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Breaking The Law Depicted In Plato's The Crito

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For over 2,500 years there has been a controversy on whether or not we owe it to our fellow citizens to follow the laws of the society even if they are considered unjust, or if we have a civic duty to break these bad laws. In “The Crito” by Plato, Socrates and Crito discuss this said controversy. Socrates refused to follow the majority and break the law even if it promised his survival, while Crito tried to convince him that is was the right thing to do. I would argue that it is, in fact, our civic duty to break bad laws when the outcome could potentially be more beneficial than the law itself.
In the dialogue between Crito and Socrates in “The Crito” by Plato, they discuss the ongoing controversy of whether or not unjust laws should be broken. On the one hand, Crito argues that Socrates owes it to society to break the law and escape being sent to his death. On the other hand, Socrates contends that the laws were in place for a reason and they must be followed. While trying to justify Socrates’ decision to obey the law he asks Crito, “...ought we to follow the opinion of the many and to fear them; or the opinion of the one man who has understanding…” (Plato). In questioning this, Socrates is bringing to …show more content…

Just like Crito thought it was Socrates civic duty to disobey the unjust laws, there are people today who would make the same argument. One example of this issue in today’s society is the law making marijuana illegal, even for medical uses. Marijuana is classified as a schedule one drug, right up there with heroine. The reason I and many others believe this law to be unjust is because the drug has proven to be medically beneficial to people with certain illnesses and disorders. In the states that have not legalized marijuana, there are people who feel the need to break this law anyway, because in certain situations individuals feel like have no other way of relieving themselves from

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Political activists and philosophers alike have a challenging task of determining the conditions under which citizens are morally entitled to go against the law. Socrates and Martin Luther King, Jr. had different opinions on the obligation of the citizens in a society to obey the law. Although they were willing to accept the legal punishment, King believed that there are clear and definable circumstances where it would be appropriate, and sometimes mandatory, to purposely disobey unjust laws. Socrates did not. Socrates obeyed what he considered to be an unjust verdict because he believed that it was his obligation, as a citizen of Athens, to persuade or obey its Laws, no matter how dire the consequences.

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Martin Luther King Jr once stated, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” in his Letter from Birmingham Jail in 1963. He was invoking the principle of civil disobedience. He wasn't justifying breaking laws just because, but instead, meant that you break the law and accept your punishment, in hopes that people will come to see that the law is unethical. Civil disobedience plays an important role in how our society has been shaped up until this point.

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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.

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In the Crito by Plato, Socrates argues against civil disobedience, seeing it as an unjust act. Contrasting this view, Martin Luther King argues for civil disobedience against unjust laws, and seeing it as a responsibility of citizens. Civil disobedience is the active refusal to obey certain law, commands or requests of the government. I will argue that the view of Socrates is superior to the view of Martin Luther King on the justness of civil disobedience. Using the argument against harm, I will show that even if a law is viewed as unjust, you must not repay an evil with another evil, as evident in the Crito while contrary to ideas presented by MLK.

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Should the law be a higher priority than one’s own morals? Henry David Thoreau, a well-known American Transcendentalist, once wrote that “the government itself, which is the only mode which people have chosen to execute their will is equally liable to be abused and perverted before people can act through it” (A1). After witnessing many unjust and immoral activities, such as slavery and the Mexican-American war (something he viewed as unnecessary violence fueled by avarice for land), Thoreau lost faith in the government. In order for people to avoid becoming “agents of injustice” themselves, he encouraged them to act according to their conscience rather than blindly following the law. Although I believe that in an ideal world people should

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In the book “The Crito,” by: Plato there is a dialogue that stands out to me and it is when Socrates says “Look now, Socrates, perhaps the laws would say, if what we say is true, what you are now attempting to do to us is not just. For we gave you birth, nurtured, educated you, giving share of everything which is beautiful to you and all the other citizens...” He emphasizes the laws by using personification. However, what I find interesting is that when he does this he goes in the more broader aspect not just by external meaning of what a person would see in which we see of people interpreting (e.g. Supreme Court Justices, state judges, and lawyers) but that he let law represent its own meaning. The second thing that stood out to me was the

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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

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There is a hero in almost every story. A hero doesn’t always necessarily involve physical strength, it can be defined many other ways. A hero is someone who is idealized for their noble qualities, courage and outstanding achievements. In Mary Shelley’s book, Frankenstein, the hero in the story is Victor Frankenstein. Victor sacrifices his family, his life, and other peoples lives for his pursuit of creating life, and attempting to cure diseases.

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In Crito Socrates tells his old friend Crito: ““And do you think that whatever we might try to do you, it is just for you to do these things to us in return? (p.7)”’. Socrates is saying we should not

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He also proclaims that “… academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. King explains the difference between unjust and just laws by telling of the moral affect each one has, the way the white majority used unjust laws to their advantage, and why King thought it was our civil duty to break unjust laws. What unjust laws will your conscience tell you to civilly disobey

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Justifiable C.D. is established as the public and intentional breaking of a law to enact a change in that law or a related one through an individual's “willingness to accept the penalty,” so that the conscience of the community, local or national, may evaluate the morality of the action. C.D. holds that laws do not have inherent or deep-rooted moral qualities and whether in rhetoric or application, laws do sometimes conflict with the moral law, causing injustice. Since individuals, as moral agents, are obliged to act morally and just, it follows that they are also obligated to violate an unjust law in that “an unjust law is no law at all.” C.D. also accepts that although injustice within the system is occurring, the underlying system of the government is just. Accordingly, if one were to break a law they deemed unjust and avoid all legal ramifications, then would be unjustifiably undermining the underlying processes of a just system and negatively impacting the free society.

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Because in a true democracy, it is the responsibility of the citizens to disobey the laws that aren’t truly aiding in the progressive nature of society. A democracy can’t be effective without active participation. With that, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a cornerstone in how we should approach the discussion of whether it is or isn’t reasonable to disobey a law. King agrees with St. Augustine in that “an unjust law is no law at all.” This enforces the idea that an unjust law is virtually not present because it is inevitably meant to be broken.

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States have laws to maintain peace and safety among people and provide ways to resolve issues that arise among individuals. As a citizen of a state you are expected to obey all laws. An environment without laws will cause the typical exercises of life to be affected by the chaos. In Plato’s book, Crito, Socrates believes you should always obey the law. You are obligated to obey unjust laws because you tacitly agree to obey the laws, people have different opinions what is just or unjust, and there are many consequences when disobeying a law.

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