Platos Apology
Description
Some commentators have noted that Plato’s Apology is an important work not on the merits of the philosophical arguments that it contains, but on the image it presents of the philosophical life. In many ways, they argue, the Apology gives us a model of the kind of person a philosopher ought to be.
What would you say are the intellectual AND character traits of the ideal philosopher? Are there SPECIFIC passages in the Apology (or Phaedo) where Socrates exemplifies these traits? Is there a person in your life that you would say has these traits as well?
This week our readings are from Plato, whose works should be cited by “Stephanus pages”.
The small numbers and letters in the margin refer to the page numbers in the standard edition of Plato’s complete works published by Swiss printer Henricus Stephanus in 1578. Cite the number and letter closest to the passage you are quoting. For example, here is how you would cite the first sentence in each required reading.
“How you, O Athenians, have been affected by my accusers, I cannot tell” (Apology, 17a)
“Were you there with Socrates yourself, Phaedo, when he was executed, or did you hear about it from somebody else?” (Phaedo 57a)
ONLY USE THE TEXTS “APOLOGY” and “THE PHAEDO” . If you need a copy I uploaded for you.