Preview

Socrates Execution In The Story Of Crito

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1264 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Socrates Execution In The Story Of Crito
In the story of Crito, Socrates is in prison and awaiting his execution that he was found guilty by corrupting the youth and also supporting other gods that the city of Athens did not. Throughout his trial, Socrates argued each of the things he was charged for and made it very clear that it was not just for him to be found guilty for these actions. The jury ended up finding Socrates guilty through a very slim vote that was not necessarily fair by any means. As Socrates sat in his cell, one of his very faithful friends, Crito, decided to come talk to him. He gave Socrates the opportunity to escape prison and live the life of a wanted man instead of facing his execution. As the story of Crito goes on, he asks himself a number of questions deciding on what he was going to do and whether it would be just or unjust for him to escape prison. Socrates eventually decided that he was going to stay in prison and face his execution instead of escaping, for the act of escaping prison would be unjust and breaking the laws of the city. I agree with Socrates’ decision that he made and feel like he did the just thing by facing his execution. Socrates decided to face his execution throughout a long and thoughtful process to determine whether it would end up being just or unjust for him to escape. Crito tried all that he could to persuade …show more content…
I believe that Socrates has made the absolute most just decision with everything he could have done. It still remains remarkable to me that he had turned down such an easy and pleasant life of exile to take on his execution that he is innocent for. Although it seems like such a hard thing to pass on, I know I would have done the exact same thing after some deep thought about how it would impact myself along with the rest of the community. I fully stand behind Socrates’ decision by staying in prison and taking on his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Plato's Crito Worksheet

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages

    3. Socrates says “As we have agreed so far, we must examine next whether it is just for me to try to get out of here when Athenians have not acquitted me.” In the exchanges following this statement, he obtains Crito’s…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Plato’s Apology and Crito tells a story of the defense of Socrates, and his reasons for not escaping prison. The Apology is a long speech by Socrates about the accusations made by his accusers, Socrates position about these accusations, the verdict, and Socrates reaction to the verdict. Crito describes Socrates in prison waiting to be put to death. The story is set in Athens. Socrates is being accused of being an evil doer, corrupting the youth, and for not believing in the gods. Socrates chooses to defend himself and ask the jury to allow him to speak in his normal manner because he has never been in a court room. Socrates starts his defense by denying all charges and addressing them one by one. He starts with the accusation of being an…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead on the tracks there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are some distance off the tracks on a footbridge standing next to a very large or fat man; we will call him the portly fella. You can push the man off the bridge, and his body will fall onto the tracks and stop the trolley from killing the five people, but will kill the portly fella. You have two options: (1) Do nothing and let the trolley kill the five people. (2) Push the man onto the tracks, where it is likely to kill the one person. What would you do in this situation? Push the portly fella, or just watch as the five people on the tracks reach their own demise.…

    • 1959 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Crito

    • 638 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Crito doesn’t want Socrates to be prosecuted because he thinks that whole trial thing was just absurd. He tells Socrates that he can continue living and sharing his knowledge in another place and can help his sons.…

    • 638 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Socrates looks to the priest to tell him what exactly is pious so that he may educate himself as to why he would be perceived as impious. Found in the Apology, another of Plato's Five Dialogues, Socrates aims to defend his principles to the five hundred and one person jury. Finally, the Crito, an account of Socrates' final discussion with his good friend Crito, Socrates is offered an opportunity to escape the prison and his death sentence. As is known, Socrates rejected the suggestion. It is in the Euthyphro and the Apology that it can be deduced that Socrates is not guilty as charged, he had done nothing wrong and he properly defended himself. However, in the Crito, it is shown that Socrates is guilty only in the interpretation and enforcement of Athens' laws through the court system and its jurors. Socrates' accusations of being blasphemous are also seen as…

    • 1659 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crito Argument

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The dialogue of The Crito evaluates one of the last days of Socrates life. Upon which, Socrates has been awaiting his execution for a month due to a religious mission to the island of Delios, sacred to Apollo during which no executions can take place, insinuating that Socrates has had much time to ponder his sentence and escape, as well as the result of further action. Crito eagerly attempts persuading Socrates to escape by presenting many gripping arguments. Socrates responds to these arguments by asking/interrogating Crito with questions surrounding pressing life principles that both men agree on and by doing so provides an argument against Crito’s encouragements of escape.…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He believes that these laws has given him birth, have educated him, raised him and have shared the wealth of Athens with him. Socrates thinks that the people of Athens are free to leave if they find the laws unjust, but if they want to stay then they must abide by the laws of Athens. The only thing that he points out are the people in power. He thinks that the people who are in power have changed the original laws for their own benefit. “been wronged, not by the Laws, but by men” (p 54). Socrates accepts death penalty because he wants the laws should be remain in place. Given opportunities such as exile or apology, he argues that if he escape from the prison, it will destroy the laws of the city and, eventually, the city because according to Socrates no city can survive without its laws being enforced. Therefore, Socrates steadfast by his believes of not violating any…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    For these two articles that we read in Crito and Apology by Plato, we could know Socrates is an enduring person with imagination, because he presents us with a mass of contradictions: Most eloquent men, yet he never wrote a word; ugliest yet most profoundly attractive; ignorant yet wise; wrongfully convicted, yet unwilling to avoid his unjust execution. Behind these conundrums is a contradiction less often explored: Socrates is at once the most Athenian, most local, citizenly, and patriotic of philosophers; and yet the most self-regarding of Athenians. Exploring that contradiction, between ¡§Socrates the loyal Athenian citizen¡¨ and ¡§Socrates the philosophical critic of Athenian society,¡¨ will help to position Plato¡¦s Socrates in an Athenian legal and historical context; it allows us to reunite Socrates the literary character and Athens the democratic city that tried and executed him. Moreover, those help us to understand Plato¡¦s presentation of the strange legal and ethical drama.…

    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Socrates in essence, believes in god and is too wise for his own good. Throughout whole trial he spoke nothing but the truth however, because of the greed and jealousy of men they convicted him other wise simply because of their own intentions. Furthermore, searching for the truth couldn't be possible because of the reality of the situation: Socrates was considered the wisest man, people in an act of evil wanted to confront and destroy him and in essence, this couldn't be possible because in fact Socrates was the wisest man and was unknowing of it. This in reality represents the irony in the situation because Socrates doesn't consider himself to be the wisest man in Greece, but he is. In reality Socrates only escape from death was to lie and he didn't feel obliged to do so. In fact the truth was there the whole time and it was up to the people to pry through the illusion of this situation and understand what Socrates was saying. This represents the high cost of searching out the truth in this case, which was the causing of Socrates'…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After being convicted of his ‘crimes’, he is given an opportunity from his friends to escape, but he refuses. The main reason is that the people will know that they convicted an innocent man because they were annoyed with Socrates. When he is dead he will go to the underworld and be able to talk to far more interesting people. Also the people of Athens would only get a break from Socrates. When they die he’ll be there to greet them, and they can’t run away from him where they’re…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Platos Apology

    • 540 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Even though Socrates is proven guilty he has no regrets. He believes he did nothing wrong and is happy to share his knowledge with people. Socrates says, “is not to avoid death but to avoid unrighteousness.”(168-169) In this he is saying he is not upset about dying and he did the right in life. Again he shows this is true when he says, “I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner of life.”(163) He’s saying again he did the right thing and rather die than not have shared his knowledge and be a wise man. Socrates makes it clear he did the right thing in life, at least what he thinks the right thing is. He wants to help people in his life and succeeded in doing so, so he is not afraid of death. He is smart and wise and wants to keep teaching his knowledge. He states this when he says “ You will not easily find another like me, and therefore I advise you to spare me.”(110-111) Socrates makes it clear teaching his believes was obviously not a crime and has no regrets of doing so.…

    • 540 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Socrates Vs Crito

    • 2078 Words
    • 9 Pages

    In the reading CRITO the verdict of execution has already been given and now Socrates and colleagues must make the decision to flee the city of Athens or stay and face his fate. In this conversation you have Critos point of view and Socrates. Based on Critos reasoning he states three reasons why Socrates should stay, the first two being selfish but the third hitting home.…

    • 2078 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The question that Socrates is asking Crito is, “what is the rule of the law?” But Crito, does not accept this outcome, as what friend would. The conversation goes back and forth about the consequences of Socrates escaping his death. Part of the problem is that Socrates has pitted himself into this method of punishment because during the closing arguments of his trial he only gave one option as a punishment (Apology 37a-38c). With the conversation not really going anywhere because it seems that Socrates is comfortable with his situation. He informs his friend that, “it is in my nature, not just now for the first time but always, to follow nothing within me but the principle (Logos) which appears to me, upon reflection, to be best” (46b). For Crito, it must be like arguing with a wall, as Socrates although he appreciates his friends help, is set on drinking the hemlock. Socrates and Crito, agree that they should just speak about whether it is just or unjust to escape his predicament, and what would other people think (46c). To Socrates his reputation is on the line, and it is more important than…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Crito then will not only have lost a true friend, one not easily replaced, but he will then feel resentment by many people in town who inevitably will accuse him of failing to do all he could in order to save the life of a true friend. Crito states “Surely there can be no worse reputation than to be thought to value money more highly than ones friends, for the majority. (Crito39) ” At this point, we realize Athenian law was held to the highest degree, and unlawful actions result in serious consequences but at the hand of whom and what cost. Crito, further illustrates that he could have purchased the freedom of his friend by paying a certain amount of money to “the majority” but out of his true friends request he did not. Moreover, this displays the weight money held in a time like this making it another underlying premise to the contributing factors to execute Socrates. On the other hand, nonetheless if Socrates actually cares about the reputation of his true friend and well-being that is, he too will be in accord with the request his friend is asking him to make. Ironically, this goes against everything moral Socrates represents, but we further see his opinion on the majority being the unparalleled factor they are. Socrates realizes the severity of the damage they are capable of inflicting him nonetheless, but his…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Socrates on Moral Value

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Socrates lived during a time of crucial transition in Athens. The city sought recover and stabilize from its defeat, and from this situation that public had began to doubt democracy as an effective form of government. The famous trial of Socrates is known to be an essential event, which revealed key themes to Socrates’ teachings and beliefs about moral and virtue. The Apology and Crito were fundamental to revealing those beliefs and played an important role in conveying Socrates’ position on living a meaningful life of moral worth; through those documents we can see that his grasps on his beliefs were firm up until his execution, denying any fear of death in pursuit of the maximal exemplification of his teachings.…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays