Socrates Conviction In The Story Of Crito

In the story of Crito, Socrates is in a prison cell and is waiting to be executed. His wealthy friend Crito is trying to convince him to escape because he believes Socrates is innocent and is being wrongly accused of impiety and corruption of the young. Socrates refuses to run away, although Crito offers to care for him. He instead chooses to face the city because the city needs philosophy. His submission to the unjust conviction, emphasizes this relationship between the philosopher and the city. In the story of The Apology, which is better described as Socrates’ defense against the charges against him and the defense of philosophy, he clarifies that the city needs philosophers to sustain justice.
Why is the city hostile toward philosophers? According to Socrates, the city is hostile because they see philosophers as useless, corrupters. Philosophers like Socrates encourage people to seek the truth, however doing so creates tension among the people. The tension caused however is necessary to introduce dialogue and new ideas within the city. Essentially the city needs philosophers because they are able to think about the facts to understand
His submission to the unjust conviction allowed him to stay behind and reason with the people. He doesn’t assume fault, he simply stays behind to prove he is innocent and to bring out true justice. This helps us understand the relationship of philosopher’s with the city. If he had run away, he would have been disobedient and wronged the laws he swore to the gods to uphold. If he had run away, he would be proving that his accusers were right in convicting and attempting to execute him. Socrates gives the example that if people nullify laws to fit their selfish needs, the rule of law will lose its value. The city would go into chaos because the city depends on the structure and stability of the law, but laws are only binding if they are upheld. (Crito,