Why does socrates mention horse trainers

Of Socrates' "proof" that his charges against Meletus are true, irrelevant though it is, there is much not to like. Socrates asks Meletus to say who it is that influences the young for the better, insisting that Meletus "must know , if [he] is so much interested".

The text then finds Meletus slow to answer, at which point Socrates hastily concludes that "Meletus. Socrates is simply wrong on both counts, viz. Meletus might claim that no one in present-day Athens influences the young for the better, in which case a non-answer, or the answer, no one, would be compatible with an interest in the welfare of the young. But even if Meletus admitted that he didn't know who uplifts the young and had never bothered to investigate the matter, his failure is obviously compatible with an interest in the matter.

He could have claimed that his focus up till now has been on those who are the most obvious corrupters of the young, a task which is simultaneously easier and more likely to produce results than that of finding the uplifters of the youth.

Socrates' "proof" then proves nothing at all. Eventually, however, Socrates gets an answer from Meletus, who claims that the laws make the young good. Socrates does not accept this answer, insisting that he wants to know "the person whose first business it is to know the laws. Meletus cites a group of such people, viz. Eventually, Socrates gets Meletus to say that everyone in Athens, except for Socrates, "has a refining effect upon the young", and thus that Socrates alone demoralizes them.

Now although Meletus' view is hopelessly optimistic, as well as highly implausible, it is obvious that its implausibility or even falsity cannot be taken to establish Socrates' innocence. For the statement's implausibility and likely falsity is due to the unlikelihood of everyone other than Socrates being a benefactor of the young, or Socrates being their only corrupter, rather than on the implausibility or likely falsity of Socrates being a corrupter.

Next, Socrates' questioning leads Meletus to claim that wicked people like Socrates intentionally do harm to those with which they live in contact, and that this acts to the detriment of all in that society. Socrates replies to Meletus that, in doing harm to others and hurting all of society, Socrates would thus also be hurting himself, as a member of society.

Socrates claims that he cannot possibly be so foolish as to want to hurt himself, and so if he does cause harm, it must be unintentional. And, he concludes, one who unintentionally does harm should be instructed and reproved, not tried and punished. Socrates then addresses the accusation that he does not believe in the gods sanctioned by the state, assuming that this is the negative influence Meletus refers to.

Under Socrates' questioning, Meletus asserts that Socrates believes in no gods whatsoever. Socrates replies that Meletus is confusing him with Anaxagoras, a well-known Presocratic, whose theories Meletus is ascribing to Socrates. To prove Meletus wrong, Socrates undertakes to show that he must believe in gods of some sort. He suggests that it would be impossible to believe in human matters without believing in human beings, or in equine matters without believing in horses, or in musical matters without believing in musicians, and so it must analogously be impossible to believe in supernatural matters without believing in supernatural beings.

But the affidavit Meletus himself drew up against Socrates claims that Socrates believes--and teaches others to believe--in supernatural matters. That must imply, then, that Socrates believes in supernatural beings. S5: Once Meletus establishes that the judges improve the youth, what does Socrates ask him? M6: How does Meletus respond to Socrates' question? S6: How does Socrates respond to Meletus' answer to his question?

What does Socrates ask Meletus next? S7: After Meletus says that the audience also improves the young, what does Socrates ask him? M7: How does Meletus respond to this question? S8: After Meletus answers that the senators improve the youth, what does Socrates ask him? M8: How does Meletus answer Socrates' question? S9: How does Socrates respond to Meletus' answer? What does Socrates ask Meletus? M9: How does Meletus respond to Socrates' question? Socrates believes that this analogy to horses must be true of all animals and furthermore, for all people.

For this reason, it is more logical that the youth have been corrupted by a majority like the judges, senators, and the Athenians rather than one man, Socrates. The next step in the l In response to the second objection, Socrates does make a large leap from saying that he believes in the spirits to saying that he believes in the gods, however, this does not necessarily mean that his statements are false. In the objection we say that these supernatural spirits could include ghosts or other dead souls, but at the same time the spirits can include other divinities and gods.

We are not trying to prove that Socrates believes in a certain god, but that he is not an atheist, or one who denies or disbelieves the existence of god. Furthermore, Socrates is already charged of teaching the youth to believe in divinities and unlike supernatural powers, divinities are deities or gods and goddesses. The fact that Socrates believes in divinities refutes any objection that Socrates may be an atheist. Get Access. Satisfactory Essays. An Apology From Socrates.

Read More. Good Essays. The Unjust Execution Of Socrates. Plato's Apology Words 2 Pages. Plato's Apology. Socrates, Guilty Or Not. Better Essays. Socrates' Trial Words 2 Pages.