Socrates Essay601 Words   |  3 Pages Philosophy in ancient Greece was merely a type of argument, until a pioneer named Socrates showed the world a new way of thinking. Socrates was born in 469 BC in Athens (where he lived all his life) as the son of Sophroniscus, a stonemason, and Phaenarete. In his life, Socrates changed common philosophy, which was a study of why the way things are, into a consideration of the virtue and health of the human soul. Rather than writing books and recording his thoughts himself, he orally passedRead 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 More Socrates Essay examples3029 Words   |  13 PagesSocrates Philosophy was both serious and dangerous, Socrates chose to ignore both. Ignoring the first made him one of the most engaging of all philosophers, ignoring the second was to cost him his life. He was born in a middle class home in Athens, in 470 BCE. His parents were Phaenarete and Sophroniscus. His mother had a reputation for her patient and intuitive skill in delivering babies in and around the neighborhood. The latter, his father was a craftsman, stonecutter by trade. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;As

Critical Observation Paper Essay Example For Students

Critical Observation Paper Essay The study of social psychology in the behavioral observation of a crying infant. Abstract An infant crying is a behavioral trait of all new born babies. An infants first instinct when born is to cry. Why do infants cry? When infants cry it can be for a various amount of reasons. As a parent it is their responsibility to figure out what is wrong and keep the infant from crying. This paper provides awareness of why infants may cry and what one can do toprevent this. Critical Observation PaperSubject A being the parent was observing subject B being the infant. Subject A observes that subject B cries for various reasons. When aninfant expresses a need to cry it is the parents responsibility to find outwhy they are crying. A primary trait of infants is to cry when they wantto communicate their needs and discomforts that require some attention. The parent primarily needs to make sure the infant is not in any pain ordiscomfort that requires any medical attention. Once that is accomplishedits all about trial and error. Infants who cry excessively may have gastrointestinal problems which,is a form of abdominal pain (Illingworth 1954). This form of abdominalpain is called colic which is a crying behavior in infants (Illingworth1954). During these crying episodes parents need to be more attentive andloving to the infant. Calmly acknowledging and accepting their feelingsmay be what the infant needs. When infants cry it may be difficult to know why they are crying. There are many ways to find out why the infant is indeed crying. Forexample, subject B is crying and subject A feeds the infant. The infant isnot crying anymore. Now subject A realizes the reason the infants wascrying was because it was hungry. Some methods to try when an infant iscrying is to rock or simply try to distract the infant with singing ortalking etc. MethodNaturalistic Observation is the best method used in this situationsince the subject is an infant. This observation method operates well whenusing it on infants because it prevents any abuse or forcing them to cryfor an observation. Using this method for the reason that researchers canobserve how infants react in the natural setting. For instance, aninfants reaction to their mother leaving the room in their own home wouldbe different to a mother leaving the room in a strangers home. Gathering information on why infants cry, the researcher chooses tostudy a large group of infants rather than an individual infant. Forinstance, an individual infant that is chosen could be a special case andbe an infant who has colic, diaper rash, or an ear infection. The infantwho has colic, diaper rash, or an ear infection is going to cry more thanthe infants that do not. The group method can increase the results of theobservation because more than one infant is being used for the observation. In order for the research to be impartial, this observation consistedof more than one observer. Therefore, the research could be compared andwould not be one sided. This method would ensure that the researcher is notmaking an opinion of the observation rather than a general view. Theinfants would also be monitored by video, so that the observation can beviewed in different perspectives. The researchers would in additionrandomly pick infants for the observation. Case in point, picking infantsfrom different parts of the country would prevent the observation frombeing prejudice because the infants are different ethnic backgrounds. Inthe observation the infants would be treated equally and attend to theirneeds in the same way. Essay About Edmunds Corrugated Parts & ServicesThese methods would increase the observation to be accurate andtruthful. The Naturalistic observation method can be a predicament. Theonly way to make an observation is for the infant to be crying. Since theinfant can not be influenced in anyway the researcher has to wait for theinfant to go through an emotion. ResultCrying is an infants way to communicate to their parents or others. When infants cry they are communicating to have their needs taken cared ofand acknowledged. An infant who is crying because their diaper needs to bechanged gets their diaper changed, an infant who is hungry gets fed, and aninfant who is sleepy gets put down to sleep. These are all ways to solveinfants needs when they cry.Overall, the one reason infants cry is theywant to feel the love and embrace of the parents arms. Most infants justwant to be held, to feel the security and safety of their parents. ReferenceAldrich, C.A.; Sung, C.; And Knop, C. (1945). The Crying of Newly BornBabies, II: The Individual Phase. Journal of Pediatrics. RetrievedSeptember 19, 2004, from WebCo-HostAlter, M. (1981). When Cries. Do What? Mothering. Brazelton, T. B. (1962). Crying in Infancy. Pediatrics. RetrievedSeptember 19, 2004, from WebCo-HostIllingworth, R. (1954). Three-months Colic. Archive of the Disease ofChildhood. 29, 165-170. Wood, S.E.; Wood Green, E.; Boyd, D. (2004). Mastering the World ofPsychology