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The Philosopher's Shirt

Socrates - Corrupting the youth

Socrates was formally convicted of corrupting the young and impiety, then given hemlock. Every teacher who encourages a difficult question inherits the charge.

Reliably the design that philosophy and ethics teachers buy for themselves. The whole range here, from apparel through to accessories, all printed to order. A Greek philosophy gift for teachers. Still corrupting. Still worth the hemlock.

Questions about this design

What does the Socrates – Corrupting the youth design show?
An engraving-style portrait of Socrates with his famous curly beard, the name Socrates in bold script and the line Corrupting the youth since the 5th century B.C.E. It turns the charge that cost him his life into a proud job description for everyone who teaches people to question things.
Why was Socrates accused of corrupting the youth?
In 399 BC Meletus, backed by Anytus and Lycon, charged Socrates with impiety – not recognising the city's gods and introducing new divinities – and with corrupting the young. His habit of publicly questioning respected men, which the young imitated, and his past links to figures like Critias and Alcibiades made him suspect after Athens' civil strife.
Why was Socrates executed?
A jury of about 500 Athenian citizens found him guilty by a narrow margin – Plato's Apology says a shift of 30 votes would have acquitted him. Asked to propose a penalty, Socrates suggested free meals at public expense, then a fine. The jury chose death, and he drank hemlock in prison, as described in Plato's Phaedo.
Did Socrates write anything?
No. Socrates left no writings; we know him through others – above all his student Plato, whose dialogues make Socrates the main speaker, as well as Xenophon and the comic playwright Aristophanes, who mocked him in The Clouds (423 BC). Separating the historical Socrates from Plato's literary character is known as the Socratic problem.
Did Socrates say I know that I know nothing?
Not in those words. It is a later paraphrase of Plato's Apology (21d), where Socrates says that he and a supposedly wise man both know nothing fine and good, but the other man thinks he knows, while Socrates, not knowing, does not think he knows. His wisdom lies in recognising the limits of his knowledge.
What does the unexamined life is not worth living mean?
Socrates says it at his trial in Plato's Apology (38a), explaining why he will not stop philosophising even to save his life. A good human life requires constantly questioning our beliefs and values – about justice, virtue and how to live – rather than simply following habit, authority or public opinion.
Why didn't Socrates escape from prison?
In Plato's Crito his friend offers to bribe the guards and smuggle him out. Socrates refuses – one must never do wrong, even in return for a wrong, and by living in Athens all his life he had implicitly agreed to obey its laws. Escaping would undermine the laws themselves. It is one of the earliest versions of a social contract argument.
Who is the Socrates – Corrupting the youth design a good gift for?
Above all for philosophy teachers, lecturers and anyone who makes students think for themselves – plus philosophy students and fans of Socratic irony. The design is available as a sweatshirt, premium hoodie, classic t-shirt, women's t-shirt, mug and sticker.