WEEK ONE and TWO: The Great Mystery and How Socrates Died

Essay questions:

1. Why was Socrates sentenced to death?

Socrates was sentenced to death because of two charges: the first one was that he was believed to be disrespect for the gods of Athens; the second one was that he was believed to be corrupting the thoughts of the youths. Based on the rules of Athens, Socrates could have avoided his sentence. He could defend himself, or submit a large amount of money as punishment, or escape to another country. However, Socrates have chosen the first option, defending himself in front of the judges and the general public against the charges from Meletus, Anytus and Lycon. At last, he was voted to death, and then committed suicide using the poison. Fundamentally speaking, I think Socrates died from his pursuit of truth and democracy and his neglect of the feelings and pride of others. When Socrates would like to promote his opinions, he always did so by asking questions and denying the responses of others.

2. Why is there a conflict (for some) between science and religion?

There is a conflict between science and religion because fundamentally speaking, they were designed for different purposes. For science, scientists developed science to explore and to explain the physical world, and to use science to serve for some practical purposes. It is designed for truth. However, for religion, the major purpose of religion is to maintain the faith of its followers, to govern the thoughts of them and to keep the dominant status. Religious scholars also came up with many ways to explain the physical world, but they all linked to the existence of their gods. Besides, science and religion also have different ways to get to conclusions. For science, scientists would conduct experiments, do mathematical calculations and deductions, and then test the results in order to get the conclusion, connecting the past experiences and the new world. For religion, the scholars developed the theory based on the previous texts, which were all from the old world.

My post could be found: http://msacphilosophy101.freeforums.net/thread/90/week

EXTRA CREDIT:

This is a reply to brittanyjordan. The original post could be found: http://msacphilosophy101.freeforums.net/thread/70/week

Hi, Brittany, you have done a very good job, especially quoting the materials in the reading to demonstrate your own ideas. For the first question, I agree with you that Socrates was faced with these two charges. However, I would like to add that besides these two ambiguous reasons, Socrates was sentenced to death also because he pursued the truth in a very straightforward way. He was questioned and then questioned the opinions of many others, which had aroused the hatred and jealousy of other people. For the second question, I do not think there is a right or wrong in believing science or believing religion. People have the freedom to choose their own faith. Science could help us to know about the world and know many phenomenon, while religion could help to guide us be a stronger and better person.

Something Else:

The Death of Socrates (La Mort de Socrate) - an oil on canvas painted by French painter Jacques-Louis David in 1787