Donald Robertson

right so i've never met most of you but you've probably seen this play that makes me out to be this horrible corrupt pseudo-intellectual right like a charlatan and stuff so that's what you'll be judging me based on and he stands up he was meant to beg for mercy in court he stands up in one of the first things he says is he refers to his military service and to paraphrase he basically says i went out and fought in these battles and faced death and

on behalf of Athens, to defend the walls of the city, and you guys told me that was honorable. Now I'm standing in court facing death because I believe in the practice of philosophy as a way of improving the people that live in the city. What's the point in defending the walls of the city if the people that live in it are corrupt, right?

on behalf of Athens, to defend the walls of the city, and you guys told me that was honorable. Now I'm standing in court facing death because I believe in the practice of philosophy as a way of improving the people that live in the city. What's the point in defending the walls of the city if the people that live in it are corrupt, right?

on behalf of Athens, to defend the walls of the city, and you guys told me that was honorable. Now I'm standing in court facing death because I believe in the practice of philosophy as a way of improving the people that live in the city. What's the point in defending the walls of the city if the people that live in it are corrupt, right?

So some of you think this is ridiculous, that I'm willing to risk my life in court, but you praised me for risking my life in the military, and this is actually much more important to me. right? It's how he kind of starts off his defense in a way. And then he goes on to talk about how he's not afraid of dying and all this kind of stuff, and he kind of reasons that through.

So some of you think this is ridiculous, that I'm willing to risk my life in court, but you praised me for risking my life in the military, and this is actually much more important to me. right? It's how he kind of starts off his defense in a way. And then he goes on to talk about how he's not afraid of dying and all this kind of stuff, and he kind of reasons that through.

So some of you think this is ridiculous, that I'm willing to risk my life in court, but you praised me for risking my life in the military, and this is actually much more important to me. right? It's how he kind of starts off his defense in a way. And then he goes on to talk about how he's not afraid of dying and all this kind of stuff, and he kind of reasons that through.

But he doesn't beg for mercy. He's very unapologetic in Plato's Apology. And so the jury condemn him to death because of what Xenophon called his big talk in court. Like, he was... They thought he would bring his family and And he would have them weeping in front of him because that was what was normal. But right from the very beginning of the trial, his family weren't even present.

But he doesn't beg for mercy. He's very unapologetic in Plato's Apology. And so the jury condemn him to death because of what Xenophon called his big talk in court. Like, he was... They thought he would bring his family and And he would have them weeping in front of him because that was what was normal. But right from the very beginning of the trial, his family weren't even present.

But he doesn't beg for mercy. He's very unapologetic in Plato's Apology. And so the jury condemn him to death because of what Xenophon called his big talk in court. Like, he was... They thought he would bring his family and And he would have them weeping in front of him because that was what was normal. But right from the very beginning of the trial, his family weren't even present.

So he made it clear that he wasn't going to beg for mercy before he even began speaking. And he basically gives them a lecture on philosophy. He carries on in court doing the very thing that he's on trial for in court. Right. Everything about Socrates was paradoxical. But the other argument, again, there's many different aspects. He's like peeling the layers of an onion back.

So he made it clear that he wasn't going to beg for mercy before he even began speaking. And he basically gives them a lecture on philosophy. He carries on in court doing the very thing that he's on trial for in court. Right. Everything about Socrates was paradoxical. But the other argument, again, there's many different aspects. He's like peeling the layers of an onion back.

So he made it clear that he wasn't going to beg for mercy before he even began speaking. And he basically gives them a lecture on philosophy. He carries on in court doing the very thing that he's on trial for in court. Right. Everything about Socrates was paradoxical. But the other argument, again, there's many different aspects. He's like peeling the layers of an onion back.

The other thing, Xenophon says Socrates was like 71, 72. He's pretty old for Athenian society. And you know, the kind of implication in some of the dialogues is he, he thought, well, I'm starting to lose my faculties. Maybe I'm getting older, becoming more of a burden to my family.

The other thing, Xenophon says Socrates was like 71, 72. He's pretty old for Athenian society. And you know, the kind of implication in some of the dialogues is he, he thought, well, I'm starting to lose my faculties. Maybe I'm getting older, becoming more of a burden to my family.

The other thing, Xenophon says Socrates was like 71, 72. He's pretty old for Athenian society. And you know, the kind of implication in some of the dialogues is he, he thought, well, I'm starting to lose my faculties. Maybe I'm getting older, becoming more of a burden to my family.

He'd reach a point where he thought rather than trying to kind of just keep extending my life indefinitely while I'm in decline, I'd rather go out with a bang and make this huge statement. And he became a martyr for philosophy, but say what you will about Socrates, it worked. And even today, we're still talking about him. And, uh,

He'd reach a point where he thought rather than trying to kind of just keep extending my life indefinitely while I'm in decline, I'd rather go out with a bang and make this huge statement. And he became a martyr for philosophy, but say what you will about Socrates, it worked. And even today, we're still talking about him. And, uh,

He'd reach a point where he thought rather than trying to kind of just keep extending my life indefinitely while I'm in decline, I'd rather go out with a bang and make this huge statement. And he became a martyr for philosophy, but say what you will about Socrates, it worked. And even today, we're still talking about him. And, uh,

He would still have had some impact, but the most famous thing about Socrates in the ancient world is Plato's Apology and his noble death. When Epictetus, the famous Stoic philosopher who was teaching 400 years later,