人文科学入門：PLATO’S
APOLOGY
Andrew Komasinski, PhD
Hokkaido University of Education Asahikawa
Key Vocabulary (Look Up)
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Claims (和製英語意味気をつけて！)
Trial
Accusation
Craftsmen
Oracle
Idle
Atheism
Corrupt [Verb]
Key Vocabulary (I will explain)
Definitions on later slides:
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Apology
Sophist
Socratic Method
Civic Religion
Apology
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Current Meaning
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Older Meaning
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Oldest Meaning
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To say I am sorry for
my action
To explain my
actions
To defend my action
Main Characters
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Socrates - the philosopher [accused]
Meletus - a craftsman
[accusing]
Who was Socrates?
Socrates was married to a woman named
Xanthippe and had three children.
 He did not write anything down
 He questioned the claims of others
TWO SOURCES:
 Plato – uses Socrates as main character in
dialogues
 Aristophanes – portrays Socrates as crazy.
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The accusation against Socrates
Socrates says:
“What is the accusation from which arose the
slander in which Meletus trusted … It goes
something like this: Socrates is guilty of
wrongdoing in that he busies himself studying
things in the sky and below the earth; he makes
the worse in to the stronger argument, and he
teaches the same thing to others” (19b; Cf. 18b).
Three parts in this accusation. What are they?
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Accusation Part 1
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“that he busies himself studying things in the sky and
below the earth”
Hint: Who/What is normally in charge of the sky?
 He is concerned with strange things
 He thinks he can explain nature without God
 He is idle
Accusation Part 1 – Atheism
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Accusation of atheism: “I cannot be sure whether
you mean that I teach the belief that there are
some gods – and therefore I myself believe that
there are god s and am not altogether an atheist
… Or whether you mean that I do not believe in
gods at all, and that this is what I teach to others”
(26c) [wrong gods or no gods] 
Meletus: no gods (26c / 26e).
Accusation Part 1 – Who cares?
Atheism mattered because of civic religion.
 Civic religion （市民宗教） means that politics and
religion are mixed
 To be a good citizen, you need to do religious
ceremonies
E.g., God-talk in America,国家神道
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 Greek civil religion:
Sacrifices (いけにえ), Oaths （誓い）
Accusation Part 2
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“he makes the worse in to the stronger argument”
Hint: Which should be stronger? The worse argument
or the better argument?
 He tricks people with a smooth tongue.
 He is a Sophist
Sophist
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Wandering teachers in Greece
Entertaining
Charged a Fee
Often made arguments to say bad things are okay
Did not do work
現代英語 sophist = someone who makes bad
arguments
Accusation Part 3
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“and he teaches the same thing to others”
Hint: Don’t think too hard!
 He is a teacher that passes these ideas onto others
The Danger = he will teach others to argue and be
atheists
Accusations Summary
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Accusations:
 Atheism
[does not believe in gods]
 Sophism
[makes worse argument win]
 Bad Teacher [corrupts the youth]
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Socrates Adds:
 Complaint
 Wise
man
Socrates’ Apology: Complaint
Socrates says
about the
accusers
“hardly
anything they
say is true”
(17a)
“They are
skilled
lawyers”
Meaning
Socrates says about
Socrates himself
I am “the man who speaks
the truth” (17b) plainly.
“From me you will hear the
whole truth, though not, by
Zeus, gentlemen, expressed
in embroidered and stylized
phrases …” (17b-c)
Meaning
Socrates’ Apology: Complaint
Socrates says
about the
accusers
“hardly
anything they
say is true”
(17a)
“They are
skilled
lawyers”
Meaning
Socrates says about
Socrates himself
Meaning
Liars
I am “the man who speaks
the truth” (17b) plainly.
Honest
Good at “From me you will hear the Bad at
speaking whole truth, though not, by Speaking
Zeus, gentlemen,
expressed in embroidered
and stylized phrases …”
(17b-c)
Socrates’ Apology: You are a Sophist
Against you are a sophist.
 I am not like a sophist. (“I have no part in it”
(19c))
 They charge money
BUT I don’t
 I am not famous like Gorgias or Prodicus or
Hippias (19e) [有名人]
 I cannot work as a tutor (家庭教師): I would
pride and preen if I had the knowledge, but I
do not have it” (20b).
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Socrates’ Apology: Wise Man 1
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“What has caused my reputation is no other
than a certain kind of wisdom … human
wisdom” (20d). “I shall call upon the god at
Delphi as witness [証しする人] to the existence
and nature of my wisdom” (20e-21a).
Oracle’s Claim: Socrates is the wisest (21b)
Stopping Point on Day 1 of Apology
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G.komasin.com/jinbunkagakunyuumon
Socrates’ Apology: Wise Man 2
Socrates’ Argument to show he is not the wisest
(21c):
1) If someone is wiser then Socrates, then the
oracle is wrong
2) [X] is wiser than Socrates.
3) Therefore, Socrates is not the wisest!
Just need to find someone wiser!
Socrates’ Apology: Wise Man 3
The Search for [X]: “After that, I
proceeded systematically” (21e) with
the result that “In my investigation in
the service of the god, I found that
those who had the highest reputation
were nearly the most deficient, while
those who were thought to be inferior
were more knowledgeable” (22a).
Socrates’ Apology: Wise Man 4
[X]
Issue with [X]
Outcome
one who
he turned not to be wise he hated
claimed to be (21d)
me (21d)
wise (21c)
Orators (22a- Sound nice but they are
b)
actually stupid
They hate
me
Socrates’ Apology: Wise Man 5
[X]
Poets
Craftsmen
Issue with [X]
“compose … by some inborn talent
and by inspiration” (gifted)
BUT “thought themselves very wise
men in other respects, which they
were not” (22c)
Wise in craft and think themselves
wise in all things but are not wise in
general (22d)
Outcome
They hate
me
They hate
me
Socrates’ Apology: Wise Man 6
“Coincidence” (すごい偶然かな！)
[X]
Orators
Not as Wise Accusing
as Socrates
Socrates
Yes  Hate S Yes
Poets
Yes  Hate S Yes
Craftsmen
Yes  Hate S Yes
Socrates’ Apology: Wise Man 7
Conclusion: The oracle is right: “in fact the god is wise
and that his oracular response meant that human wisdom
is worth little or nothing, and that when he says this man,
Socrates, he is using my name as an example as if he
said: ‘This man among you, mortals is wisest, who, like
Socrates, understands that his wisdom is worthless” (23ab).
Wisest =
to understand that [he has no wisdom]
Wise Man 8  Socratic Method 1
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Main idea of Socrates’ Philosophy:
Wisest =
to understand that [he has no wisdom]
 Socratic Method: To doubt easy
answers and test what we know by
asking questions.
Socratic Method 2
Example:
 X says “I am wise”
 S: What does wise mean?
 X says “wise means good at saying things” ?
 S: “So someone who can make thing is not
wise?”
 X: “Hmm…”
 S: So we do not know what wisdom is.
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Socratic Method 3
Socrates wants to use this to talk about
big questions:
What is justice (正義)?
What is love?
 He does not want easy answers.
 He wants to test their understanding.
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Socratic Method 4
Socratic method = to teach by asking
questions to make sure students
understand.
 Makes sure we understand terms we use
 Tests to see if students can use ideas.
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 Opposite of memorization.
Socrates’ Apology: Bad Teacher 1
Socrates: I am not a bad teacher.
“the young men who follow me around of
their own free will, who have most leisure,
the sons of the very rich, take pleasure in
hearing people questioned” (23c).
 They like the Socratic method.
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Socrates’ Apology: Bad Teacher 2
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Meletus: “You corrupt the youth” (25)
Socrates: What does it mean to corrupt the youth?
Meletus: Corrupt = harm
Socrates: harm is either intentional (わざと) or
accidental (偶然の)
Socrates: if intentional, then wicked. If accidental,
then stupid.
Socrates: so I am either wicked or stupid.
Socrates’ Apology: Bad Teacher 3
…
 Socrates: if intentional, then wicked. If accidental,
then stupid.
 Socrates: so I am either wicked or stupid.
 Meletus: you are wicked.
 Socrates: “Either I do not corrupt the young or, if I
do, it is unwillingly, and you are lying in either case”
(Socratic Method)
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Socrates’ Apology: Atheism 1
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Socrates: Meletus, what do you mean by atheism?
“I cannot be sure whether you mean that I teach
the belief that there are some gods – and
therefore I myself believe that there are god s
and am not altogether an atheist … Or whether
you mean that I do not believe in gods at all,
and that this is what I teach to others ” (26c)
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Meletus: Your atheism = no gods.
Socrates’ Apology: Atheism 2
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Socrates: “Does any man, Meletus, believe in
human activities who does not believe in
humans?” … Does any man who does not
believe in horses believe in horseman’s
activities?” (27b)
Q: What is the pattern?
Socrates’ Apology: Atheism 3
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Pattern: Belief in X’s activities or things from
X  a belief in X.
Socrates says he believes in the activities of
spirits (27b-d).
Q: Does Socrates say he believes in the
gods?
Socrates’ Apology: Verdict
Socrates is found guilty.
 Meletus asks for the death sentence (死
刑).
 Socrates asks for all-you-can-eat for life
(寿命中食べ放題)
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Socrates is sentenced to death.