Comparing Plato's Apology And Crito

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Plato’s Apology and Crito discuss both Socrates’s response to the charges brought against him by various citizens of Athens, as well as the reasoning behind his choice to obey the city by accepting the punishment that was handed down to him. At first glance, Socrates’s sharp words may be viewed as disobedient to Athens. After careful evaluation of Socrates’s speeches and subsequent actions, it is vibrantly clear that Socrates is not undermining the law of the city; he is undermining those who make and implement those laws. Socrates also blatantly undermines the religion of the city, which entails the belief and worship of Gods whose existence Socrates cannot find definite truth in. There is a great distinction to be understood between the law and those who are making them. It is not the individuals that govern who are the reason for the wellbeing and…show more content…
Crito knows that the countless number of others who admire Socrates will have skewed views of them both if Socrates refuses Crito’s assistance in breaking out of jail. To emphasize his disinterest for the peoples’ thoughts on his character Socrates states, “Would that the many could produce the greatest evils, Crito, so that they could also produce the greatest goods! That would indeed be noble. But as it is, the can do neither” (Crito 44d). Socrates explains that the people cannot determine what is right or wrong especially when it contradicts a law or persons’ own beliefs. This is a clear undermining of “the many” who are both citizens and heads of the city, which is the opposite of undermining the law of the city itself. Socrates is consciously choosing to follow the rules regardless of what the people of Athens may believe he should do. The individual’s truths are of utmost importance. Socrates remains entirely obedient of his punishment even though he knows that he could undermine and violate it successfully if he escaped with Crito’s
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