The Apology and Pop Culture: Socrates and Tupac??

Hello everybody! Well I have to admit I struggled with this assignment. I’m not sure why, it’s like I have a lot of ideas but I still was not sure what to write about. After discussing with a few people that are close to me about my ideas, I decided to compare Tupac and Socrates.  Music to Tupac was like what Philosophy was to Socrates. I picked up a bit of similarities in Plato’s Apology with the life of Tupac. Tupac and Socrates didn’t live the same life and maybe weren’t similar at all, but their love for something great caused them to die.  Y’all should already know the background of Socrates since we’ve been studying about him for the past two and a half weeks. But I’d like to give a little bit of information on Tupac, for those that don’t know who Tupac was.  Tupac was considered the best and most influential rapper of all times. He was also a promising actor, and a social activist. Most of Tupac's songs are about growing up with violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, other social problems, and conflicts with other rappers during the East coast-West coast hip hop rivalry.  Ok, stay with me... I’m trying to connect the similarities together with parts of the Apology.

They say: “That man Socrates is a pestilential fellow who corrupts the young." In the same way some people thought Tupac corrupted the young with his lyrics and his actions. People protested against his music in order to silence him. C. Delores Tucker is a person that wanted him silenced. She is an outspoken anti-rap activist, who used references to him often when campaigning against rap before and after his death.  She wanted him to learn the power of words and use them to inspire and heal, instead of denigrate and destroy. I then thought about what Socrates says in the Apology: “Do you accuse me here of corrupting the young and making them worse deliberately or unwillingly.” I believe Tupac did not do it deliberately. It was more unwillingly, to express what he went through, what he sees, and what he think is his truths and to enlighten others. In one of Tupac’s interviews, he claims he is only telling about his life, and that his music is spiritual. He doesn’t believe his songs give off any image of corruptive nature that some people see. There is positive also. In Tupac’s songs he attacked social injustice, poverty and police brutality.  A friend of Tupac believed another reason some people felt Tupac was a threat to society and the youth was that when he worked ‘Rock the Vote,’ he was getting a lot of young people to vote who probably wouldn’t of voted. Tupac got those young people to vote, and their views were now turning into votes against and for certain political figures, they now were helping to decide the fate of the nation. Tupac also defends himself against the sexual assault charges that sent him to prison and he felt that people are trying to slander him, and that wasn’t the truth.

Ok Tupac didn’t necessarily live the pious life, but he never backed down from what he had to say, he defended everything he had to say. People may or may not have liked him for what he had to say, but that did not stop him from doing what he did; which was to write music/poetry on what he believed to be was the truth.  Just like piety was embedded in Socrates heart, “thug life” was embedded in Tupac’s heart (Which ultimately led to his death). He couldn’t stop the way he was. He felt that he was not doing anything wrong, just expressing his feelings, and by expressing his feeling led to his death. Tupac knew the consequences of what will happen if he said certain things, and I believe he knew he was about to die. The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory was Tupac’s last album.  Like Socrates, Tupac did not fear death.  In songs like “Hail Mary”, he talks about not fearing death. Also on his song, “Against all Odds”, he says “Probably be murdered for the s&%# that I said, I bring the real, be a legend, breathin the dead.” It’s like he will not stop preaching his truths, even if his punishment is death. “Neither I nor any other man should, on trial or in war, contrive to avoid death in every cost.” Tupac did just that, he didn’t avoid death; on his The Don Killumanti album he constantly portrays himself as a soldier at war.

Tupac says, “The only thing that can kill me is death, that’s the only thing that will ever stop me is death. And even then, my music will live forever.” It’s like how Socrates will not stop preaching Philosophy no matter where he goes. Even in death he will still be spending his time “examining” people. Indeed, Socrates Philosophy and Tupac’s music will live on forever. Many people draw inspiration from the two. Influencing the young and the old, from generation to generation, from country to country.  

Below is a video on where I got some of my ideas about Tupac. I think there are 7 parts to that video, but I chose Tupac 7 Day Adventist aka 7 Day Theory pt.3 *WARNING. CONTENT IS EXPLICIT* 

Plato's Five Dialouges.

I would like to first start off by saying I’ve enjoyed reading the dialogues that I’ve read so far.  They have really expanded my mind and made me want to make more room for self-improvement based on the way I think, and to question my logic as well as others to get a full knowledge or understanding of the truth.  So let me summarize Euthyphro then give my thoughts on this dialogue.

            Plato opens up the dialogue with Euthyphro, and showcases the Socrates technique and manner in questioning people. In the Euthyphro dialogue, Socrates is on his way to court to defend the charges of Meletus that he creates his own gods and does not believe in the gods of society.  On his way to the court he meets Euthyphro, who is supposedly a lawyer-priest of some sort who tells Socrates that he is prosecuting his own father for the murder of a slave. But the slave also murdered someone else too. Socrates then asks the “wise” Euthyphro to explain to him the truth about what is pious and what impious, since he claims to know the answer and that he could explain it to Socrates; if he can tell the court what he has learned from the knowledgeable Euthyphro, he will have no trouble answering Meletus' charges. Euthyphro tries to define what is pious as that which is pleasing to the gods, but Socrates shows him that his definition is really just an effect of piety, and Euthyphro never gives Socrates the answer to what pious and impious means.

When I first started reading Euthyphro, I actually thought Socrates himself was a sophist. He just came off as an arrogant, know it all, wise guy, that was trying to make a fool out of people. Socrates then suggests he should be a pupil of Euthyphro and asks questions that he knows Euthyphro cannot answer. I felt that Socrates knew Euthphyro could not answer his question, I don’t know if anyone else got that vibe. It then made me feel that Socrates was being dishonest to be a pupil to people he knows that can't answer his questions. It was as if he just kept asking questions to make Euthyphro dig a deeper hole for himself. Maybe he was just giving him the benefit of the doubt. But upon further reading, I genuinely believe that Socrates just really wants to enlighten people and point out contradictions to make you take a step back and reevaluate, to open your eyes and realize you’re not always right. What you think you know, may or may not be the truth, and we must further examine. By going in any conversation ignorant and leaving behind what you think you know, is actually wisdom; a person is wise because he or she is not wise. Socrates is amongst the wise because he admits his ignorance but at the same time displaying true wisdom in his usual manner of questioning. In this dialogue, Socrates used repetitive questions and uses of analogies to point out Euthyphro’s contradictions. On page 12-18 is the part I had to reread until I think I had a clear understanding. It blew my mind, it was very mind boggling. It sounded like a riddle. I know I’m not the only one who had to reread that part, lol. I swear I read those pages at least a dozen times. There were just too many repetitive questions and analogies, I had to go back and connect them with the original question of what is pious and impious.  I was really hoping Euthyphro would just admit that he is not as wise as he thinks he is and just say he really doesn’t know the answer. We as humans sometimes do not like self-correction. It is hard to admit you’re wrong or you don’t know something, due to your beliefs.  My hopes upon reading this are that myself and others will change how we view life and interaction between others. Socrates is just seeking the truth and will not stop seeking wisdom until the truth is revealed.  I too want to seek the truth and now ask a series of questions just like Socrates. Although, it drives my parents and friends crazy, I will not stop. :)