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Read Know Thyself Free

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PART I

Apology

Socrates was seventy years old when Athens put him on trial. The Apology is the speech he gave in his own defense. Eleven sections cover how he spoke and why, the oracle that sent him on his mission, his cross-examination of his accusers, and his final words to the jury after the verdict.

  1. I.How He Spoke, and Why
  2. II.The Rumors, and Where They Came From
  3. III.The Oracle, and the Mission It Created
  4. IV.The Cross-Examination of Meletus
  5. V.Why He Would Not Stop, Even Now
  6. VI.The Gadfly and the City
  7. VII.His Witnesses Are Here in the Room
  8. VIII.Why He Did Not Beg
  9. IX.The Verdict, and What Followed
  10. X.To Those Who Condemned Him
  11. XI.To Those Who Voted to Acquit Him

PART II

Crito

Crito is the conversation Socrates had in prison the morning before his death. His old friend had money and a plan to get him out of the city. Socrates refused. Four sections follow his reasoning through to its end.

  1. I.The Friend in the Dark
  2. II.Which Opinions Actually Matter
  3. III.What the Laws Would Say
  4. IV.The Final Answer

PART III

Alcibiades I

Alcibiades was the most ambitious young man in Athens. Socrates confronts him with a simple question: do you actually know yourself? Five sections trace the argument from overconfidence to the first real examination of what self-knowledge requires.

  1. I.The Most Ambitious Young Man in Athens
  2. II.The Gap Between Confidence and Knowledge
  3. III.Know Thyself
  4. IV.The Mirror
  5. V.The Real Beginning

PART IV

Phaedo (selected)

Phaedo is the account of Socrates' last hours. Four sections: the final afternoon with his friends, the last philosophical argument, and the moment he died. His friends were the ones falling apart. He was the calmest person in the room.

  1. I.The Last Afternoon
  2. II.What Philosophers Are Actually Practicing
  3. III.The Last Argument
  4. IV.The Last Hour