nd Expression of OpinionsSocrates and Maintaining a Harmony What is Right and Expression of OpinionsSocrates has thoroughly justified his own decision to obey the opinions of themajority and serve out the sentence that his own city has deemed appropriatefor his crimes. At the beginning of this piece, Socrates has presented aperiod of questions and answers through dialogue with Crito. Throughout thedialogue Socrates is explaining his reasoning for not running from thegovernment. Crito does not understand the madness of Socrates, Crito will dowhatever it takes to help his friend to flee, instead of being exiled by thegovernment.
AI do not think that what you are doing is right, to give up yourlife when you can save it, and to hasten your fate as your enemies would hastenit, and indeed have hastened it in their wish to destroy emailprotected(Crito p. 58c)Throughout the begining of the dialog, Crito is expressing his feelings of whyhe believes Socrates should flee from the city. Crito makes many valid pointson why he disagrees with Socrates decision to bare this misfortune. Critooffers to do on not fleeingbeing majorints expressing to Socrates, that a manas courageous as Socrates and who has lived his life through virtue .
AYou seemto me to choose the easiest path, whereas one should choose the path a good andcourageous man would choose, particularly when one claims throughout one’s lifeto care for emailprotected(Crito p. 59d) Through the dialogue the questions andanswers within Socrates and Crito establish to major themes in which hold truethroughout the work. The first being that a person must decide whether thesociety in which one lives has a just reasoning behind it’s own standards ofright and wrong. The second being, that a person must have pride in the lifethat he or she leads.
In establishing basic questions of these two concepts,Socrates has precluded his own circumstance and attempted to prove to hiscompanion Crito, that the choice that he has made is just. AI am the kind ofman who listens only to the argument that on reflection seems best to me. Icannot, now that this fate has come upon me, discard the arguments I used; theyseen to me much the emailprotected(Crito p. 59b)The introduction of this work hasalso provided the concept that it is our society or majority that has dictatedwhat is considered virtuous action. According to Socrates we have been givenevery opportunity to reject our society and renounce what it has stood for andagainst.
ANot one of our laws raises any obstacle or forbids him, if he is notsatisfied with us or the city, if one of you wants to go and live in a colony orwants to go anywhere else, and keep his emailprotected (Crito p. 63d) Socratesstates; that making a conscious choice or effort to remain under the influenceof a society is an unconscious agreement with that society to live your life byit’s standards and virtues. Socrates states after establishing his own agreement with his city’s virtuesthat he believes in the validity of the decision imposed upon himself. Hestates that his decision is justified by the fact that the laws and governingagents of the society must command a certain degree of respect. Any person whowould unjustly disobey these laws creates a deliberate attempt to destroy them,as well as, the society which has imposed them. For example; AHowever, thatwhoever of you remains when he sees how we conduct our trials and manage thecity in other ways, has in fact come to an agreement with us to obey ouremailprotected (Crito p.
63e) If the decisions of the city’s governing agentsare not thoroughly respected as just and cohesive parts of society, the verystructure by which the society stands is subject to collapse. If a person isfound to be in violation of what his or her society stands for and does notaccept the consequences for his or her actions, then there can not be a systemof law in place to create order. A You must either persuade it or obey itsorders, and endure in silence whatever it instructs you to endure, whetherblows or bonds, and if it leads you into war or be wounded or killed you mustemailprotected(Crito p. 63b) The society in which a person lives creates a mutualrelationship in which every person in that society is indebted to, if he or shewillingly accepts that society for their own. Following along these basic concepts, Socrates then adapts them to his owncircumstances Crito, his companion , has presented to Socrates .
The option toescape from his captors and renounce their decision on his fate. Socrates viewin Crito’s suggestion to escape is one in which Crito begins to understand. Socrates suggests. AI mean the majority of men. For us, however, since ourargument leads to this, the only valid consideration is whether we should beacting rightly in giving with the escape, or whether in truth we shall do wrongin doing all emailprotected (Crito p.
61c)Socrates has concluded that if he were tofollow Crito’s advice he would be committing several wrong actions against asociety in which he calls his own. The first of these being his own forebears. To disobey your own society, according to Socrates, is to betray what you weretaught to be right by the virtues of your own parents. And what they held tobe true, your fore fathers brought you into a society that they believed to beprofound and just.
AIs your wisdom such as not to realize that your country isto be honored more then your mother, your father, and all your ancestors, thatis more to be revered and more sacred, and that it counts for more among thegods and sensible men, that you must worship it, yield to it and placate it’semailprotected(Crito p. 63b) To renounce these virtues would be a disgrace. ADo youthink you have the right to retaliation against your country and it’s law? Thatif we undertake to destroy you and think it right to do so you can undertake todestroy emailprotected(Critop. p. 63b), you who truly cares for virtue.
This would be adisgrace against your own families legacy and the dreams that they hold for you,and your future. Society, in the day of Socrates has only requested for twothings in return for the fulfillment and prophesizing of morally correct virtueThe choice has been made very clear, to either persuade society that it hasacted unjustly, or to do as society has asked without hindrance or complaint. The person who has disobeyed according to Socrates has done neither one. @Wesay that the one who disobeys does wrong in three ways, first, because in us hedisobeys his parents, also those who brought him up, and in spite of hisagreement, he neither obeys us nor, if we do something wrong does he try topersuade us to do emailprotected (Crito p.
63e) This person only serves to justifytheir own decisions, actions, and foregoes the utterances of those who gave themthe life they have renounced. Socrates then states that by remaining a member of your society, you have infact accepted the society as your own. He uses himself as the only example andstates that by living in his own city and choosing that city to raise a family. Socrates states, ADid you choose us and agree to be a citizen under us.
Also,you have had children in this city, thus showing that it was congenial to you. Then your trial you could have assessed your penalty at exile if you wished, andyou are now attempting to do against the cit’s wishes what you could have donewith her consent. He has in fact been satisfied by the same values that hiscity has held dear. To disobey his society in its decision against himselfwould be to renounce what his city has accomplished both for himself and itsother residents. Socrates needs and must hold his head up with pride in knowingthat he was not hypocritical in his decision.
The agreement that he madewithin his city to obey the laws to live as a good citizen makes the thought ofexile shameful and therefore unacceptable. ANot being sentenced to death, andfleeing , Awill also strengthen the conviction of the jury that they passed theright sentence on you, for anyone who destroys the laws could easily be thoughtto corrupt the young and the emailprotected 64)Upon establishing the basic concept of right and wrong at the introduction tothe piece Socrates has created an argument that he can not consider to beunjust. Running away from the decision that his own society has made would bean affirmation of his own guilt in the of his family and peers. Even though hemay have been wrongly imprisoned and sentenced to death, he holds very littlevalue in the belief that two wrongs can achieve a justifiable pardon in societyHe has firmly stood before his own value system and society’s beliefs, and haspresented his own opinions on how he believes has been right in his actions,These affirmations of his own conviction to a law abiding community have ledhim to an unshaking belief that to ruin all of the work that he hasaccomplished.
He would consequently made himself a traitor and guilty in allprolonging eyes. Socrates has very carefully and thoughtfully consented to what his own city hasdeemed to be righteous and justified. His thoughts on his destiny arecompletely unselfish, as his only wish is to preserve the society around himwhich has accepted him and his family for so many years. He has indignantlyrenounced the idea of self preservation and any attempt to escape because of thepotential harm and damage that it ultimately will cause. The disgrace ofthought as he being guilty would force all that he has forged to hide in exilefrom the wrath of the society which he has protected. Socrates has succeeded in justifying his actions by showing how devastating hisdisobedience could possibly be.
In considering all of the points that he hasmade in the defense of his decision. Socrates can maintain his own pride, andsense of right and wrong. He has shown others, such as Crito . There is acertain satisfaction in maintaining ones own innocence while not accepting ahollow victory for one may possibly last for many society’s yet to come.By maintaining a harmony between what is right and the expression of a personsown opinions he has made possible the ultimate truth, the belief in what hasworked and staying within the boundaries of decent and god fearing society.The laws of the society in which Socrates lived condemned him to die for hisown conviction and the reasons for Socrates to remain and accept thepunishments of that society have proved to be wise and justified.Philosophy
