Cyber Day; Post Three

Similar to Wednesday and Monday, where we were instructed to write a paragraph about the Documentary we're watching (The Ancient Greeks: Crucible of Civilization), we were told to do the same thing but with a slight twist. Today, we were told to find out some reasons that caused Socrates and other Philosophers such as Protagoras wanted to think for themselves. While I'm sure there are plenty of reasons why the video seemed to focus on one part. I have listed (below) an in-depth summary of what we were told in the Documentary. 

Socrates Death Scene (Hemlock Poisoning) 

Following a quarrel in the Seas of Greece, a select few Athenians expected riches and gratitude for there heroic deads while fighting on behalf of the tremendous Athenian Navy. Rather, they were met with disgust and were jailed, totally contrary to their hopes. As it turns out, a storm had washed them away from their battle in which they had lost men overboard, resulting in them losing those men because of their failure to return. These men soon underwent a trial in which it was decided that they would be executed by drinking poisonous Hemlock. We discussed this capital punishment in class and were informed that not only is it the way Socrates was put to death later on but that it's a terrible way to die due to the pain you undergo while your body shuts down. Getting back to these men put to death, the only man (to our knowledge) who stood up for these men was Socrates himself. He tried to calm everyone down at this trial but failed. Socrates was very outspoken and honest in his approach to nearly everything, which is why it makes sense that he actually thought for himself and did incredible philosophical work. This candid approach to life would eventually be his downfall though when Socrates was put to death. What likely made Socrates and other philosophers, such as Protagoras question their society was the more common use of Capital Punishment, in fact, so commonly used it was the method of ending both of their lives. As Socrates once said: "The unexamined life is not worth living", (he uttered this at his trial) I believe at this point, he understood that unlike himself and other "free-thinkers", these men who were deciding on his fate had no regard for neither human life nor the betterment of the world. Rather than figure things out, they would always seemingly resort to killing as a way to avoid deeper analysis. There was a point in which Socrates was even offered a way out of his death, but he denied any leniency to his crime (Impiety and Corrupting the youth of Athens), so he decided to take his stance toward a corrupt world and drink the Hemlock, resulting in his death. 

With that said, I conclude my March 19th Cyber Post; Till next time!