Plato, a Student of Socrates

Plato, a student of Socrates is viewed as one of the great philosophers. He was a unique character and unlike his teacher Socrates, Plato wrote down many of his philosophic ideas and he did so in dialogue. The purpose of this discussion is to examine one of Plato's works. The work chosen is "The Trial and Death of Socrates: Four Dialogues."

The Trial and Death of Socrates: Four Dialogues"

This works discusses the final day of Socrates. This particular work involves the four following dialogues Euthyphro, the Apology, Crito and Phaedo (Rexroth, 1986). According to many scholars these dialogues were written at separate times. In addition, many scholars note the differences in the styles of writing when the dialogues are compared to one another.

The first dialogue, Euthyphro, is a conversation with a pious dogmatist of the New Morality who is actually a disciple of Socrates (Rexroth, 1986).. This conversation takes place before the judgment hall. In this dialogue Socrates asserts that he has been accused of corrupting the young. More specifically he was accused of being "a poet or maker of gods, and that I invent new gods and deny the existence of old ones; this is the ground of his indictment (Plato)." Also in this dialogue Euthyphro reveals that his father has been accused of murder and Euthyphro believes that his father is guilty and should be punished. Euthyphro's beliefs about his father, causes Socrates to engage in a conversation about piety.

The Apology dialogue is documentation of the trial of Socrates and the three speeches he made in his own defense (Rexroth, 1986).

This aspect of the work is often viewed as the most poetic as Socrates actually shocks many of his listeners by honoring the law and standing in his own truth. He did this although many still wanted him to escape the prison and save his own life. As it relates to this aspect of the work Socrates asserts that Wherefore, O judges, be of good cheer about death, and know this of a truth - that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. He and his are not neglected by the gods; nor has my own approaching end happened by mere chance. But I see clearly that to die and be released was better for me; and therefore the oracle gave no sign. For which reason also, I am not angry with my accusers, or my condemners; they have done me no harm, although neither of them meant to do me any good (Plato)."

It is obvious through this comment that Socrates is not moved by the accusations made against him and he is not angry at those who have accused him. This aspect of the work also confirmed a clear belief that Socrates held, that nothing bad could happen to a good man. Socrates believed this to be a fundamental truth and he believed that he was a good man. As such he was at peace with whatever was going to happen to him as a result of the trial. In this particular passage it is also clear that Socrates believed that death would be a better reality for him because he would not have to be uncomfortable any longer or have to deal with being misunderstood.

The third dialogue Crito involves a conversation with a loyal pupil who visits Socrates in prison the night prior to the day he died; the pupil attempted to convince him to escape the confines of the prison which had already been arranged by a group of friends (Rexroth, 1986).. When Crito attempts to get his teacher to escape the jail, Socrates again emphasizes that he is prepared to die and to obey the laws of the state. In this particular dialogue Socrates also scolds Crito for worrying about the opinion of others. Crito asserted that if Socrates died people would believe that he could have saved Socrates if he would have paid money. However Socrates contents that "Good men, and they are the only persons who are worth considering, will think of these things truly as they happened." Again Socrates returns to the notion of good men and their ability to examine things truthfully.