Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito

In Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, the account of Socrates’ life during his time in jail until his execution, is told through Plato’s point of view. In these dialogues, Socrates shares his philosophical beliefs on many subjects –one of them being the obligations of the citizen. This belief is illustrated in Crito, which is a dialogue between Socrates and his longtime friend Crito. Along with Socrates is Martin Luther King Jr. who has also expressed his beliefs on the obligations of the citizen in his “Letter from a Birmingham jail”. Both Socrates and King create social tension in order for individuals to better themselves in the world they live in. In Crito, Socrates focuses on the belief that the

He also makes it clear that citizens should always do what is considered to be “just”. Crito, along with others, believe that Socrates would be morally wrong for not trying to escape. Crito attempts to persuade Socrates that he should escape out of prison and not doing so is “unjust” because it means he will be leaving his children behind and siding with the unjust people who have put him in jail. Socrates then proceeds to justify his reasons for not escaping by stating that it would be breaking the Laws, which he considers to be an “unjust” thing to do. Therefore, Socrates would rather abide by the Laws than go against the people and escape. In his eyes, the rule of law is always “just” and citizens should always follow it. Every one of Socrates’ friends disagree with him but ultimately, Socrates decides to listen to himself and goes with what he truly believes to be the “right thing to do”. Based off this logic, citizens should follow laws that are also deemed to be “unjust laws” just because it is a law. Socrates believes that if one isn’t living a “just” life, then there is no reason to be living at all, and that one must never do