Socrates’ position towards the authorities was inconsistent in The Euthyphro and The Crito. He questioned the authority in The Euthyphro but defended and obeyed it in The Crito.
In The Euthyphro, Socrates had a dialog with Euthyphro who claimed to be an expert on the subjects such as holiness, Gods, piety, justice, etc. Socrates began his philosophical debate by asking Euthyphro to define piety and impiety. Not completely satisfied by Euthyphro’s definition that, “Piety, then, is that which is dear to the gods”, Socrates pointed out that gods were known to disagree and argue; therefore, they may not have had unified opinion on what is holy. To further frustrate Euthyphro, Socrates continued his argument by asking the following question, “Holy is beloved by the gods because it’s
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By questioning holiness, gods, piety, impiety and justice, Socrates questioned the authority, the choices it made, and the principals it followed.
Unlike in The Euthyphro, in The Crito, Socrates defended the law and authorities. The debate took place in jail where Socrates was waiting for his execution. Crito, his friend, came to visit and tried to persuade Socrates to escape. 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