Gadfly College Essays Samples For Students

Philosophy and Logic

The nature of philosophy as, as Socrates put it, a metaphorical gadfly demonstrates the relationship that the discipline has with other academic and intellectual pursuits. The idea that Socrates was attempting to express is in consideration of the role of philosophy in the sciences and the philosopher in society (Plato 2016). This role, for Socrates went well beyond simple academic pursuits, but rather, extended into all aspects of life. In this sense, it is important to consider this metaphor in relation to the conception that Socrates had of the implications of rational thought and the mind's pursuit of knowledge. ...

A social gadfly - that was the unofficial name of Socrates in Athenian circles. Socrates, indeed, was a gadfly to his peers: he stung with his revealing and unbiased speeches. Even as a young boy the philosopher became considered as the wisest of men. Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi, herself proclaimed Socrates the profoundest philosopher that had ever lived, only to hear his famous words "I know that I know nothing" though (Miles, 2003, p. 165) (Scott, 2002, Does Socrates Have a Method, p. 122). Not believing the oracle, Socrates began to ask other Athenian sages about their lore. ...

Part 1: Socrates

Question 1

The story of the oracle tells of a situation that arose in Athens where Socrates was rumored to be the wisest of the men that were alive at the time and in the city of Athens in particular. To him, Socrates thought others to be wiser. He especially considered men in Athens of high regard such as statesmen, poets and artisans to be wiser than he was. Specifically, such men considered themselves wise, and the society accepted this fact for truth since they were policy makers and the creative minds in the society.

The controversy began ...

It was personal resentment towards Socrates that brought him apologizing to the Athenian judicial system, than anything else. Socrates was charged for being a sophist for his way to present the weaker arguments as the strongest, and physicalist because he investigated things that lie in the skies and beneath the earth. However, Socrates responds with masterly eloquence. He says that that the most dangerous Athenian citizens are those who manipulate young minds and fill them with falsehoods about “one Socrates, a wise man, who speculated about the heaven above, and searched into the earth beneath, and made the worse appear the ...

As a citizen of Athens, Socrates was charged with not believing in the required gods and of going so far as to conceive of unofficial gods. It was a case of him asserting his own independent moral and religious ideas over that of the state. In Plato's Apology, Socrates defended himself against his accusers by explaining to the court that the oracle at Delphi inspired him. The oracle was known to be very wise, and Socrates admits to the court that he himself is not so wise. Thus, his ideas and actions were inspired by the oracle and because ...

Plato wrote Apology that covers the trial of Socrates and his oratory defense of his position. Socrates calls himself gadfly, as his full intention was not to prove himself “innocent,” but to file a set of questions to stimulate action in terms of how one ought to think about issues, and what the oratory and written outcomes would be. This deals in particular with how philosophy was developed. Gadfly questions issues and matters to the point of ensuring an outcome of examined arguments, premises and conclusions. The idea is to question those things that can lead to a constructive ...

Discuss the meaning of the life and death of Socrates based on the texts you have read this semester

According to Plato’s apology, he regarded Socrates as gadfly because he was stinging the Athenians culture and politics. This is because Socrates was a critic of the politics and the social life in Athens. This made him have so many enemies in Athens because they believed that he was corrupting the youth. The term gadfly as was used to represent the life of Socrates was first mentioned when one of his friends named as Chaerephone. This was when he went to the oracle of Delphi and asked them if they knew anyone who was wiser than Socrates was. The ...

Socrates was one of the greatest Greek philosophers, who became embodiment of the ideal sage for the next generation, was sentenced to death by the Athenian authorities after a public trial. It all started with the fact that Melita, the Athenian poet, claimed that Socrates allegedly violated the law, trying to explore what's under the ground, and what is in the heavens, giving a lie for the truth, and teaching others the same. Socrates was accused of violating the piety, denying the gods recognized by the Athenians, and the introduction of new. These accusations were stated publicly. The hidden motives of ...

(I). Socrates was a gadfly (a horsefly) because just like a gadfly prevents a horse from becoming sluggish by stinging it in different places, he too was stinging Athens by stirring things up to remind the state of its duties. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were also gadflies because they too were stinging the conscience of the white community and the Civil Rights movement to put an end to the prejudice and injustice that was being done to black people.
(II). Socrates’ action of speaking against the illegal actions of the Athenian democratic government best manifests Foucault’s five features of ...

Commentators on Plato's The Apology of Socrates note that the author is using the literary artifice of the dialogue to teach lessons to his audience. Identify at least three lessons that you believe Plato teaches in this work and argue what you believe the author intends by using them.

The Apology of Socrates is Plato’s dramatization of the speech given by Socrates at his trial for the corruption of young minds and for not believing in the Gods. This trial resulted in the execution of Socrates: upon being given the death sentence, he was encouraged to run away ...