Socrates' Trial: His Historic Defense in Today's Language

The context of the trial is almost always as important or more important than the person being tried or the decision that was rendered. However, this is absent from the Socratic discourse. Socrates' trial took place in 399 BC or 400 BC, so just a few years after the end of the Peloponnesian War (431 BC to 404 BC). Socrates survived the war and the epidemic that befell Athens, taking the life of its greatest political leader. When he was put on trial he could have said:

"The rigors of the Peloponnesian war troubled the minds of my accusers, because they also lost their friends, relatives and political leaders. It turned them against me because I always criticized those people while they were alive. My accusers suffer because of an event that I did not cause. The war was not started by me and I was old to fight in it. Will their suffering be lessened if they make me suffer? No, because their friends, relatives and political leaders will remain dead.

My accusers could have said that I spread the disease that killed so many people during the war. If that were the case I myself would already be dead like most people who got sick. Who among the survivors can accuse me of having survived without accusing himself?" And so on...

Socrates however does not draw attention away from himself by using the context in which he was tried, something that would be admissible and would probably be done by any lawyer (believe me I am a lawyer and I know what I am talking about). No, he kept within the confines of the accusation, and at best examined the character of his accusers. This cannot be considered a good legal strategy either, because Socrates knew that he was unpopular and that flaunting his unpopularity would be an almost certain way to get a conviction.

This is where things get more interesting: Socrates said that it was better to suffer an injustice than to act unfairly. And yet he practically forced his judges to convict him by refusing to use a defense strategy that could have led to his acquittal. So Socratic's defense speech may be considered an exceptionally ironic one: it was the philosopher's last sting at an unjust city condemned by him to pass another unjust judgment.

The AI picture looks like Rick Rueben.

language is too modern, even post modern. The King's English would be nice.

Truth seekers are damned in those times and today. I wish that I could believe something different but just look around. We fail to be internally congruent. We are not concerned with a more accurate paradigm of reality. We attack who would uphold and expose the truth. That's all I really have to say.

Thank you very much for this. It is indeed very accessible and very well put together.

I didn’t know that Rick Ruben moonlights as Socrates

Representing yourself in court and winning but getting unjustly executed is crazy what is justice if it’s corrupt….thing is he still respected the law even tho it was unjust to him that was a real man and this is why philosophy to me is gods true standard for humans his mind questioning so much gave him the answers this was a great trail he made them look so stupid as they were back then a old homeless man outsmarting so called upper class smart ppl reminds me of the ink talking and everyone walks past him but he be 100 % right

Behind the scenes, a Kephalonian named Kassandra was manipulating the situation...

Arguments today, replace any potential for wisdom with a food fight.

Loved this!

lol Rick Rubin in the thumbnail

No wonder they convicted the blowhard

Thank you

I ❤❤❤

The unyielding, uncompromising will to do good and give it freely has always been an enemy to human government.

Thanks dawgs

It is also amazing how man has changed very little after 2500 years, men are as much ass holes then as they are now, the first cancel culture from the truth teller. Smart as a whip.Socrates never disappoints.Thank you for this..Really the first man to tell the State to go "F__k Them selves" I am who I am God.Truth lasts forever and BS fades a way..

So articulate that one can easy corelate it in todays modern era. Wisdome never gets old

This is fantastic! Thank you!

Their doing this to Trump now!

How about you get to the point!

Was the voice-over AI generated? Because the accent seemed to change while I was listening.

This was amazing. I’ve not heard his defense before. Thank you.

❤ The unexamed life is not worth living❤ xXx

What is the intro to this video though? Cut it down a bit! The title of the video says enough

I didn’t know Rick Rubin played Socrates

now they’re doing the same thing to trump… history repeats itself..

Blud got the neckbeard defense 💀

Socrates was a wise historical bum 👍

"Wrongdoing is always the fastest runner"
2023 is not special.

The world lost it's greatest intellectual and mentor with this kangaroo court. The greatest loss to civilization wasn't the burning of The Library of Alexandria, it was the loss of the wisest man in all of history over lies.

Wow! That AI can write! It’s uncanny

Inspiring, but spoken far too fast. Speed, the disease of our time. σπεῦδε βραδέως FESTINA LENTE - Make haste slowly.

This is hard to listen to

If you couldn't stand this but liked the ideas...please look up the channel: nothing new: ep the trial and death of Socrates.

That will make this speech mean more in modern terms than this piece or shit ever could.

If this was perfect for you though that's amazing and I hope you look further into Socrates and Plato as a result, this speech is as worthless or as important now as it was back then.

Who is the actor or AI reading this... impossible to listen to this adaptation and not be focused entirely on the completely unrealistic or inhuman delivery. It's actually just impossible to listen to with any seriousness. Opposed to, the immense amount of timeless worth this speech could embody.

I am all for adaptation into modern and more relatable language, but this is literally impossible to listen to. How so many did I will obviously never know.

I sincerely hope this was a bridge for some but if modern language adaptation is now old english voice shitty AI software or poor editing to meet a time constraint the whole endeavour is lost.

I love this idea but SLOOOOWWWWWW DOWWWWNNN. I had to double check to see if I was on 1.5 times speed. Let these sentences breathe.

Didn't know Rick Rubin was that old

Thanks makes listening easy

Socrates speaks volumes even when he takes a breath .

My poverty is proof of my honesty...damn

Plato's text has been translated in English several times for over a century in plain English ,and is not in the least difficult to understand. Whereas this condensed 'modernized' version presented here makes Socrates sound juvenile, simple, and does not reflect his character in the least. The most fluid translation by Benjamin Jowett, which appears in the Harvard Classics, is not Old English but English translated with a flow & rhythm that is easily understood, and Socrates' words are more easily read and remembered thanks to this translation,. Many folks have and will listen to this video that never would have picked up Plato's "Apology", and this is very good. But I would say, if this video piques an interest in Socrates, do not be afraid to read a full translation. You will be moved with an even higher respect, for the man, his thoughts and the times in which he lived.

Shut up

Jack Black?

Well that was a bit of a fail for me… Great idea - convert his address to modern English. But they totally overdid the “street talk”. It sounded like any minute he was about to bust out the rapping!
Then there’s the delivery… It was just a rapid monotone monologue, with no pauses for emphasis etc, which stripped out half the character and power of the speech. Vernacular is important, but delivery is critical. Modern everyday educated English would have been enough read by someone with some oratory skills which without doubt Socrates had.

Im here because of the dawgs