Feb 14th Daily

Do you think Socrates got what he deserved? Why didn't he accept exile?

I don' think that Socrates, by any means, got what he deserved by being exiled from Athens. Socrates was not the reason why the Athenian Empire fell apart, but the people of Athens couldn't accept the fact that the lost because Sparta had a stronger, better army than Athens did. Since they couldn't accept that fact, they had to blame it on someone. Since Socrates had a different way of thinking than most of the people in Athens, the Athenian people considered him different and blamed him for the reason of their defeat. Socrates was more interested in the mind, how people think and react to things, not war. The Athenian leaders before Socrates had a mindset of making Athens control the Mediterranean through war and fighting, unlike Socrates. Socrates cared about everyone he met on the streets. He would talk to anyone and everyone who wanted to talk to him. He loved the city life much more than he cared about war and fighting and making Athens 'be on top.' He was charged after their defeat by Sparta for corrupting the youth of the city and was trailed against the citizens of Athens. He had limited time to speak and defend himself, and due to that lack of time, he was exiled from Athens. I think that Socrates was a different man from the others and Athens, and he had a much different mindset, but there was no reason for him to be exiled.