Finishing Excellence

   Today, we finished the "Excellence" powerpoint. For starters, we went more into detail on Socrates. He was a common man, just like all of us. When he was young, he worked as a stonemason and then fought in the Peloponnesian War. These experiences helped shape his mindset and how he viewed the world. Socrates later played an interesting role in Athenian society. Athens was a great city which attracted brilliant thinkers and visitors from all over the world came to share knowledge of all things scientific. Socrates used the "Socratic method" when he met with students outside the agora. He would ask them a series of questions to determine their beliefs and extent of knowledge. He asked questions, without letting the students know how he felt about the topic. He would always introduce thoughts and beliefs that were new to the children, and didn't always represent Athenian teachings, which were centered around Greek gods. Due to this, Socrates was charged with two crimes: corruption of Athens' youth, and impiety (not believing in the gods of the state). In his trial, one of the things he said to defend himself was, "It's my job to be gadfly to the lazy, sluggish horse that is Athens." He is basically saying that someone has to to teach these kids the way he does because Athens is too lazy to do it themselves. He also said, "I should actually be rewarded with free dinners for life." In this quote, he admits to his crimes and says that instead of being punished, he should be rewarded, for he is only doing good for Athens. However, he was found guilty from a jury of 500 male citizens. The vote was 279 for "guilty" and 221 for "innocent". Therefore, he was forced to drink poison hemlock, sentencing him to death. Although his followers made an arrangement for him to escape, he refused, and proved his loyalty to the Athenian democracy. Finally, one of Socrates famous quotes is "The unexamined life is not worth living." This means to look at the big picture, think outside the box, ask questions, and look/explore life in all its aspects.