THE WAY TO JUSTICE
1. Do you think these charges are legitimate? Is this a fair trial?
Can we possibly even come close to saying these charges are legitimate? I myself am not religious in any way, shape or form. Perhaps I may believe there is something out there, some form of karma or higher being, but I do not run my life according to it. Thus, to me personally, having anyone put on trial for, in part, beliefs in different divinities and speaking of them to others [corruption] is absolutely absurd ( F.J Church p.23). It is this kind of thinking that led the continent of Europe into the Thirty Year War as the Protestants and Roman Catholic strove to wipe each other out. This same idea lead to the Holy Wars [Crusades] between the Christians and the Muslims, again trying to state one religions superiority over another and destroy or humiliate the other. What makes these charges even more illegitimate to myself is the fact that Athens Greece is supposed to be run under a democracy. In a democracy should there not be some more tolerance and individual opinions expressed? Especially if that individual, and his thoughts, are doing no real harm to anyone?
1. Do you think these charges are legitimate? Is this a fair trial?
Can we possibly even come close to saying these charges are legitimate? I myself am not religious in any way, shape or form. Perhaps I may believe there is something out there, some form of karma or higher being, but I do not run my life according to it. Thus, to me personally, having anyone put on trial for, in part, beliefs in different divinities and speaking of them to others [corruption] is absolutely absurd ( F.J Church p.23). It is this kind of thinking that led the continent of Europe into the Thirty Year War as the Protestants and Roman Catholic strove to wipe each other out. This same idea lead to the Holy Wars [Crusades] between the Christians and the Muslims, again trying to state one religions superiority over another and destroy or humiliate the other. What makes these charges even more illegitimate to myself is the fact that Athens Greece is supposed to be run under a democracy. In a democracy should there not be some more tolerance and individual opinions expressed? Especially if that individual, and his thoughts, are doing no real harm to anyone?
The trial for Socrates in this democratic city of Athens is also somewhat a joke in my mind. How is it fair or just to put a man to death , when he has cause no real harm to anyone, by a difference of thirty votes (F.J Church p36,45)? This is no landslide opinion that will end a man’s life. This is not even the decision of half the population. The entire beginning of Euthyphro is debating piety vs. impiety which brought them to the meaning of just and unjust ( F.J Church p.5-19 ). If this is how a society views justice, by killing a single poor man that made them question the way they live their lives around wealth and ignorance, then perhaps it is better to vote for the unjust.
Works Cited:
Plato. Euthyphro, Apology, Crito. Tran. F.J. Church. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1948. Print.
Great work, Korrie. This is a strong response because you incorporate real-world examples to clarify your thoughts about the text. However, to improve this analysis, I suggest incorporating a specific discussion of each of the charges raised against Socrates.
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