The Trials of Socrates

     It is hard to put into words why Temple University requires its students to read The Trials of Socrates. I read the texts by Plato, Aristophanes, and Xenophon. A possible and the most in-your-face reason would be the emphasis on education. Although, it is not traditional education, and there is no agreement reached on what is the best way to learn. Socrates was an innovator because he went against the grain, and fought back with leaders of the times; arguing about their intellectual abilities and whether they were deserving of their high positions. However, his outlandish ways ultimately lead to his demise. I do not think Temple wants us to take from the book that if you stand up for what you believe is right, you will be persecuted and eventually killed.  Instead, this could be interpreted that Temple does want us to be individuals, since Socrates died with respect instead of begging for his life and giving up his vision.

     The most interesting text to me was Clouds, by Aristophanes. I found it very hard to follow because one man, Strepsiades, was very flakey. First he was all about Socrates and his school because he thought the education would be good for his son, Pheidippides, to escape his debt.  Clouds is very obviously a parody. This comedy caught me off guard as I was reading because of the seriousness of Plato’s writing.

     As a student in college, or anyone really, it is important to be able to recognize a parody when you read one and understand what it is truly trying to say. Nobody wants to be the one who doesn’t get the joke. Trust me, I know. I was in the gullible student who thought Jonathan Swift actually believed eating babies was an acceptable way to feed people. Moral of the story – exposure is the best way to pick up on a satire, and that is an additional reason why Temple has us read The Trials of Socrates.

Lastly, I want to talk about Socrates himself. Unlike the common man of the time, he does not believe in the Gods, and is the first of his time to take a close-to-scientific approach.  He believes it is the clouds that determine the weather and not the gods. With our knowledge today, we know that this is a much more logical approach than a god is mad so that’s why it is raining and there is a thunderstorm. Temple wanted to introduce us to the earliest examples of rational thinking.