Week 1&2

1. Why was Socrates sentenced to death?

The great wisdom of Socrates ultimately led to his tragedy. He was killed for being a great philosopher at that time. Philosophy requires Socrates to constantly interrogate the systems and religions that are held up as truth. Once he questioned the validity of the gods “And do you really believe that the gods, fought with one another, and had dire quarrels, battles, and the like, as the poets say, and as you may see represented in the works of great artists?” (Lane, pg.10). As a citizen, Socrates was called upon to uphold what he saw as illusory imagery to unite the city-state as a community. The contradiction between the philosophical imperative and the civic duty led to “two charges were brought against Socrates- one that he did not believe in the gods recognized by the state, the other that he had corrupted the Athenian youth by his teaching” (Lane, pg.2). When Socrates began to teach his ideas, a young man named Metellus thought he was corrupting his young friend, even though he had never met Socrates. His students wanted to help him escape and convince him that his charges were unjust. However, Socrates ”neither denies nor confesses the first accusation but shows that in several instances he conformed to the religion of his country and believes in god more than he fears man. The second charge he meets by cross – examination of his accuser… charging him with corrupting the youth “(Lane, pg2). He spent his last day having a conversation with his friends, having a speech about “the soul is immortal” (Lane, pg.78). Socrates implied that the moral arguments followed throughout his life told him that it was wrong to run away. Socrates implied that the moral arguments followed throughout his life told him that it was wrong to run away. Socrates considered his death to be insignificant. He has lived his whole life in self-examination and helping others to examine themselves. Then Socrates chose to drink the poison and face death.

References:

Lane, David, Mt. San Antonio College “The Socratic Quest” August 28, 2016

2. Why is there a conflict (for some) between science and religion?

The conflict between science and religion is a conflict between practice and authority. Religion interprets the world through the Bible, claiming to be the absolute truth and believing in an eternal, omnipotent and omniscient God. Meanwhile, Science seeks universal laws in nature through observation and experimentation, and uses these laws to explain the world. Science does not require absolute correctness; on the contrary, it develops out of countless mistakes.

In short, religion requires people to understand the divine will of the Creator and obey his will; Science allows people to think freely and to approach the truth through continuous research. Thus, the conflict between science and religion is also a conflict between freedom and order. The book Just Odd explains how miracles happen. In the eyes of religious people, miracles in life are the will of God and the proof of his existence. On the contrary, certain magical chants work because they are small probability events that follow Littlewood’s Law of Miracles (Lane, Just Odd, pg.4). It indicates that the conflict between science and religion is caused by different views of looking at the world. This also shows that both science and religion are trying to explain this world in their own ways. “However, no matter how you define it, slice it, categorize it, blend it, intuit it, the fact remains that Reality is a Mystery, and nobody apparently (not me, not you, not Einstein) knows what that Reality is”(Lane, On Being Unknowing, pg.39). Unfortunately until today people are unable to understand the whole of this world.

References:

Lane, David, Mt. San Antonio College “Just Odd” January 14, 2018

Lane, David, Mt. San Antonio College “On Being Unknowing” February 8, 2019