What made Socrates unpopular among his
fellow Athenians?
In Plato’s Apology, the charges brought against Socrates show the main reasons for his unpopularity in Athens:
Socrates is guilty of criminal meddling, in that he inquires into things below the earth and in the sky, and makes the weaker argument defeat the stronger, and teaches others to follow his example.
His bad reputation spread throughout Athens due to writers (such as Aristophanes) and other “wise” men whom he had humiliated in public. His method of argument annoyed his audiences giving them the impression that he was a bigot. Young Athenians were following his example giving their elders the impression that Socrates was corrupting their minds. He was found guilty and sent to his death because of his keen devotion to his philosophical life, attempting to test the truth of (or at least to understand) the oracle at Delphi that claimed he was the wisest man in Athens.
Socrates’ method of ‘Elenchus’ (his philosophical questioning and arguing), made his listeners feel awkward and confused. He made them give, through oral trickery, contrasting opinions which humiliated them in front of listeners making them appear foolish and hypocritical. For example, in the Apology he makes Meletus claim that Socrates is an atheist, only to later claim that Socrates believes in gods unrecognised by the State. Meletus contradicts himself and sounds foolish in front of the jury. Some Athenians believed that Socrates was showing off his superior knowledge; he claimed, however, that the basis of his wisdom lay in the fact that he was conscious of his own ignorance:
It is only too likely that neither of us [Socrates and a man with a high reputation for wisdom] has any knowledge to boast of; but he thinks that he knows something which he does not know, whereas I am quite conscious of my ignorance.
Did people misunderstand him and so unjustifiably dislike him as Socrates claimed? Or was there some truth in their claims that he was corrupting young minds?
The gift of being able to make the weaker argument defeat the stronger was typical of the sophists in Socrates’ time. Socrates claimed he was mistakenly tagged as a sophist (a nomadic teacher). Sophists were very much disliked in fifth-century Athens as they were seen to distort the truth regarding long-held traditional beliefs. Socrates strongly denied being a sophist on the grounds that he did not charge a fee for his sermons. On the contrary he claims:
My service to God has reduced me to extreme poverty.
His intentions appear sincere when addressing the youth of Athens, as he sees it as his religious duty. Although in fact he makes the weaker argument defeat the stronger, he seems to do so with the honest intention of revealing the truth to people rather than making fools of them. However, he does later admit that his method of questioning has its amusing side.
Socrates sets out to investigate the Delphic oracle’s claim that he is the wisest man in Athens, as he finds it difficult to believe. He questions (using his method of ‘Elenchus’) those considered to be the wisest men in Athenian society: politicians, poets, dramatists, lyricists, and craftsmen. By revealing to these men their ridiculous pretensions of wisdom, Socrates gains himself many enemies,
The effect of these investigations of mine has been to arouse against me a great deal of hostility.
Socrates is surely aware of the danger of what he is doing but feels more committed to obeying God than man. Socrates quickly gains the reputation of being a know-all and is disliked by those who have been made feel inferior in knowledge to him. These men in turn, being influential in Athenian society, must have turned their supporters against Socrates, making his unpopularity widespread.
Socrates blames a lot of the bad feeling towards him on the writings of Aristophanes (an Athenian playwright) especially in his play Clouds. Plato believed that attacks made on Socrates through a number of comedies were the main source of the charge at Socrates’ trial. Aristophanes portrays him as ‘a poor, starveling wretch, a star-gazer and an amoral rhetorician’. These plays led to gossip that Socrates was misleading and corrupting the young by preaching against traditionally held beliefs on religion. Aristophanes made a mockery of Socrates by showing him as a sophist and a natural philosopher who was seen praying to the clouds. This was the impression of most Athenians who had little first hand knowledge of Socrates or his actual teachings. Most of the criticism he received was a result of gossip, and Socrates in the Apology places a large amount of blame on Aristophanes:
It is impossible for me even to know and tell you their [his accusers’] names, unless one of them happens to be a playwright.
Another cause of upset for the Athenians concerning Socrates was that his young followers were imitating his style of rhetoric and annoying their elders by attempting to prove them wrong. For this, Socrates was perhaps unfairly charged for corrupting the minds of the young. The victims of these imitators were made appear foolish. Instead of blaming the imitators, they blamed Socrates, believing him to be the indirect cause of their humiliation. Of all their accusations against Socrates, corrupting the minds of the young is the most unclear and possibly the most unjust. Socrates is used as a scapegoat for all the questioning minds of the new generation that attempted to copy his style but were not encouraged by Socrates to do so.
Although Socrates was eager to admit his ignorance in claiming that he was not wise, his apparent knowledge of all subjects as well as his general air of superiority made fellow Athenians jealous of him. This could very well have been another influencing factor on the jury to give the verdict of guilty.
It is clear that Socrates had a poor reputation and unpopularity in Athens, resulting in him having to commit suicide by drinking from the hemlock (an Athenian equivalent of the modern electric chair). However, the huge positive impact he made upon those who knew him well, such as Plato, allowed his teachings and method of argument to be recorded for future generations. In his life, Socrates truly proved to be a revolutionary thinker and justly earned his place in history as one of the great moral and philosophical intellects of all time.
Socrates is guilty of criminal meddling, in that he inquires into things below the earth and in the sky, and makes the weaker argument defeat the stronger, and teaches others to follow his example.
His bad reputation spread throughout Athens due to writers (such as Aristophanes) and other “wise” men whom he had humiliated in public. His method of argument annoyed his audiences giving them the impression that he was a bigot. Young Athenians were following his example giving their elders the impression that Socrates was corrupting their minds. He was found guilty and sent to his death because of his keen devotion to his philosophical life, attempting to test the truth of (or at least to understand) the oracle at Delphi that claimed he was the wisest man in Athens.
Socrates’ method of ‘Elenchus’ (his philosophical questioning and arguing), made his listeners feel awkward and confused. He made them give, through oral trickery, contrasting opinions which humiliated them in front of listeners making them appear foolish and hypocritical. For example, in the Apology he makes Meletus claim that Socrates is an atheist, only to later claim that Socrates believes in gods unrecognised by the State. Meletus contradicts himself and sounds foolish in front of the jury. Some Athenians believed that Socrates was showing off his superior knowledge; he claimed, however, that the basis of his wisdom lay in the fact that he was conscious of his own ignorance:
It is only too likely that neither of us [Socrates and a man with a high reputation for wisdom] has any knowledge to boast of; but he thinks that he knows something which he does not know, whereas I am quite conscious of my ignorance.
Did people misunderstand him and so unjustifiably dislike him as Socrates claimed? Or was there some truth in their claims that he was corrupting young minds?
The gift of being able to make the weaker argument defeat the stronger was typical of the sophists in Socrates’ time. Socrates claimed he was mistakenly tagged as a sophist (a nomadic teacher). Sophists were very much disliked in fifth-century Athens as they were seen to distort the truth regarding long-held traditional beliefs. Socrates strongly denied being a sophist on the grounds that he did not charge a fee for his sermons. On the contrary he claims:
My service to God has reduced me to extreme poverty.
His intentions appear sincere when addressing the youth of Athens, as he sees it as his religious duty. Although in fact he makes the weaker argument defeat the stronger, he seems to do so with the honest intention of revealing the truth to people rather than making fools of them. However, he does later admit that his method of questioning has its amusing side.
Socrates sets out to investigate the Delphic oracle’s claim that he is the wisest man in Athens, as he finds it difficult to believe. He questions (using his method of ‘Elenchus’) those considered to be the wisest men in Athenian society: politicians, poets, dramatists, lyricists, and craftsmen. By revealing to these men their ridiculous pretensions of wisdom, Socrates gains himself many enemies,
The effect of these investigations of mine has been to arouse against me a great deal of hostility.
Socrates is surely aware of the danger of what he is doing but feels more committed to obeying God than man. Socrates quickly gains the reputation of being a know-all and is disliked by those who have been made feel inferior in knowledge to him. These men in turn, being influential in Athenian society, must have turned their supporters against Socrates, making his unpopularity widespread.
Socrates blames a lot of the bad feeling towards him on the writings of Aristophanes (an Athenian playwright) especially in his play Clouds. Plato believed that attacks made on Socrates through a number of comedies were the main source of the charge at Socrates’ trial. Aristophanes portrays him as ‘a poor, starveling wretch, a star-gazer and an amoral rhetorician’. These plays led to gossip that Socrates was misleading and corrupting the young by preaching against traditionally held beliefs on religion. Aristophanes made a mockery of Socrates by showing him as a sophist and a natural philosopher who was seen praying to the clouds. This was the impression of most Athenians who had little first hand knowledge of Socrates or his actual teachings. Most of the criticism he received was a result of gossip, and Socrates in the Apology places a large amount of blame on Aristophanes:
It is impossible for me even to know and tell you their [his accusers’] names, unless one of them happens to be a playwright.
Another cause of upset for the Athenians concerning Socrates was that his young followers were imitating his style of rhetoric and annoying their elders by attempting to prove them wrong. For this, Socrates was perhaps unfairly charged for corrupting the minds of the young. The victims of these imitators were made appear foolish. Instead of blaming the imitators, they blamed Socrates, believing him to be the indirect cause of their humiliation. Of all their accusations against Socrates, corrupting the minds of the young is the most unclear and possibly the most unjust. Socrates is used as a scapegoat for all the questioning minds of the new generation that attempted to copy his style but were not encouraged by Socrates to do so.
Although Socrates was eager to admit his ignorance in claiming that he was not wise, his apparent knowledge of all subjects as well as his general air of superiority made fellow Athenians jealous of him. This could very well have been another influencing factor on the jury to give the verdict of guilty.
It is clear that Socrates had a poor reputation and unpopularity in Athens, resulting in him having to commit suicide by drinking from the hemlock (an Athenian equivalent of the modern electric chair). However, the huge positive impact he made upon those who knew him well, such as Plato, allowed his teachings and method of argument to be recorded for future generations. In his life, Socrates truly proved to be a revolutionary thinker and justly earned his place in history as one of the great moral and philosophical intellects of all time.