Summary of Plato’s Apology
1. What is the book about, as a whole?
The text is Socrates’ defense of himself in court and his reaction to
being found guilty and sentenced to death. Socrates talks about wisdom
and truth, about his divine mission, and about death.
2. What is being said in detail, and how?
Socrates has older and newer accusers. Socrates answers some older
charges directly, but doesn’t address the charge of evil-doing and twisting
ethics, but does say over and over that he must be righteous and just and
do his duty and improve his soul. He says the accusations are made
because people are angered at being proved foolish. Socrates answers some
newer charges directly, but doesn’t answer the charge of believing in new or
different gods. He argues against Meletus ad hominem.
Socrates’ wisdom is only in his ignorance. He knows that he is not
wise (he says that “only God is wise”), and admits it, and this makes him
wise. He only knows that he must do his duty to higher authority, must
examine his life, must strive to improve his soul, must seek truth and
wisdom.
Socrates has a divine purpose or mission. He says that he must
perform it, and that if it leads to death, so be it. His mission is to seek truth
and wisdom personally and to challenge others to do so by exposing
pretenders. He says that a voice directs him by stopping him from doing
what is wrong.
Finally, Socrates talks about death. He says that it is conceited to be
scared of death if we don’t know what comes after it, and that death must
be good if the divine voice in him leads him to it. He says that death might
be sleep or migration of the soul. As he leaves for his sentence, he urges
others to continue his mission of seeking truth and wisdom.
3. Is the book true, in whole or in part?
I find Socrates’ argument defending against his corrupting youth
weak. Also, he states that a bad man cannot injure a good man. If he is
speaking in a spiritual sense, then I might agree, but bad people can and do
make life unpleasant for good people, if not ending their lives. I also am not
entirely convinced that death is a good, because I don’t think that
non-existence is as satisfying as a good night’s sleep.
Many of Socrates’ smaller points, for example, that “the unexamined
life is not worth living,” his encouragement to seek wisdom and
righteousness, his description of people’s reactions to being corrected and
exposed, are very important and true.
4. So what?
His defense doesn’t interest me as much as his statements about
wisdom and virtue. His accusation that Athenians were more concerned
about material things than about improving their souls speaks to me and
encourages me to follow his example. What he had to say about people
being angry when they are corrected is true of me, and I need to be more
honest in my search for truth and less prideful.
Finally, I need to always remember Socrates’ wisdom, that I am wise
only as long as I realize that I am not. I don’t do a very good job of this, and
should continually work at it.
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