Daily # 1 Week 4

 Question: Do you think Socrates got what he deserved? Why didn't he accept exile?

Before I decide whether Socrates got what he deserved, I feel it's important to reiterate his life and teachings. As Socrates got older, he felt the need to question the world around him and question why things are the way they are.  Socrates never wrote down his teachings but one of his students named Plato did record his teachings. This is really the only way historians know much about Socrates' teachings.  As we know, there are usually a multitude of answers for a single question. You could ask 100 people the same question and they could come up with many different answers, maybe 100. Socrates thought it was better to include many people in a discussion. This way he could come up with many different angles and opinions on whatever topic the group was discussing. Older people in this time period were not as apt to question things as were the younger people. The young people, mostly men, listened to Socrates' teachings and learned how to think the way Socrates taught them. Socrates never charged these men for this knowledge. He presented his ideas in such a way that some of the leaders in Greece thought he was brainwashing people and was against the democratic ways in Athens. Since Socrates was intelligent and taught people how to think his way, he thought only the smartest people should rule so he probably wasn't in favor of democracy. Socrates questioned piety in one of his discussions. This was one of the factors that ultimately led to his demise. After the Peloponnesian war, the leaders in Greece decided not to punish people for their beliefs unless they questioned the Gods. Since this was how Socrates discussion of piety was interpreted, he was tried and then executed (by drinking a glass of hemlock juice). I don't think Socrates deserved to die. He should have been allowed to teach people and solicit different opinions. Life is not always black and white and people have to have open minds to understand how other people think and understand things. Socrates did not accept exile because he would rather die than not be able to teach his philosophy of life to other people.