ipl-logo

Socrates: Should It In The Right To Escape?

837 Words4 Pages

“May it be for the best. If it so please the gods, so be it.” (Cooper 44). Socrates states that if it pleases the gods then thats whats supposed to happen. Socrates has his morals that he grew up with and so does everyone else. On his way to his death some might say he should escape since his trial is unjust. Some might argue, like Socrates, that it isn't right for him to escape and go against his word. His friend Crito is trying to argue the reasons why Socrates is in the right for escaping, while Socrates is arguing the opposite, why his morals will not allow him to do so. Socrates argues many things and makes very firm arguments. If escaping is not just then he should not do it. He sticks to his word and his word is what he lives by. If …show more content…

That would not be good on his part because he would know this could happen but still proceed to escape and possibly be risking his friends lives. With the chance that his friends don't get caught and he did escape Socrates would be unlikely to find another town that welcomes him. There wouldn't be a city, that had well formed laws, that would allow a man who broke the laws of the city that he called him home for seventy years. If he were to find a city that had accepted him, he would not be able to continue his old life of questioning people and trying to improve them. He cant continue teaching people about how laws, goodness, and justice are the highest of value to people. Besides that, Socrates wouldn't be doing his sons any favor if he escaped and took them with him. This would just teach them the wrong idea about how laws work and how to accept the consequence of your wrong doing. If he were to leave them behind, in Athens, it wouldn't matter if he was dead or just exiled in some other city because they wouldn't be able to see him and he wouldn't be teaching them and being there when they grow up. Socrates confidently believes that if he left his sons, his friends would make sure they were taught the right

Show More
Related
529 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
543 Words | 3 Pages

Breaking this agreement would leave his conscience guilty and make his life not worthwhile. He also believes that if he were to leave it would tarnish his reputation of him, his children, who he wanted to raise in Athens, would also have to bear his reputation which would be ruined if he left. Socrates would rather die knowing that he did not break his agreement with Athens and ruin his reputation and have a clean conscience than flee to another city and live out the rest of his life with the guilt. Socrates also says that if he were to escape it would be hurting the city by undermining the judicial system and giving it no credibility to convict other criminals who would escape just as he did and leaving it susceptible to a state of no order and

Read More
1118 Words | 5 Pages

In this paper I will argue that Socrates’s argument at 50a-b of the Crito would be not harming his fellow citizens by breaking the laws. Based on the readings from Plato’s The Five Dialogues, I will go over the reasoning of Socrates’ view on the good life. I will then discuss the three arguments Crito has for Socrates regarding his evasion of the death sentence including the selfish, the practicality, and the moral arguments. I will deliberate an objection to the argument and reply to the objections made in the paper and conclude with final thoughts. Socrates argues in the Crito that he should not escape or disobey the law because it is unethical.

Read More
299 Words | 2 Pages

The reason I ask this question is because Socrates refused Crito’s and other friends’ suggestion and stick to his decision that is to stay in the prison instead of run away. In most people’s opinion, a father has to take the responsibilities to take care of his children. Also, a husband should try as hard as possible to protect his wife if he loved her. However, Socrates didn’t do so as we expect.

Read More
499 Words | 2 Pages

By escaping from prison, he would be breaking the laws of the city. Since the laws all together are seen as one, by breaking one law he would be breaking all the laws. In order for a law to be legitimate, the citizens of the city must follow the laws. If the law is broken, it is no longer a legitimate law. This is why Socrates

Read More
1641 Words | 7 Pages

Since the day of the judgment between Athens and Socrates in 399 year B.C. many historians, philosophers, and students wonder to know whether Socrates was Guilty. Philosopher was accused in corrupting the youth, not believing in the recognized gods and introducing new divinities and in the rejection of civic life in democratic society. It is very difficult to answer on this question, may be even impossible. In my opinion, there are three types of people: 1.

Read More
1013 Words | 5 Pages

He reminds Crito “no human being should do injustice in return, whatever he suffers from others”(Crito, 49c). Socrates argues even if the jury's decision was unjust, it is never permissible for him to do injustice in return and therefore he will not try to escape. In essence, even though Socrates is offered the opportunity to

Read More
718 Words | 3 Pages

This does not have anything to do with the majority rule but with the one truth. (Crito,48a). Socrates agrees that if we can prove it is just to escape then he will. (Crito,48c.) Socrates second counter argument seems to be that you should never do wrong.

Read More
710 Words | 3 Pages

In conclusion, therefore I should stay in jail and accept the death penalty. 3. Agreement argument – if I escape, then I will break an agreement I made with this city, to break an agreement is an unjust action, doing unjust actions harms the soul, and it is better to die than to live with a ruined soul. In conclusion, Socrates should stay in jail and accept the death penalty. In conclusion Crito's arguments are very narrow.

Read More
947 Words | 4 Pages

Was Socrates right to say he would stay in Athens no matter the consequences, or should he have fled Athens to avoid death? Socrates was right to say he would stay in Athens no matter what because first, he believed he was sent to Athens or “placed in Athens” for a specific reason and he also believed that even though the Athenians found him as a threat and annoying, he believed that it helped them. Socrates was right to say he would stay in Athens no matter what the consequences were because he believed that he was placed or in Athens for a reason. This quote from “The Apology” is an example to prove that he was placed in Athens for a reason. “Because if I tell you that doing that would mean disobeying the god, and so I can’t keep quiet,

Read More
1382 Words | 6 Pages

Socrates believes that justice benefits the just, but also benefits the city (other people) too. He is faced with a seemingly simple choice, escape Athens or remain in prison and be sentenced to death. Socrates’ central argument against escaping his circumstances is twofold. First, Socrates argues that “one must never do wrong.” (49b)

Read More
1421 Words | 6 Pages

Crito has an escape plan in place to break out Socrates. Socrates decides that if he were to escape it would not be morally justified. Socrates discusses why he has a duty to stay and face his charges, as well as why the action of fleeing would be unethical. To Socrates, breaking one law would be an injustice to all laws and would cause great harm to the

Read More
912 Words | 4 Pages

Making enemies and becoming the topic of conversation, the Athenians began to view Socrates as a threat to their beliefs and way of life and sought to end it. In order to end this, Socrates was accused of blasphemy (Mod1SlideC7). Socrates’s accusers took him to court and after Socrates did not play their game by asking to be sent into exile, and in the end, he was sentenced to death. After reading the textbook and Plato’s writing influenced by Socrates, I realized that in the period of his life Socrates was indeed truly a threat to the Athens society, because he looked for answers that no one else bothered to find which challenged their culture.

Read More
1021 Words | 5 Pages

In Apology, Socrates faces possible execution as he stands trial in front of his fellow Athenian men. This jury of men must decide whether Socrates has acted impiously against the gods and if he has corrupted the youth of Athens. Socrates claims in his defense that he wants to live a private life, away from public affairs and teachings in Athens. He instead wants to focus on self-examination and learning truths from those in Athens through inquiry. Socrates argues that "a [man] who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if [he] is to survive for even a short time" (32a).

Read More
1535 Words | 7 Pages

He says, “I do not corrupt, or if I do corrupt, I do it involuntarily, so in both cases what you say is false” (26a, p. 75). He continues by saying that if he corrupts involuntarily, “the law is to bring in those in need of punishment, not learning” (26a, p. 75). This further points out Socrates’s innocence. He believes that he would need to learn of his wrongdoings rather than be punished because he doesn’t see anything wrong with his actions.

Read More

More about Socrates: Should It In The Right To Escape?

Related Topics

Open Document