Socrates....democracy?

[Dilara]

So I have to write an essay for my HI 101 class and I hate philosophy, it's so confusing so many people and info.

Now, the assignment itself. After reflecting on the democratic government of Athens and the republican democratic government and society of the USA in 2012, what you feel would be the fate of Socrates if he was suddenly to appear in the United States of America in 2012, doing the same kinds of things he did in the Athens of 404 BC. To get started ask yourself the following questions:

Would the American government and social establishment have treated Socrates differently than he was treated in Ancient Athens? Why and how?

Would Socrates be put on trial for his lifestyle and his role as a “gadfly” in the USA of 2012?

Would America, say, immediately after September 11, 2001, have been in danger or threat to national security from a Socrates who might question our motives in a war against terrorism or the invasion of Iraq?


What did Socrates do back then? I cant seem to find a lot of info. Was he a bad guy? I just know he didnt believe in gods and was very sarcastic

[Sarcasticroad755]

Socrates wasn't "a bad guy", he just forced people to question their beliefs. This was at a time when the idea of doing that was quite foreign to people.

If Socrates was around now, his voice would just get lost in the noise that is the media and internet. EVERYONE is ironic now. He definitely wouldn't be seen as a threat to the social order. You have to do something much more tangible to get into trouble now, like expose secrets the government doesn't want others to know (Snowden). Being a smartarse isn't shocking anymore.

In North Korea it would be a different story. There Socrates would be condemned. But not in a liberal democracy, our society functions through its ability to cope with dissenting views.