Socrates Disobey Law

Words: 1316
Pages: 6
Open Document
Some people may believe that laws are pointless, others may believe that laws are useful, but what we do know if it is a good or bad thing to obey a law? The main idea of the reading “From Crito”, by Plato is the implied contract and consequences. Socrates was a Greek philosopher and was put in jail. He had a student named Crito, who encourages Socrates to run away, but Socrates explains why you should do the right thing about staying and not running away. From this reason, I believe that our freedom and rights circulate with the law enforcement system, as they are the ones who we need to obey.
The first point is the implied contract, which means a law that is created by two political parties, yet it is not written down or spoken it's just …show more content…
If Socrates were to decide to run away from prison there will be serious consequences for not following the laws. As Socrates said, “...because in disobeying us [the laws] he [Socrates] is disobeying his parents” (Plato 736). In other words, if Socrates is disobeying the law, it is like he is disobeying his parents because they both brought him into existence in some way. To add on, an outside example is when I recently experienced a shooting outside my house, which was horrible. The suspect, who was the shooter disobeyed the law enforcement by not putting the gun down when he was told to. As he is also disobeying his parents at the same time by not showing that he was taught some manners or being educated by them. When in reality, I know that his parents did a good job in educating their own son. Socrates also mentions that “There is clear proof” (Plato 737). In this case, I believe that Socrates had no right to demonstrate his freedom. Which means that there is proof for what he did and why he is where he is in prison. If you are disobeying the law and there is proof then I understand that you have to pay your consequences. However, like it is said when “Socrates asserts that we must obey the state at all costs unless we can convince it that its law are …show more content…
He left and came back ten minutes after to shoot the girlfriend's family. He made the ridiculous by wanting to shoot the family in front of the law enforcement. Also, he did not obey them when he was told to put the gun down. To move on, another example of doing the right thing from the reading is when Socrates said, “For just consider, if you transgress and err in this sort of way, what good will you do either to yourself or to your friends” (Plato 737). What is being said is to think what will be the benefit of what you are about to do to yourself or to others. Your freedom depends on your actions. As I said about my example the suspect did no good as he did not make a good choice, he got shot eleven times by the police and still manage to be alive. The suspect also made his girlfriend's family suffer as the two members were shot, but most importantly he disappointed his parents. His parents worked hard to provide him with all the necessities, yet he paid them with not obeying the law enforcement. Doing the right thing as following the laws will help you gain the freedom and rights that one
Show More

Related Documents: Socrates Disobey Law

Philip Zimbardo's Prison Experiment

allows them to perform actions they would normally consider wrong. This can be extended to Socrates situation and reality in multiple ways. One is that the athenian officials could be giving responsibility for their actions to the law instead of acting with their own moral values. Given that, The opinion of the expert is nothing more than an extension of the potentially oppressive law they act on. As well, Socrates too could be falling into the tendency to obey. Instead of taking his life and family…

Words 685 - Pages 3

Plato and Socrates States Essay

held when Crito went to visit Plato in prison. Critos purpose for visiting Socrates was to persuade him to escape prison to avoid being executed by the dishonest accusers. He doesn’t want Socrates to die because then Crito would be looked down in shame for not helping his friend. But more importantly Crito doesn’t want Socrates to die because he children would be fatherless and then Socrates would look like a coward. Crito say to Socrates, “ You seem to have chosen the easiest path, whereas one should choose…

Words 1368 - Pages 6

Sample essay

Jarad Bush Professor Gath Phi 1005 11/26/2013 Socrates on the Moral Authority of the State In the Crito, Socrates makes some surprisingly strong claims about the moral authority of the state, which might even seem to be inconsistent both with another fundamental claim he makes in the Crito and with certain claims he makes in the Apology. I shall argue that although these claims seem to be in some tension with each other, the crucial claims about the authority of the state in the Crito can plausibly…

Words 1578 - Pages 7

Summary Of Martin Luther King Letter To Birmingham Jail

Birmingham Jail, King writes a letter responding to the clergymen about their expressed concerns over King’s approach on achieving freedom, claiming his protests were “unwise and untimely.” In this letter, King talks about individual civil rights, and the laws impending those rights. He…

Words 728 - Pages 3

Disobedience In Antigone: Unjust Law, And Civil Rights

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” If Martin Luther King Jr. and countless others had not protested during the Civil Right movement there would still be segregation and inequality. Without a doubt, there are times when it is justifiable to break a law in a democratic society. If rights are being denied, if the majority feel it is an unjust law, or even if the minorities (being that they are experts on the subject) feel it is wrong as well. Despite…

Words 726 - Pages 3

Shadracham Jail Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In this paragraph, King's first allusion to the Bible and argument that "the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego" to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar is morally and wholly right due to their grounding in higher moral law. Additionally, King shows that the reader's ability to have academic freedom is only due to the "civil disobedience" of Socrates, showing a moral right and God-given ability to learn due to the "wrongdoing" of civil disobedience. Finally, King's allusion to the Boston…

Words 943 - Pages 4

Socrates And Euthyphro

In what way is Socrates a social scientist? If we were to look up or already knew the definition for archetypal or archetype, it would be something or somebody who sets the bar or mold in a particular matter. For example, an individual could be an archetype for swimming because they are a stupendous swimmer. Socrates could not be seen as an archetypal social scientist but the archetype for philosophy. In “Euthyphro”, Socrates encounters Euthyphro at the courthouse and embarks on a discussion of why…

Words 1280 - Pages 6

Law and Crito Essay

second-hand account of Crito’s attempts to convince Socrates to escape execution as well as Socrates’ arguments as to why staying would be more sensible. Socrates has lived by his principles his entire life. He believes that escaping would defy everything that he stands for. Crito believes that Socrates’ break out will benefit himself and others more than harm them. Although both sides of the argument have equal value, Crito’s final argument about Socrates’ consequential harm toward his children make his…

Words 1853 - Pages 8

Meletus's Argument In The Apology Of Socrates

one Athenian citizen created a new outlook on philosophy. Socrates was a Greek philosopher in Classical Greece living from 470 BC to 399 BC. He was proclaimed to the wisest man in Greece by the Oracle at Delphi and with that proclamation decided to become a philosopher. Before Socrates’ time, philosophy explained the natural world and the physical elements in it. Socrates was different, and inquired about ethics and morality. “With Socrates comes a sustained inquiry into ethical matters—an orientation…

Words 1269 - Pages 6

Civil Disobedience: The Social Contract Theory

The foundations of any structured civilization are the laws that ensure the wellbeing and order of society. Laws uphold a form of peacekeeping and formalized retributive punishment for those who commit crimes. The sole reason of society’s existence and continuation is the joint agreement between individuals and the state to maintain tranquility and lawfulness. This understanding is identified as ‘the social contract theory’. Its claim is that legitimate authority of a state stems from the consent…

Words 1171 - Pages 5