Talk:Plato's Apology

Apologize for the language (By Demian Yacussi, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

In fact, this is a linguistic enigma about English language but related with Plato’s Apologia. I include a little summary of that text.

There is very common word in English: "apologize", commonly used as "an admission of error or discourtesy". Visiting the Britannica internet site, I found that this word comes from Greek's "apologia". The most famous use of that Greek word appears at Plato's "Socrates' Apologia". Socrates did not write because he thought that conversation was much better than writing.

Atenas law allowed him a defense speech, and that is the Apologia, as told by Plato. In that writing, Socrates essays a defense, he did not want to disobey the laws nor tried to avoid the judgment. He was a very right and just person. During his exposition, he pleaded not guilty of the charges, he tried to demonstrate that by telling the people about his life and beliefs (a very right and coherent life). He wanted to show that there was not illegal behavior in that. He believed that the accusations were based upon the anger felt by his prosecutors because of his dialogues.

Apologia is a construction between Apo and Logos, two words of difficult meaning (too many meanings), and I like the similarity with Apollo, because Socrates felt like led by this god. He was very informal (like an ancient Hippie!), always hanging around and talking with the people and making some special questions. He used a dialectic method called "mayeutica" or "Enlighting' spirits art"; he wanted the other person to get his own truths (!!). A friend (Cherefon) told him that the Delfos oracle said that no one was wiser than Socrates. That was a problem for him, because he did not feel like being the wisest guy but he knew that a god couldn't lie. So he met a "wise" neighbor (as called by himself), but after a few questions, Socrates realized that this guy didn't know so much. That's the reason for Socrates saying "I only know that I don't know anything", in fact something like "At least I know something: that I don't know anything, the others did not even know that they did not know anything!" (!!). Obviously, this neighbor went upset after that, and so on with others neighbors... And then, the accusation came. Three charges: 1) Ruthlessness with one of the prosecutors: Melitos (or Meletos), causing him to fall in contradiction. 2) To corrupt young people, because of those he was teaching, 3) because of the introduction of new divinities: sort of an interior voice that led him (That's weird!).

Socrates was found guilty by 281 votes versus 220. At that moment, he might have proposed an exile for himself. He did not want to do that. So, he played his last joke: He proposed to pay a little fine (100 drachmas), so little, because he did not have any possessions. Some friends offered to multiply that by 30 and pay it for him. Socrates’ provocation, obviously, upset the Heliastas' court, so he was condemned to death by 360 votes against 140.

Many days passed between condemnation and execution. The day before the judgment a ship had left Atenas; this ship had gone to Delos to commemorate Minotauro's death by Teseo. During that peregrination no execution could be done.

During that period of time, Socrates could have escaped easily from Atenas, as suggested by his friends (some of Plato's "Dialogues" describes those previous days to the execution). Maybe this should have been the best solution; in fact, his death was a very big problem for whole Atenas, even for his prosecutors... Melitos was murdered after the execution.

Socrates accepted stoically his destiny and drank that poison called "cicuta". He was not afraid of his death and never could have cheated justice. He never meant to be out of law; in fact he considered himself as a Law (in capital letter) guardian.

Then, "apologia" comes from this defense, nobly tried by Socrates in the midst of all that adversity, giving true evidence of the conviction and rightness that he carried all his life, always looking for the Truth.

Ironically, "apologize" is most commonly used to express guilt or to admit an error. Socrates never admitted being guilty, so far from that! So, the mystery is: When did this meaning invert? Why?

I have found in an etymological dictionary (http://www.etymonline.com/a5etym.htm): “The original Eng. sense of "self-justification" yielded a meaning "frank expression of regret for wrong done," first recorded 1594.

But there is no information about the possible reasons.

Anybody could know something else?