Practice question · Put in order
Arrange these events in the order they occurred.
- Socrates examines those who claim knowledge and finds they lack it
- He is tried for impiety and corrupting the youth
- He concludes his wisdom consists in knowing that he does not know
- He is executed after refusing to plead for his life
- The oracle at Delphi declares no one wiser than Socrates
Hints
- The oracle prompts the examination rather than following it.
- The trial comes after decades of that practice.
Show the answer
- The oracle at Delphi declares no one wiser than Socrates
- Socrates examines those who claim knowledge and finds they lack it
- He concludes his wisdom consists in knowing that he does not know
- He is tried for impiety and corrupting the youth
- He is executed after refusing to plead for his life
Why
The oracle poses a puzzle, the examination resolves it, and the resulting practice, decades of public refutation, makes the enemies who bring the charges. The sequence is causal, not merely chronological.
Practise Socrates
The app has 4 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Philosophy I is free to start.
More questions on Socrates
- Socrates was tried and executed in 399 BC. How many years ago was that, counting from the year 2000 AD?
- Why does Socrates conclude he is wiser than those who claim knowledge?
- The elenchus typically concludes in aporia rather than a positive definition. What follows from this outcome…
- Socrates held that it is better to suffer injustice than to commit it.
- Which claims are attributed to Socrates?
- Sort each statement by whether it is a fair or unfair characterisation of the elenchus.