Socrates on Trial: Philosophy Against the State

In 399 BCE, Athens put one of its own citizens to death-not for treason or violence, but for asking too many questions. Socrates, the man who believed that "e;the unexamined life is not worth living,"e; became the first philosopher tried and executed by a democracy in defense of itself. His trial marks one of the most enduring confrontations between free thought and political authority. This boo...