Introduction
Every aspect of human life requires critical thinking because it promotes in-depth insight into knowledge, reality, and the existence of certain things. Socrates was a well-known Greek philosopher, as evidenced by works by other classical writers such as his student Plato. Socrates believes in providing insight that inspires people to seek out more information. Anytus, among others, accused him of deceiving the youth and serving strange gods. The Athenian courts found him guilty and sentenced him to death. Socrates referred to his wisdom as "human intelligence," and he used it to interrogate others, including high-ranking government officials. His trail and sentence illustrate the societal perceptions on conventional ways and political criticism. Philosophy describes the quest of knowledge to determine what is right or wrong. As such, critical thinking is important in the current society as it were during Socrates time. The paper analyzes whether Socrates or Anytus is right and draws from this particular case the current American society in the political spheres.
Analysis of the issue
Socrates was dedicated to the search of wisdom and focused in doing so by confirming whether he was wiser than all others as informed by the oracle. He spent his time questioning top-ranking government officials, poets, and artisans with the intention of determining their wisdom. Socrates was good at questioning individuals that he left many eloquent and exceptional public speakers such as in the Meno unable to defend arguments they have spoken about for decades. He questioned many politicians and believed that their main mistake is thinking they were wise while in reality, they were arrogant. Socrates held their abilities as remarkable public speakers were rooted in their arrogance. Similarly, he established while poets wrote insightful articles, they did not understand what they wrote on but were merely talented at expressing themselves.In his quest for wisdom, Socrates made many enemies in the political spectrum since he questioned them on what they believed. However, despite having many enemies, he still had followers which encompassed the youth. Socrates lived during the time of the decline of Athenian hegemony following a defeat when at war and citizens were questioning democracy in Athens. During the rebuilding of the society after the war, many individuals doubted the aspect social equality associated with freedom.Socrates was accused of misleading youths and impiety. The accusers included Anytus a politician, Meletus a poet and Lycon a public speaker among others. His accusers are individuals that Socrates has criticized as individuals or as a group in a profession. He was found guilty of corrupting the young adults and teaching about strange gods. Socrates was sentenced to death by drinking poison. Socrates was an accomplished philosopher and valued critical thinking in the analysis of concepts. In addition to his critical thinking ability, he was a firm believer in the gods and maintained his activities were approved by the gods. Besides, there is a reason to believe that Anytus went after Socrates because of his opinions on democracy. During the civil war in Greece, several individuals plotted to overthrow the Athenian democracy and a number among them were people associated with Socrates. Anytus believed Socrates influenced their political opinions. Socrates had his personal views on several social issues such pedagogy, nature of life among others. He was not afraid to express his thoughts and ideas. Intimidation from top-ranking professionals and politicians did not influence him to change his attitude. This may have resulted in his arrest, trial and death penalty.
Argument
Critical thinking and philosophy are important in analyzing certain behaviors that are a mere conformation to tradition. Socrates lived in the society that valued democracy. Democracy is a term that describes social equality and provides the right and freedom of expression among other privileges. As such, Socrates had the freedom to associate with other individuals and express himself without restrictions. He valued a pedagogy method that used questions to showcase his opinions. According to Socrates, the soul lives through several societies hence knew everything and educating an individual was a matter of recollection rather than the initial acquisition of knowledge. The societal perceptions on democracy should have allowed him to express himself at liberty.Societies are built and improved on people's opinions. As such, philosophy is important in providing insight into knowledge and realities that go beyond the traditional orthodox of doing things. Despite his misgivings, Socrates valued right over wrongdoing, he often spoke on the importance of virtues and how to acquire them. Socrates was a firm believer of achievements based on legitimate ways. As such, it can be deduced his criticism of the Athenian democracy was based on efforts to improve the society. The charges against Socrates included corrupting the youth and impiety. The later was related to his religious affiliations since he worshipped strange gods and insisted they guided him in his endeavors particularly on what not to do. The first, on the other hand, was related on what he spoke about probably in connection with his criticism of democracy. In a democratic society, freedom of worship and expression should be extended to every individual which is ironic since Socrates is arrested and sentence to death regarding his manner of worship and association.Socrates was sentenced to a death penalty for impiety and misleading the youth which seems like a rather harsh judgment. However, the understanding of how democracy and justice worked in Greece during this period is limited. Democracy as a system of governance allows every individual to have a voice; hence, Socrates undemocratic nature illustrates that the Greek society was not practicing democracy to its potential. Socrates questioned people to determine their wisdom and criticize their activities. His actions helped to improve the community in public dimensions. This illustrates critical thinking and philosophy is necessary for the improvement and advancement of societies.
Modern American Society
The American culture has developed through various stages from the colonization to several external and civil wars. The American society values democracy and several movements have been founded over the decades in efforts to give every American the freedom and rights expected in democratic societies. These demonstrations were related to the voice of the minorities including African Americans, women among other groups. While it is evident that the American democracy has grown a tremendously over the past centuries the society is yet to achieve perfect freedom. Democracy extends beyond the concept of every person deserves a voice. It involves gaining wealth justly; it involves arrest of the offenders based on their offense rather than stereotyping. The many contemporary dilemmas in the American society illustrate that critical thinking and philosophy is necessary to address these issues.Socrates was arrested and sentenced to death on charges of worshipping strange gods and corrupting the youth. While the offenses may differ from these, many Americans are found guilty for individual associations. While the cases may not be taken to the justice system like in the case of Socrates they still occur in several societies. The society stereotype people based on their color, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status among others. If democracy should hold, every person in the America should be considered equal despite their religion, skin color and sexual orientation. Indeed, individuals should be allowed to express and associate freely as long as their activities do not disturb the general peace of the society.Socrates criticized top-ranking people through questions allowing them to gain deeper insight on their misgivings. Criticism of senior officials in efforts to improve their accountability is important in every society. Philosophy is dedicated to the acquisition of knowledge which ultimately shades light to many contemporary issues in the American society. Policy makers are often in a dilemma on laws to pass concerning certain matters such as gun control, legalization of certain drugs, and abortion among many other social issues. It is through the careful analysis of statistics and critical thinking that the American policymakers will be able to make informed decisions. Philosophy is important in facilitating democracy in the American society through criticizing the actions of top-ranking individuals and other conformists that limit the rights of other minorities.Every person is different hence attuned to the various ways of doing things that will not necessarily conform to the traditional orthodox ways of doing things. As such, acquisition of diverse knowledge proves valuable in allowing each to live freely in a democratic society. Philosophy provides a platform to improve the concept of democracy in the current American society.
