Apology versus Crito - Essay Example

Apology versus Crito (Topic B) Plato’s Socrates in the “Apology” declares that he would continue to philosophize even if the court ordered him not to, as he does not believe that one must obey the laws of the state. On the contrary his opinion directly conflicts with the passage from “Crito” where Socrates chooses to obey the states laws and refuses to escape from an unjust conviction. There seems to be a lot of inconsistency in regard to Plato’s views. In the “Apology” Socrates is convicted for not obeying the rules of God and demeaning the citizens of Athens. In response to the charges put against him he defends himself by giving a speech in which he rejects the accusations made against him. He questions politicians, poets and craftsmen and discovers that they in fact lacked proper knowledge. He challenges the people of Athens and proves that they are ignorant and foolish. He affirms that he is the wisest man because he knows that he knows nothing. His chief complainant is a man named “Meletus” (Apology) whom Socrates criticizes and questions him severely for calling him an atheist and blaming him for violating god made laws. Socrates claims strongly that he is not scared of the wrong accusations of the society and his life after death and because according to him it is unwise to fear death when you do not even knows what happens to the life after ones demise. Socrates calls Athens as “a lazy horse” (Apology) and compares himself to a gadfly who stings the people to provoke them. Socrates does not like politics as in his opinion his involvement in politics would have prevented him to serve for his people; lastly he defends himself and his sincere friends who stood by him through thick and thin, and praises his associates for loving him unconditionally. Moreover he favors death to imprisonment and exile, he thinks that “a life that is not examined is not worth living” (Socrates, Greek philosopher biography quotes) so he would continue philosophizing even if his life is at stake. Socrates bravely accepts his death sentence and tells the jury to stop acting unjustly and accept criticism openly. The “Apology” provides the most significant defenses of a truth-seeking life by Socrates. In his speech he contrasts himself with many well-known people and persuades that his philosophy and thinking is far better and different from others as he does not believe in just acquiring knowledge but rather clarifying ones judgment his philosophical views are entirely different from other philosophers, according to him, the amount of knowledge is worth only when a person knows what he aims at with his information. Socrates regards philosophy not a pass time but as a way of life and his purpose is using his information honesty by avoiding untruthfulness. The people of Athens are weak and therefore punish Socrates rather than looking for there own faults within, they dismiss Socrates views that call for self analysis because they find it easier to live in ignorance rather examining their lives fully. Socrates is a humble and honest man as he believes in self correctness rather than correcting others. He lives an honest life and prefers dying instead of living an untruthful life; he gets executed wrongly by the state for the crime he did not commit. The Athenians warn him that if Socrates is “caught philosophizing he would die” (Apology). But he remains firm in his decision and goes against obeying the state laws. He faces death courageously without fright as according to him all great men should happily accept death fearlessly. Plato’s “Crito” is a dialogue between Socrates and his friend “Crito” who convinces him to escape the prison, the talk between Socrates and his friend takes place in the prison where Socrates waits to be executed. Crito has made many persuasive statements to get him out of the prison but Socrates is determined and not convinced at all by the remarks made by his friend. Crito tries to put forth many arguments to make Socrates agree, for example, he says that staying in jail would mar his reputation as a philosopher because people would think of his friend as disloyal and insincere if they did not offer any help, Crito also promises Socrates to making best possible arrangements in “Thebes” (Crito) where he would live peacefully in exile, furthermore he assures maximum financial help to him too. Crito further goes to say that by accepting execution Socrates will strengthen his enemies even more who are unjust to him and that he will also hurt his family by depriving Socrates three sons of a father. But Socrates is not influenced by the strong statements made by his friend Crito, and he tells him that one should not worry about people’s thinking and follow what is just. He says that he is willing to escape with Crito if his freedom is not against the laws of Athens. The laws of Athens demand Socrates to obey, to go against the laws is like striking a parent as the citizens are like a child who are meant to obey their parents, so it would be damaging for the society and will have a bad impact on its people, Socrates is of the opinion that instead of breaking the law by escaping he should persuade the state laws to set him free. Thus Socrates explains his friend that if he escapes with him he would be violating the laws by going against them which would besmirch his reputation forever after his death and he would be remembered as a criminal and an outlaw. So he prefers not to attempt an escape with his friend Crito. Socrates is justified in his decision to not escape from the prison cell as he cares for the sanctity of the laws of Athens that prevent him to take any step, Plato is seen to regard the state laws just and the accusation of the people as an unfair action. Many readers find a lot of confusion in Plato’s views because one thinks that it is impossible to disconnect the laws of the state from the people who relate to them. So it would be strange to say that rules made by the state should be followed and that people’s opinions are unfair so should not be valued. Crito tries his best to persuade his friend Socrates into accepting his point of views but Socrates seemed quiet indifferent towards him, one of Crito’s strongest suggestions seem valid when he advises his friend that by staying in prison would be like accepting the wrongful decisions made by his adversaries, it would strengthen their position and weaken his situation, in response to this argument of Crito, Socrates tells him that one should not get upset about what people have to say instead the laws of the state are more important and to break them he would be regarded as unfaithful and undutiful so he is obliged to follow the rules. He was very patriotic it is clear when he says “Iam not an Athenian or a Greek but a citizen of the world” (Socrates, Greek philosopher biography quotes). Socrates statements are quite puzzling as on one hand he believes in obeying the state laws only, disregarding what people of Athens had to say, but if the people are unfair and the laws seem reasonable it is almost the same, Socrates seems to fail in understanding this notion and is quite perplexed in his opinion. If he takes his friends advice and escaped from the jail he would violate the laws on the other hand, by staying behind bars would be like accepting defeat and wrong allegations by his enemies. Plato highlights the importance of relationship between the state and its people, like Socrates it is the duty of every person to respect and follow the rules of the state strictly regardless of any obstacles and public opinion. If one examines Plato’s views they do seem to contradict and overlap as in “Apology” Socrates is portrayed as a person who disagreed to the state laws and on the contrary in “Crito” he is shown to be represented as the one who respected the government laws and willingly accepts his death sentence. Socrates seems to go against the laws in the “Apology” when he says in his speech: “…if, as I say, you were to acquit me on those terms, I would say to you: ‘Men of Athens, I am grateful and I am your friend, but I will obey the god rather than you, and as long as I draw and am able, I shall not cease to practice philosophy” (29d). In the “Crito” Socrates is seen to express different views when he says: “…You must…endure in silence whatever it instructs you to endure…To do so is right…both in war and in courts and everywhere else, one must obey the commands of one’s city and country” (51b). Here we have two different dialogues expressed by Socrates regarding obedience to the laws. However, on close analysis these statements do not seem to contradict each other but are in equal harmony. In “Apology” Socrates does not attempt to break any laws because he goes against the verdict made by the common man of Athens and not the state, Socrates execution made by the people is illegal as by refusing to abide by it seems quite relevant, so one can conclude that there is no law breaking done in “Apology” because laws are not made by the people but the state. What Socrates did was absolutely correct; he did what any respectable man would have done. What citizens of Athens did was extremely unethical. Furthermore, if we evaluate what Socrates said in “Crito” we can say that he did not break any law there too, perhaps he said that one has an option, to either obey or persuade the government to change the illegal laws. As he says: “You must either persuade or obey your country or obey its orders, and endure in silence whatever it instructs you to endure” (Crito). He also says that if he tries to escape without persuading he would be “doing an injury” (The Last Days of Socrates 50a) What Socrates is trying to say here is that one should convince the state in changing the incorrect laws but with good intentions, and the efforts should be non-violent, open, sincere but without attacking the system as a whole and the out come should result in the benefit of the entire society and not oneself. The decisions taken by Socrates in “Apology” and “Crito” were just and he did not violate any laws, because if he would have stopped philosophizing the citizens of Athens would have been deprived of a great philosopher and he would not be able to serve his people, similarly if had he been escaped and went in exile, he would have been living a selfish life without doing any good to others. So the statement of Socrates in “Apology” does not contradict to that in “Crito” because Socrates strongly believes in justifiable commands from the state. There can be many parallels drawn between Socrates and Martin Luther King’s ideas which are quite similar. Like the King, Socrates was a lover of truth and believed that “one who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty” (King). Socrates accepted his death sentence not because he considered it just but because he respected the state laws. Both the King and Socrates strongly condemned the law breaking as a serious crime. Different philosophers and thinkers have put forth there own interpretations of Plato’s views for example, Woozley who is one of the most renowned philosophers examines Socrates persuade-or-obey theory saying that it is not unethical for a citizen to fight against the wrong laws but the disobedience employed to convince the state is quite irrelevant, as it could mean that anybody could take any action thus leading to lawlessness (29-33). Similarly George Grote also explained the contradiction of the Socrates two dialogues by saying that Plato has destroyed the image and personality of Socrates through his trial speech in Apology, due to which people regard him as an enemy of the state, whereas Crito demonstrates him as an extreme loyalist and patriot (430-31). Plato even today remains the famous philosophers of the western world. He was “born in Greece, a few hundred years B.C” (Plato and his dialogues). His dialogues remain popular even today. Works Cited Woozley, A.D. Law and Obedience: The arguments of Plato’s Crito. London: Gerald Duckworth, 1979. Grote, George. Plato and the other Companions of Socrates. Vol .1 London: Aberdeen University Press 1888. Plato. Apology, in the Trial and death of Socrates. 3rd ed. Edited by John M. Cooper. Trans. G.M.A Grube. Indiana Polis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2000. ----. Crito, In the Death and Trial of Socrates. 3rd ed.Edited by John M. Cooper. Trans. G.M.A Grube. Indiana Polis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2000. ----. The last days of Socrates: Euthyphro/ The Apology/Crito/Phaedo. Trans, Hugh Trednnick. New York: Penguin Classic, 2003 Martin Luther King. Why we can’t wait. New York: Signet, 1964. Suzanne, Bernard “Plato and his dialogues.” Plato’s dialogues 8 March 2009. 26 May 2009.http://plato-dialogues.org/plato.htm “Socrates Greek Philosopher Biography Quotes” Age of the Sage.org 26May2009.http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/greek/philosopher/socrates_biography_quotes.html Read More