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Comparing Plato's Apology And The Crito

1739 Words7 Pages

In Plato’s the Apology, we see Socrates fighting for his innocence in the court of law and presenting reasons to why he should not be charged with the crimes that his accusers say he is guilty of. Although most of the accusations that are placed against Socrates are not truly logical, he still fights for his freedom in an honorable fashion. In the Apology and the Crito, Socrates is both conflicted with his inner moral voice and the laws of Athens. Although Socrates knows that the charges that he is being tried for are foolish, he still has to fight for his innocence in a respectable manner. Socrates states that the people of Athens benefit from his teaching and he cannot be put in jail as this would hinder the future of the people. Although …show more content…

Crito is shocked and confused when Socrates turns down his escape plan, because of the fight that he had put up in court to prove his innocence. Crito asks Socrates why he is not making an effort to escape jail and Socrates states that he is just an old man and is no longer a benefit to society. In this paper, I argue that there is indeed a tension between Socrates view on the charges that he was accused of in the Apology versus his views of the charges in the Crito. There are many occasions throughout these stories that support Socrates change in perspective on his charges that will further be discussed in this paper. Socrates is indeed fighting to prove his innocence in the Apology, but in the Crito, he has a dramatic attitude change to the point where he feels that he needs to sit in prison and face the consequences that he has acquired for the crimes that he knows that he did …show more content…

Socrates is actively working to defend his case and is not going conform to the beliefs that he is a criminal. He brings up the wiseness of these three men and the various charges that they have accused him of (corrupting the youth, being a “busy body”, studying objects in the sky, charging a fee for the youth to learn, etc). Socrates tells the story of his venture to the Oracle of Delphi and how the Oracle confirmed that Socrates is the wisest man in the world. Once he tells this to the jury, he proceeds to tell how the men that are prosecuting him are not wise at all and states that he only acknowledges wise men and ignores the opinion of men that are not wise. Socrates is making the claim that if he is the wisest man and he knows what he is doing, then why are these charges being placed against him by men that are not wise? If Socrates were to be proven guilty of the “crimes” that these men are accusing him of, he worries that this would influence his wiseness and decline the abilities that he is able to do, such as teach philosophy to the young. Throughout this entire book, I noticed how hard Socrates was fighting for his innocence, not for himself, but for the good of the other people around him. Socrates states that if he is proven guilty, then the young would not have a mentor in their lives teaching them ways to become wise. Socrates continues to fight

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