Rather than upholding a status quo and accepting the development of immorality within his region, Socrates worked to undermine the collective notion of «might makes right» so common to Greece during this period. Plato refers to Socrates as the «gadfly» of the state (as the gadfly stings the horse into action, so Socrates stung Athens), insofar as he irritated the establishment with considerations of justice and the pursuit of goodness. His attempts to improve the Athenians' sense of justice may have been the source of his execution.
Socrates' opposition to democracy is often denied, and the question is one of the biggest philosophical debates when trying to determine exactly what Socrates believed. The strongest argument of those who claim Socrates did not actually believe in the idea of philosopher kings is that the view is expressed no earlier than Plato’s Republic, which is widely considered one of Plato’s «Middle» dialogues and not representative of the historical Socrates' views. Furthermore, according to Plato’s Apology of Socrates, an «early» dialogue, Socrates refused to pursue conventional politics; he often stated he could not look into other’s matters or tell people how to live their lives when he did not yet understand how to live his own. May be his death is the answer how to live their live and become the true champion of justice.
Content
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Taylor, C.C.W. (2001). Socrates: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Maritain, J. (1930, 1991). Introduction to Philosophy, Christian Classics, Inc., Westminster, MD.
Taylor, C.C.W., Hare, R.M. & Barnes, J. (1998). Greek Philosophers — Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Oxford University Press, NY.
Coppens, Philip, (2008) Socrates, that’s the question, Feature Articles — Biographies
Levinson, Paul (2007). The Plot to Save Socrates. New York: Tor Books
