Crito: My Argument With Socrates
I would first like to start my argument with capitulation; for I do not believe that Socrates, at the heart of his argument, was wrong. Although my knowledge of that heart may be false, thus so may my beliefs, I must still put in the effort and play my role as devil’s advocates by trying to convince a long dead man to do something I believe would have been wrong.
My first argument with Socrates is whether he ever truly intended to be swayed, or if his mind had already been closed to the matter. In the early passages of the text Socrates says he has been given a vision from the God that his death will come at the delay of a day. It strikes me that a man such as Socrates that believes the God speaks to him would …show more content…
I believe this ties back into my first argument in that Socrates didn’t truly want to escape his death. Socrates strikes me as the kind of man that could truly make things happen, especially if given time. If he did not want to leave Athens than surely there was a way he could stay hidden in the city, maybe even work to clear his name. We now know that Socrates was remembered fondly soon after his death. Did it never occur to Socrates that this was simply a temporary mood swing in the Mob? He could have gone into hiding in Athens for a year and then turned himself and gone through a whole new trial. Did the brilliant mind that was Socrates never consider that by giving it a bit more time he might be able to convince the people of Athens of their faulty thinking as he had spent his entire life doing before? Didn’t Socrates himself believe that helping others to see the errors in their thinking was a kindness? If he truly believed himself to be innocent than not giving up the quest to convince others of that innocence’s would be a just cause. I find it hard to believe that Socrates would not be able to find a just reason to escape, even temporarily, if he had wanted
I would first like to start my argument with capitulation; for I do not believe that Socrates, at the heart of his argument, was wrong. Although my knowledge of that heart may be false, thus so may my beliefs, I must still put in the effort and play my role as devil’s advocates by trying to convince a long dead man to do something I believe would have been wrong.
My first argument with Socrates is whether he ever truly intended to be swayed, or if his mind had already been closed to the matter. In the early passages of the text Socrates says he has been given a vision from the God that his death will come at the delay of a day. It strikes me that a man such as Socrates that believes the God speaks to him would …show more content…
I believe this ties back into my first argument in that Socrates didn’t truly want to escape his death. Socrates strikes me as the kind of man that could truly make things happen, especially if given time. If he did not want to leave Athens than surely there was a way he could stay hidden in the city, maybe even work to clear his name. We now know that Socrates was remembered fondly soon after his death. Did it never occur to Socrates that this was simply a temporary mood swing in the Mob? He could have gone into hiding in Athens for a year and then turned himself and gone through a whole new trial. Did the brilliant mind that was Socrates never consider that by giving it a bit more time he might be able to convince the people of Athens of their faulty thinking as he had spent his entire life doing before? Didn’t Socrates himself believe that helping others to see the errors in their thinking was a kindness? If he truly believed himself to be innocent than not giving up the quest to convince others of that innocence’s would be a just cause. I find it hard to believe that Socrates would not be able to find a just reason to escape, even temporarily, if he had wanted