Post by Ken Shih on Sept 4, 2015 16:52:25 GMT
1. Why was Socrates sentenced to death?
At first, Socrates was doubted about government, democracy and ethics. This made him become famous. At the time when Athens was trying to stabilize the situation and eliminate the shame of defeat in the Peloponnesian War, Athenian public were aware of the democracy in the government. Under persuasion of three politicians, Athens court decided to charge Socrates of two reasons, which are corrupting youth and impiety. In the book named “How Socrates Died” (page 6), these two actions means he invented new gods and denied the existence of old ones, which was the ground of his indictment. The culture of the Greek was the god and goddess were considered to be an important role in the defense of the city. However, Athens defeat in the Peloponnesian War was interpreted as the punishment of Athenian, and the remedy was to punish those who challenged gods. More importantly, Socrates then insisted that it was completely wrong in the “Apology”. This made the politicians in Athens against Socrates, which led to this ungodly trial. As a result, Socrates was finally sentenced to death by drinking a mixture which contains poison hemlock. Although he had an opportunity to flee and leave Athens, Socrates still decided to drink poison hemlock. He thought that if he left Athens, it will affect the authority of the Athens law and he was worried about there would be no good instructors who can teach people. Based on the record of “Phaedo”, shortly before his death, Socrates spoke his last words to Crito: "Crito, we owe a rooster to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt”.
2. Why is there a conflict (for some) between science and religion?
Science and religion basically pursue awareness of the universe using different methodologies. First, Science and religions are based on different foundations. Science consists of the hypothesis, reason, empiricism and evidence based on the observation of nature, while religions is based on faith and sacredness. Scientists assume that all the things happen because of natural causes and the debates are finally settled and explained by evidence and consultation. Second, science and religion have their own limitations. In the video called “The Limits of Science: Illuminated Ideas in 56 seconds”, it shows us the limitation of science and our cranial capacity, and how to acts as a boundary to our understanding of the universe. As the core value of science and religions are different, it is possible that they have conflicts between them. At last, religion and science have different concepts of “truth”. Religion group believe that God exists and they think the role of science restricted to only discover how the universe and natural laws that God formed. On the other hand, the truth in a scientific sense is from observations. Therefore, the conflicts between science and religion have existed for hundreds of years.
At first, Socrates was doubted about government, democracy and ethics. This made him become famous. At the time when Athens was trying to stabilize the situation and eliminate the shame of defeat in the Peloponnesian War, Athenian public were aware of the democracy in the government. Under persuasion of three politicians, Athens court decided to charge Socrates of two reasons, which are corrupting youth and impiety. In the book named “How Socrates Died” (page 6), these two actions means he invented new gods and denied the existence of old ones, which was the ground of his indictment. The culture of the Greek was the god and goddess were considered to be an important role in the defense of the city. However, Athens defeat in the Peloponnesian War was interpreted as the punishment of Athenian, and the remedy was to punish those who challenged gods. More importantly, Socrates then insisted that it was completely wrong in the “Apology”. This made the politicians in Athens against Socrates, which led to this ungodly trial. As a result, Socrates was finally sentenced to death by drinking a mixture which contains poison hemlock. Although he had an opportunity to flee and leave Athens, Socrates still decided to drink poison hemlock. He thought that if he left Athens, it will affect the authority of the Athens law and he was worried about there would be no good instructors who can teach people. Based on the record of “Phaedo”, shortly before his death, Socrates spoke his last words to Crito: "Crito, we owe a rooster to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt”.
2. Why is there a conflict (for some) between science and religion?
Science and religion basically pursue awareness of the universe using different methodologies. First, Science and religions are based on different foundations. Science consists of the hypothesis, reason, empiricism and evidence based on the observation of nature, while religions is based on faith and sacredness. Scientists assume that all the things happen because of natural causes and the debates are finally settled and explained by evidence and consultation. Second, science and religion have their own limitations. In the video called “The Limits of Science: Illuminated Ideas in 56 seconds”, it shows us the limitation of science and our cranial capacity, and how to acts as a boundary to our understanding of the universe. As the core value of science and religions are different, it is possible that they have conflicts between them. At last, religion and science have different concepts of “truth”. Religion group believe that God exists and they think the role of science restricted to only discover how the universe and natural laws that God formed. On the other hand, the truth in a scientific sense is from observations. Therefore, the conflicts between science and religion have existed for hundreds of years.