Why was Socrates the renowned Philosopher put to death, was it based on his political and spiritual beliefs or because he taught his beliefs to his students? He believed that he was in a private pursuit of truth, a search for wisdom. He turned the youth against the Gods of Athens, proposing that the opinions of experts were the only pertinent opinions. Socrates never voiced his concerns or chose to leave the society that had supported him for some seventy years of his life. The democratic government allowed the majority to rule, it enabled the people to vote and decide what is just. The government was based on a procedural process, one, which took into account the input of the majority. In this manner they created a just form of government, where all were allowed to represent their beliefs, their truths, maintaining justice and equality for the majority. Socrates was not persecuted for his beliefs, but reprimanded for his corruptive pursuits against his own political society. Socrates was charged with exploring that which is under the ground and in heaven, making the weaker argument the stronger and corrupting the youth. Socrates was undermining the democratic system in an unjust manner. He sought to find a "better", more efficient political system that he thought would better serve the citizens of his country. He sought to take power away from the people and force the narrow-minded opinions of the elite few. Socrates felt that he wasn’t at fault, he felt that he was doing what was in the best interest of Athens, but through his pursuits he corrupted the youth, the very people who were the future of the country. In convincing others that this system was corrupt and wrong he hurt the very country that he was intending to help.Socrates proposed in his private pursuits for wisdom that an "unexamined life was not worth living." (Apology, 12). In this way Socrates felt justified in turning away from the belief system, his own right ...
