Dialogue 2, Part 1 Summary and Analysis

"The Apology" This dialogue is set in the Athenian courts of law, and begins with a plea from Socrates for those listening to both accept and excuse the informal language he uses to defend himself, saying he doesn't know the usual words used in more legal minded environments. He then explains what he believes to be the origins of the general belief that he considers himself the wisest of men. He tells how a young man (Chaerephon) went to the Oracle at Delphi to learn whether anyone was wiser than Socrates, and how the Oracle said there was none. Socrates (who says he's known all along that he has no true wisdom), then explains how he (Socrates) began to question all the so-called wise men he could find to discover how the Oracle could be right, since the Oracle...