Crito
Plato's Crito takes place after Socrates is condemned to death and sitting in his jail cell. Crito is Socrates' good friend and has come to visit Socrates in the hopes of convincing his old friend to escape. But Socrates logically refutes Crito's argument. Crito begins his argument by bringing bad news to Socrates, relating to him that the ship from Delos is approaching and, with it, the hour of his mandated death. Socrates seems resigned to his fated death, but Crito attempts to persuade him to allow his friends to help him escape prison and flee Athens. Crito fears that others will begin to criticize Socrates' disciples for not rescuing their great leader. But Socrates says that, like he has said so many times before, the popular opinion of others does not concern him, only with that of the Gods does he concern himself. He advises his friend to do the same. Crito then, in response to this, says that Socrates must escape in order to ensure that their father properly educate his sons. Socrates goes on to argue that the advice of one individual, namely God, should be heeded much more than the advice of countless ignorant people, namely Athens' as a whole. In this way, he proves to Crito that popular opinion is
Socrates also makes the point that it is better to do right than wrong, no matter what the circumstances. He goes on to tell Crito that the law has already given him a long and successful life. Like many things in this world, the system is not perfect, but it is still quite necessary in order to have a civilized society. This is the kind of thinking that makes Socrates easy to relate with. In an effort to better illustrate to Crito his decision to stay and be executed, Socrates compares himself to a medical patient. He believes that he has a contract with Athens, which would be broken, if he dodged his death. He has a gift in which he takes a situation and analogizes it with every day occurrences to make it easier to make a well thought out decision. He goes on to ask Crito what good would a society be with laws if anyone could simply ignore them when the outcome does not suit them. Socrates does not blame the laws which sentenced him, but the people. Plato gives the Laws their own voice in the hopes to distinguish them as a separate entity, making them something human to which Socrates might be able to act unjustly. In the end, Socrates manages to convince Crito that escape would not be right or just, and Crito agrees. He says that if he was sick, he would not take the advice of his friends, who have no medical knowledge, but would instead do whatever the doctor recommended. Despite the unfortunate result of Socrates' trial, the laws are necessary and the system does work in most cases. However, it is somewhat questionable how far the laws of state can be separated from the people who practice them.
Common topics in this essay:
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Laws Laws,
Crito Socrates',
Plato Laws,
Socrates Crito's,
Plato's Crito,
society laws,
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