Introduction

Welcome to the Common Text 2003 program on Plato’s Apology of Socrates. Our online discussion of the text began on March 15, 2003, and was open to all alumni.

During the year, two programs were presented on campus: At the June Alumni Weekend, a faculty panel explored different aspects of the text and answered questions from the audience. In September, Professor James M. Redfield delivered a lecture on and read from his translation of Plato's Apology of Socrates. Both programs were videotaped and can be viewed by clicking on the links below.

Although this program has concluded, you are invited to download the readings, view slideshows, and watch video from the events. Consider the following questions from Professor James Redfield as you review the materials:

• Does Socrates tell a self-consistent story?
• Does he want to be acquitted?
• Does he on his own telling believe in the gods of the city?
• What are the gods of the city, and how are they to be distinguished from gods per se?