"You know nothing Socrates"

Stuart Moore

Kwan Ha

Rhetoric 103a

10/14/116

 “You know nothing Socrates”

Precis: Apology

            At the heart of Plato’s “Apology” are two men who stake their claims of knowledge to feelings of superiority over the other. The pride of each man prevails over knowledge and Socrates is the proud victim of bravado. Meletus believes himself to be in the right, in terms of educating the youth, and believes Socrates to be grievously in the wrong in this matter. Meletus exercises his power and brings Socrates to trial for misinforming and preaching hearsay to the youth of Athens.    

            Socrates has the audacity to proclaim to the jury that the Oracle of Delphi stated, “that there was no man wiser [than he, Socrates]. The trial has hardly started and Socrates has already decreed that he is the wisest man in the world. He believes himself to be superior to the jurors, especially Meletus. Socrates’ pride plays a major hindrance to his survival. When one is in the midst of a trial, it is most likely best not to insult the people directly responsible for one’s fate.

            However, the hubris of Socrates compels him to further insult and embarrass Meletus. Through a direct comparison Socrates states, “I am better off than he is - for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows. I neither know nor think that I know.” If the audience was not already aware that Socrates believes himself to better than Meletus, it is now even more apparent. Socrates must be smarter because he is aware of his ineptitude, while Meletus is naïve to the fact that he, along with all humans, are actually quite naïve. In other words Socrates is telling Meletus that he is blissfully unaware of his own stupidity.

            This actually seems like quite a paradoxical statement from Socrates. For he is claiming to know nothing, but assuming that he knows the inner workings and thoughts of Meletus’s mind. Socrates is contradicting himself, and his main belief.

            This continues through Socrates’ cross examination of Meletus. Socrates asks Meletus insulting questions that both he and Meletus know to be very apparent. For example he asks, “Which is better, to live among good citizens, or bad ones?” Meletus agrees that it is better to live among good citizens. If Socrates truly wanted to prove his point that he knows nothing, he should argue that it is not necessarily better to live among good citizens. In fact, one might do the city a public service by living among bad citizens and helping to correct their ways. Socrates does not argue this point, and continues to ask questions that inflate his pride and attempt to embarrass Meletus.

            In one last show of pride, Socrates’ proposes that he should be publicly honored and celebrated for being found guilty. He should be celebrated being the wisest man in the world and for opposing the other men that consider themselves wise or knowledgeable. In the face of his death sentence, Socrates states that he is not afraid of death because he does not know what comes after it. While this seems like Socrates is falling back to his “I know nothing, and I know that I know nothing” routine, this statement is once again a show of pride. Socrates is refusing to acknowledge any fear of the death penalty, and is essentially telling Meletus that his punishment is a weak one. Socrates and his pride are spitting in the face of death to spite Meletus.

            The downfall of Socrates was a direct result of his pride. Meletus too is a prideful man, and Socrates insulted him to the point where Meletus handed down a death sentence. Socrates truly knew nothing, for he did not know when to let go of his pride.