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Socrates Vs Crito Research Paper

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In the Crito, Socrates and his long-time friend Crito discuss the complex question of whether or not Socrates should escape from jail due to his impending execution. Their argument questions whether citizens should always follow the law. They originally have different opinions and reasoning, but Crito eventually comes to agree with Socrates. Both Socrates and Crito express many valid points on the subject. Crito comes early in the morning to visit Socrates early in the morning and bribes the warden to be able to enter to visit Socrates (Crito 43a). Crito comes to tell Socrates about the plan he and others made for his escape, only to find Socrates unwilling to escape and resigned to death. Crito cites several reasons that Socrates should follow the escape plan. He first states that Socrates will be doing his friends a disservice, by “depriving them of a friend” and damaging their reputation (Crito 44b). Crito also notes the opinion of the majority (Crito 44d), Socrates’ duty to his children (Crito 45c). Crito also tries to convince Socrates that his …show more content…

Socrates firmly believes that it is a citizen’s duty to fully obey the law at all times, even though he was wrongly placed in jail (Crito 44d). He states that life is not worth living if it is corrupted (Crito 47d). One of Socrates’ arguments is that it their belief that they must never willingly do anything that is wrong, such as escaping from prison (Crito 49a-b). Socrates’ main argument is that, since he agreed to be a citizen of Athens and agreed to follow the laws he must continue to follow the laws. He states that to escape from the prison and thus nullify the laws set by the city would be to destroy the city (Crito 50). With these and several other points, Socrates successfully argues that he must remain in prison and face his

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