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The trial and death of Socrates

The life of philosophy is always a tough life to partake in, but for some of our greatest philosophers of all time, their lives would end in tragedy, not because they were corrupt, criminal or treasonous, but rather, because certain groups of people would find their charisma and intellect of great threat to their personal standing. It is these groups of people that instead of allying with or learning from, decide to destroy who they see as menaces, in some cases, literally.

The relationship between Socrates, who is seen as one of the greatest philosophers of all time, and his accusers can be deemed an unfavorable one. Socrates would be cut down early in life with so much still to offer, not because he was hurting society itself, but rather because he was gaining favorability within the youth of the population and this threatened the influential persons control of the society, at least in the eyes of those who accused him of crimes. Socrates was one to seek power, in fact, he spent most of his days leading a humble life, with only the intent to make the youth of society question all aspects of society, make the politicians and master artisans question what they believed to be true, and to ultimately make the society as a whole seek more intellectual routes in their everyday lives.

Socrates once visited an Oracle, who was well-known for the insight provided to all patrons who sought divine wisdom. Upon his visit he would be informed that he was the wisest of all. Critical of what he was informed, he would seek to find out what the Oracle meant by this. Socrates would begin to question politicians, artisans, merchants, and other persons of specialty about their crafts and about other aspects of life. He would soon learn that no matter who they were, because they were very knowledgeable about their skills, they somehow figured that they knew stuff about other crafts. Socrates would discover that in general, those of skill thought they knew what they didn't really, and Socrates knew there were things that even he didn't know. This would leave Socrates to conclude, he was the wisest not because he knew what he knew, but because he also knew there were things he didn't know.

Socrates knowledge and wisdom was a threat to those who thought they knew what they didn't. His charisma with the youth, made him powerful even though he didn't use the power he gained, and his popularity would threaten the status of the leaders, craftsmen, and skilled artisans, even though his intent


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The trial and death of Socrates

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