Apology
... the majority. And (5) What is true of horses is true of all animals. THEREFORE: General principle: (6) Improvement comes from a minority and corruption from the majority (7) Socrates is one man (a minority) (8) Therefore, it is less likely that the youth have been corrupted by Socrates than by some larger number of people. (9) Therefore, those guilty of corrupting the youth are to be found in the larger aggregate of Athenians (the educators, council members, jurymen, etc). ========================================= 2. Posible Strengthed Argument (ad hominem): (10) And Meletus has shown no concern for the youth. Implied Premise (11) Those who show no concern for people are more likely to corrupt them than those who show a concern for the youth. (12) Meletus is more likely to be guilty of corrupting the youth than Socrates. ========================================== B. Argument Two Strategy (p. 31) Make a distinction between willingly and unwillingly corrupting the youth To Prove: Socrates corrupts the youth but does not break the law in so doing. Disjunctive Argument: (1) Either Socrates corrupts the youth or Socrates does not corrupt the youth. [implied exclusive disjunction: either p or not-p] (2) If Socrates does corrupt the youth, then either Socrates corrupts the youth unwillingly or he corrupts the youth willingly. (3) If Socrates corrupts the youth unwillingly, then Socrates is not guilty under the law and not liable to punishment (only corrective instruction is required) -------------------------------------------------------- Therefore: (4) It is possible for Socrates to corrupt the youth but not be guilty for doing so. (5) Socrates is guilty under the law only if he corrupts the youth willingly. Therefore, (6) Socrates' presence at the trial presupposes that he corrupts the youth willingly. Burden of Proof Shift: Does Socrates corrupt the youth willingly? Enter SECOND CHARGE III. Atheism Charge First Thesis: "Socrates is guilty of of teaching the youth not to believe in the gods of the city but new divinities." (p. 31) Method of Refutation: CLARIFICATION: What does Meletus mean? [Socrates believes in no gods at all] or [Socrates believes in some gods but not the gods of the city] Second Thesis: "Socrates is guilty of believing in no gods at all." To Prove: "Socrates believes that there are some gods." (p. 31) A. Strategy One (ad hominem): Meletus contradicts himself Meletus says that Socrates both believes and does not believe in gods. B. Strategy Two: Inferential Analogy to theism To Prove: Socrates believes that there are gods. 1. Argument 1 (analogy): (a) He who believes in "human activities" believes that there are human beings. Therefore: (b) He who believes in "divine activities" believes that there are divine beings. Implied premise: The existence of P-activities entails the existence of P-things. (Vague: what are P-activities? Activities done by P-things or P-agents?) 2. Argument 2: (hypothetical syllogism) (a) If there are divine activities, then there are divine beings. (b) If there are divine beings, then there are gods Therefore, (c) If there are divine activities, then there are divine beings. [(b) follows from (i) divine beings are either gods or children of gods. (ii) But if there are children of gods, then there are gods.] Therefore, (d) If a person believes in divine activities, then the person believes in the existence of gods. So, since (e) Socrates believes in divine activies. therefore, (f) Socrates believes that there are some gods. IV. Fear of Death Arguments Thesis Against Socrates: Your occupation, Socrates, dishonours you since you put yourself at risk of death. A. Wrong Focus: Good Actions Over Risk of Death Two possibilities here: 1. To prove: Actions which risk death do not necessarily dishonour a man. If a person does what is right, then a person has honor. It is possible that right actions cary with them risk of death Therefore, Itis possible that a person has honor even if he risks death. 2. To prove: The rightness or wrongness of actions is of greater importance to a good person than whether the person's actions entail the risk of death. If a man is good, then he regards only one property of his actions as ultimately decisive (or important), whether they are right or wrong. If a person is concerned with the risk of death, then it is not the case that he regards only one property o his action as ultimately important, whether they are right or wrong. If a per...