Here, Socrates begins considering various alternative punishments such as imprisonment, exiles, or fines, but comes to the conclusion that he would rather be put to death because all other options
This he is unwilling to do because he holds it in such high regards and believes that if people did not follow the laws it would cause the fall of Athens. Therefor by him not accepting his punishment he would consider himself one of the highest criminals. This is yet another paradigm of how important the opinion of the majority is because they are the ones who create the laws. By following the laws you are really following the opinion of the majority. Here we see that perhaps Socrates was inconsistent in his reasoning as he places such a great weight on the majority opinion through law.
Socrates, on his death bed, did not want to escape his punishment because he did not fear death and wanted to stand by what he believed (Source B). This allows Socrates’s followers to gain tremendous amounts of respect for him because he followed through with his beliefs until the end. This makes an effective ruler because then his followers respect him and thus it helps everyone in a whole. Not only was Socrates true to himself but he also was brave. It took tremendous amounts of courage for Socrates to spread his views at a time when they were not popular (Source B).
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.
Each opinion is worthy of existence and is supported by historical facts, so which side should take the person - it depends entirely on the personal point of view of the individual. But at the same time it is worth to consider that Socrates was executed only by his own wish. The
Additionally, his teaching and philosophy would not have the same effect since he would be going against everything that he had taught previously. He believed that it would be wrong for him to leave the arguments that he believed in from the past, just because he was set to die. If he were to change his philosophy on the law and how the rules were being followed, it should not be simply because he was in danger. By not escaping, he would be honorable just as his teachings had acknowledged. Socrates believed that an injustice should not be committed, knowingly and even in retaliation, it is wrong to inflict an injury upon someone who has wronged you since inflicting injury is a form of injustice.
Initially, these two men gained friction through their teachings which led them to their trials and executions. Furthermore, Socrates was placed on trial, on his own will, at the age of 70 with four main charges. The accusations that were placed upon the father of philosophy were investigation, corruption, atheism, and education which he proclaimed was the will of the Delphic Oracle. Socrates pinned his charges upon the divination and his sacrifice to the polytheistic Gods, but this was Socrates being a clever speaker. Thus, his trail became the basis of his infamous contradictions and subtle Socratic pleas to die because he fantasized about being executed to be commemorated.
Even though Socrates claims to be innocent of the charges brought against him, he is ultimately sentenced to death. After he hears the jury's decision, Socrates is sent to jail to await his execution. Crito arrives before Socrates is scheduled for execution and offers him a chance to escape. Crito believes the jury's decision was unjust. In Crito's eyes, Socrates is innocent and therefore has the right to escape. However, even though Crito believes Socrates has the right to escape, Socrates disagrees with him.
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 should remain in prison after evaluating Critos arguments although Socrates’s were stronger. I’ll begin with Crito’s argument and what makes them strong, and what doesn’t. Next, I’ll focus on Socrates arguments and what makes them good and what makes them weak, mainly his focus that living with a bad soul isn’t worth living when you have a bad soul. Crito gives Socrates three arguments.
According to the teachings of Socrates, “one must never intentionally inflict wrong on another, even when one has been wronged oneself.” In stating this, Socrates is validating the belief that “two wrongs don’t make a right.” In essence, Socrates believed that one cannot cure one evil by committing another, because in doing so the person is just hurting themselves. According to Crito however, it is acceptable to willingly do wrong depending on the circumstances. Crito explains that justice can only be truly served if one returned evil for evil as many believed, he uses Socrates situation to support his claims.
In Plato’s Apology, Socrates is put into trial because he is accused of corrupting the youth with his teachings that deviate from the established beliefs of the Greek society. Although he justifies that he is only doing what he believes is his duty, he reasons that even if he is given a death penalty, death is nothing to be feared. He raises multiple strong and effective arguments that explain to his audience that it is illogical to fear death. All of these arguments revolves around the central idea that death is not evil and that “no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death” (Apology, 41c). The first argument that Socrates presents during his trial is the idea that death is not the most important thing to worry about in
According to the argument about morality in the Crito from Socrates and the Laws, it is presumed that morality is political indulgence that prevents people from defying justice. Breaking the law is an unjust and immoral act, and the laws should be obeyed even if it means risking death. Socrates is morally bound to accept the court's decision since he has agreed in advance to obey the law. Hence, morality declares that Chris should not escape because he did not obey the laws. He broke the laws by encouraging other people to violate laws concerning serving in the military.
Even when facing death, Socrates choices to follow his sentence and not disobey the law. Prior to this action, Socrates does go against the popular opinion regarding the trial of the soldiers. Instead, of giving one trial to the group as the nation desired, Socrates went against it. Socrates remained loyal to the laws of Athen by stating there must be a trial for each person individually. Because of this loyalty to the laws, Socrates almost lost his life as he’s about to lose it in the present.
The only way that Socrates could show truly that one should not fear death, and that he believed this idea wholeheartedly was to face death himself and do so without fear. This is why Socrates told the jurors after he had been sentenced to death, "This perhaps had to happen, and I think it is as it should be" (Apology, 39b). Socrates’ death “had to happen” because he was following the will of the gods and because it was a vital component in convincing others that they ought not to fear death. Socrates death was “as it should be” because it was the only way to ultimately prove to others that it was not necessary to fear death and this Socrates believed was a
