Socrates’ Arguments in the Crito In The Crito, Socrates argues that he should not escape prison because it would be morally incorrect. He says that the really important thing is not to live but to live well. Therefore, by escaping prison, not only will he suffer the consequences but also his family, his friends, and the city of Athens. Socrates argues that the city of Athens would be affected if he escapes from prison. By escaping from prison, he would be breaking the laws of the city. Since the laws all together are seen as one, by breaking one law he would be breaking all the laws. In order for a law to be legitimate, the citizens of the city must follow the laws. If the law is broken, it is no longer a legitimate law. This is why Socrates …show more content…
If Crito helps him escape, he will earn a bad reputation as well. If his friends help him escape, they would be putting themselves in danger of being prosecuted and losing their money. His children would be known to have a father who's on the run because he broke the law and they would be left alone if he escapes to another city. They would be left alone even if he stays in jail and faces his execution, but it is better if they stay in Athens with people they know. If he escapes to another city, they will view him as a criminal and if his children came with him they would be viewed as foreigners. By breaking the law his soul would be ruined and a ruined soul is not worth living with. This goes back to when he said that the really important thing is not to live but to live well. Also, when he dies he would enter Hades as an outlaw and will not be well welcomed. Therefore, he believes that he should stay and face his execution because it is better to die than to live with a ruined soul. Socrates uses all of these points to support his main argument which is that escaping jail would be morally incorrect. Crito accepts his arguments and Socrates decides he is going to
However, instead of planning the escape Socrates started the dialog about why he would rather obey the law and be executed. At first, Crito presented two arguments to
With the Apology, and the Crito, Socrates comes to delve into his many teachings and finds himself put to death with the words of wisdom that have been passed down generation after generation. Socrates for many in this present day is a man of many words and great teachings, but anyone but Socrates thought differently, in Athens people thought of him as an annoyance rather than an integral part of society. As Socrates stood in front of the counsel of judges, he stood for what he thought was right and never changed opinion of himself or of his words. That’s why Socrates is still talked about in classrooms everywhere today.
In this paper I will argue that Socrates’s argument at 50a-b of the Crito would be not harming his fellow citizens by breaking the laws. Based on the readings from Plato’s The Five Dialogues, I will go over the reasoning of Socrates’ view on the good life. I will then discuss the three arguments Crito has for Socrates regarding his evasion of the death sentence including the selfish, the practicality, and the moral arguments. I will deliberate an objection to the argument and reply to the objections made in the paper and conclude with final thoughts. Socrates argues in the Crito that he should not escape or disobey the law because it is unethical.
Crito has an escape plan in place to break out Socrates. Socrates decides that if he were to escape it would not be morally justified. Socrates discusses why he has a duty to stay and face his charges, as well as why the action of fleeing would be unethical. To Socrates, breaking one law would be an injustice to all laws and would cause great harm to the
The first concept that I noticed shared by Russell and Socrates was the concept that one had to remove themselves before serious philosophical contemplation could take place. In Russell 's case, he refers to the "Self" and the "Not-Self". With Socrates, as seen in the Apology, confronting his accuser about the corruption of youth, his accuser is silent because he had not given the matter any thought. Socrates awareness of his own ignorance frees him from what Russell would refer to as "Self". I mention this because it serves as a common theme even as both philosophers differ in their messages.
In conclusion, therefore I should stay in jail and accept the death penalty. 3. Agreement argument – if I escape, then I will break an agreement I made with this city, to break an agreement is an unjust action, doing unjust actions harms the soul, and it is better to die than to live with a ruined soul. In conclusion, Socrates should stay in jail and accept the death penalty. In conclusion Crito's arguments are very narrow.
From beginning to end, Aristotle’s captivating reading, Crito, is composed with of the three rhetorical devices: logos, pathos, and ethos. Consequentialy, one of the existent rhetorical devices is more robust than the others. Whilst logos and pathos spawn well-founded emotional and logical enticement, the most indisputable rhetorical device used throughout the story is ethos. Undoubtably, ethos is the utmost evident rhetorical device in the story, Crito, as Socrates honorably stood by his morals, even after Crito tried to prompt the man to abandon them; demonstrating his thickness of character, integrity, and honesty.
He is given the opportunity to choose an escape, and live his life never being able to return back to Athens. He completely opposes the idea and decides to live out the consequences of his trial, ultimately dying. Socrates made it his mission to live a virtuous life, which he did, right to his death. To life a virtuous life it would have gone against his own belief if he did escape his conviction, making this aspect very important in his philosophy. “To do so is right, and one must not give way or retreat or leave one’s post, but both in war and in courts and everywhere else, one must obey the commands of one’s city and country, or persuade as the nature of justice.
In Apology, Socrates faces possible execution as he stands trial in front of his fellow Athenian men. This jury of men must decide whether Socrates has acted impiously against the gods and if he has corrupted the youth of Athens. Socrates claims in his defense that he wants to live a private life, away from public affairs and teachings in Athens. He instead wants to focus on self-examination and learning truths from those in Athens through inquiry. Socrates argues that "a [man] who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if [he] is to survive for even a short time" (32a).
Breaking this agreement would leave his conscience guilty and make his life not worthwhile. He also believes that if he were to leave it would tarnish his reputation of him, his children, who he wanted to raise in Athens, would also have to bear his reputation which would be ruined if he left. Socrates would rather die knowing that he did not break his agreement with Athens and ruin his reputation and have a clean conscience than flee to another city and live out the rest of his life with the guilt. Socrates also says that if he were to escape it would be hurting the city by undermining the judicial system and giving it no credibility to convict other criminals who would escape just as he did and leaving it susceptible to a state of no order and
Was Socrates right to say he would stay in Athens no matter the consequences, or should he have fled Athens to avoid death? Socrates was right to say he would stay in Athens no matter what because first, he believed he was sent to Athens or “placed in Athens” for a specific reason and he also believed that even though the Athenians found him as a threat and annoying, he believed that it helped them. Socrates was right to say he would stay in Athens no matter what the consequences were because he believed that he was placed or in Athens for a reason. This quote from “The Apology” is an example to prove that he was placed in Athens for a reason. “Because if I tell you that doing that would mean disobeying the god, and so I can’t keep quiet,
The version of Socrates presented in both The Apology, Crito, and The Republic could very well be two different versions of Socrates as presented by Plato. However, both versions of Socrates have one thing in common: they both value the importance of philosophy and they both defend philosophy as something that is important to humanity. The Apology is Socrates defending not only himself, but also philosophy as an area of study that could be useful to the city of Athens. Socrates is trying to defend himself and his study and he tries to distance himself from the sophists in that they charge for money.
Crito and others have the money to bribe the informers and wants Socrates to let go of his fears if he has any because it is well worth the risk. (Crito,45a.) Crito believes he will be welcome in cities such as Thessaly where he has friends that
Socrates was a greek philosopher who found himself in trouble with his fellow citizens and court for standing his grounds on his new found beliefs from his studies about philosophical virtue, justice, and truth. In “Apology” written by Plato, Socrates defended himself in trial, not with the goal of escaping the death sentence, but with the goal of doing the right thing and standing for his beliefs. With this mindset, Socrates had no intention of kissing up to the Athenians to save his life. Many will argue that Socrates’ speech was not very effective because he did not fight for his life, he just accepted the death sentence that he was punished with. In his speech he said, “But now it’s time to leave, time for me to die and for you to live.”
Socrates bases this view of justice on the worth of living a good life. “And is life worth living for us with that part of us corrupted by unjust actions” (47e) If we corrupt our soul with injustice, our life would not be worth living, therefore one must never commit an injustice. “When one has come to an agreement that is just with someone, one should fulfill it.”(49e) It is this agreement with the Laws that Socrates would be violating, if he were to