Crito: Dialogues of Plato

Crito questions

1. Compare the setting of Plato's Apology to the setting of the Crito. Where does each dialogue take place, how many people are present, and what is the significance of these dramatic details?
The Apology takes place mostly in a courtroom where Socrates is defending himself from Meletus. Crito’s setting is in a jail cell where Socrates waits for his execution after the verdict and Crito is there trying to persuade him from accepting his fate. These details set the entire section’s mood and show more meaning to the words that Socrates speaks in each passage.

2. Some readers think Socrates went along with his execution because he was already old. Would things have been different if he were younger?
No one could ever know for sure, but I don’t think it would have had a huge impact on his decision. Then again, I’m still young and maybe outlooks on life change with age. Socrates stands by his opinion that age has no bearing on his decision.

3. What made Socrates so attached to Athens, but even more devoted to his way of life that he was willing to die rather than give it up? Is Socrates a martyr either for the Laws of Athens or the cause of philosophy?
Socrates believes that one enters a contract with the city. He believes there are three wrongs in “betraying” that city: the disobedience of parents, the authors of one’s education and that personal contract to obey the laws. He is both a martyr for the Laws of Athens and his philosophy because his philosophy blends to include the Laws of Athens. They are intertwined so he technically followed both.

4. Crito claims that by suffering an unjust punishment Socrates will play into the hands of his accusers. Why does Socrates counter that his escape would corroborate the jury’s verdict to convict him?
If Socrates gives up his beliefs then he feels it would be proving the council right. He feels it would only confirm what they are claiming about him.

5. Why does Socrates tell Crito that "whatever he suffers from others", one would still not be justified to escape the punishment of the laws and the community of the city Does Socrates' argument that it is wrong to harm even those who do one harm make sense?
It’s the same old “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” philosophy. I personally agree with it because the circle of violence has to end somewhere. As for not being justified to escape punishment, I think that really depends on the individual’s philosophy. They shouldn’t use violence to do so, but if they run or stay that is a choice one needs to make on their own.

Dialogues of Plato Apology

What are the charges against Socrates?
They charged Socrates with corrupting their youth and giving them dangerous ideas. They also said that he was denying that there was a god by teaching his philosophy.

What are Socrates' main arguments of defense in regard to each charge?
He said he was trying to enlighten the youth and help them see the truth. As for denying there was a god, he claimed that it was the opposite but they just saw it not believing in a god.

Why does he take such care to avoid securing his own acquittal?

He could have begged for clemency, used his wife and children to get a pity vote, offered a reasonable alternative sentencing, promised to behave differently. It would have gone against everything he stood for and he wasn’t going to give-up what he believed so quickly; he wouldn’t prove them right. Socrates thought it was important to stand firm by his beliefs so that they wouldn’t be seen as hypocritical.

Is he really an example of a man who lived and died by his own philosophy? Or is he a self-appointed martyr? Are they mutually exclusive?
He’s a bit of both. He did live and die by his own philosophy but he did end his life as a “self-appointed martyr”. Socrates saw only two choices: death or defeat. I hope there is only one kind of martyr: the one who has the choice.

Is there virtue in being a martyr?
I believe there is virtue when the person who will be the martyr finds virtue in it. We can only follow the existential philosophy and do what we believe is right by us. I don’t think anyone should be martyred against their will, without their knowledge or because they’ve been “brainwashed”. It should be a personal truth.

Do you believe that Socrates believes himself no wiser than any other man? What exactly does he mean by that?
Socrates did say he was wiser than other men because he recognized that he didn’t know anything. All the other men he met thought they were knowledgeable, but he claimed, because he saw how little he knew, he was wiser.

And finally, is retaining one's ethical dignity (living by one's principles) worth dying for? For Socrates? For you?
Yes. Yes. Yes. If one cannot be oneself, what is left to live for? There would be just a shell of a mechanical person left behind. There can be nothing of greater importance in life than being true to oneself because that is the start of a better society. “Imitation is suicide”. I should hope that I would have the personal strength to always be true to who I am. True, one might have to die for their ethical dignity, but surrendering oneself is another form of death; a death to live with.

Electoral College

Both sides have pros and cons so I find it hard to choose either way. As Matthew Spearman said the system is obviously flawed; as shown in the 2000 election. He was in favor of a direct democracy conversion but as Michael Hough said, the electoral system protects smaller states and safe-guards against the election of an extremist”. I can also see how the current system would discourage people from voting because it does feel as if one’s vote is unimportant. I also agree with Mr. Spearman when he said that the Supreme Court should “never be involved in electoral politics”. And while I don’t think the electoral system is “splendid’, I can see it acting as a buffer to prevent an “even more federalized” system.