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Socrates Should Be Abolished In Plato's Crito

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In Crito by Plato, Socrates argues that he should remain in prison because escaping would go against living a just and honorable life. If Socrates escapes prison, he will harm the city; this means that Socrates will not be just and honorable. However, Socrates’ argument includes that breaking the law is not just and honorable. I will argue that Socrates should have escaped prison since his argument to remain in prison failed to consider that some laws should be broken because they are unfair.
Crito begins with Socrates in prison, where his friend Crito goes to visit him (1). Crito visits Socrates in an attempt to convince him to escape prison since the Athenians sentenced Socrates to death for a crime he did not commit (2). Crito cites many …show more content…

Socrates insinuates that breaking any law goes against living a good life, which fails to recognize that some laws are unfair. In this case, unfairness refers to laws that target and damage a specific group of people. For example, in U.S. History throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, there were laws, called Black Codes, that limited opportunities for African Americans. These laws would be considered unfair. Socrates says that to be just and honorable, we must not intentionally harm another person even if they’ve harmed us. Some laws intentionally harm other people, so the laws are not just and honorable. If we follow unjust and dishonorable laws, just because we do not want to break the laws, then we are not living a good life. If we follow these laws, we are harming other people and not living a good life. Another example is Socrates’ situation. Socrates was sentenced to death, meaning that the people who sentenced him wished harm to Socrates. The people who sentenced him are not living a good life, but they are the ones who are involved in the writing of the laws. Therefore, the laws are not just and honorable, since they are written by people who are not living a good life. This means that Socrates should have escaped prison because the laws that put him there in the first place are not just and

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