Socrates Arguments Of Civil Disobedience

Improved Essays
At first glance, respect for the social contract and civil disobedience seem to be in direct opposition of each other. However, as king argues, by breaking unjust laws and accepting the chosen consequences for breaking the law the proponent of civil disobedience displays a rich love for the law. Similarly, Socrates values the law above all and honors his commitment to the Athenian law until his death. While some may argue that this affection prevents him from practicing civil disobedience; their argument overlooks the social contract as both a set of rules and their consequences. Socrates fails to meet the requirements set forth by King “One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly and with a willingness to accept the penalty”. When alluding to Socrates, King is right in arguing that Socrates dares to accept the painful consequences of his actions, by choosing not to escape in the …show more content…
While maintaining his innocence in the present Socrates acknowledges that if he was given the choice between moral and civil law; he says “I shall obey god rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy.” However, his maintenance of his current state of innocence, separates him from the full practice of civil disobedience. King’s requirements for civil disobedience here refer to the spirit of breaking an unjust law to bring awareness of the moral inconsistencies between the law and morality. Socrates in his punishment practices the same love and acceptance of the consequences but never admits to being guilty. Further there are not only principles of the spirit but specific steps to be appropriately following this spirit of civil disobedience and although Socrates may follow the same spirit as King, he fails to follow the correct

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Crito attempts to argue and reason with Socrates. Crito argues that he would lose an irreplaceable friend, reflect badly on Socrates’ friends and refusing his friends’ help, aiding his enemies, abandoning his children, and taking the easy way out. Socrates questioned Crito if one should care about the opinion of the many, or to only listen to the good and wise men. Socrates believed that one should listen only to the wise men, which is the basis to his response to Crito’s arguments that refusing to escape from prison with his friends’ help would reflect badly on them. He also believes that he should obey the Law of Athens as it is just.…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Antigone Case Study

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Despite its ancient origins, Sophocles’ play Antigone provides a case study through which to examine issues of politics, power, sovereignty, and justice. The final of Sophocles’ trilogy “Three Theban Plays,” the first record of Antigone is around 442 BCE, during the height of Athenian democracy. The play centers around Antigone’s decision to disobey her future father-in-law and king, Creon, in order to give her brother Polyneices, who is branded a traitor and is forbade a proper burial. One of Oedipus and Jocasta’s living two children, Antigone flaunts Creon’s laws and gives her brother a proper burial. Antigone expects to be put to death for her crime but instead Creon orders her to be shut in a cave, where she will live out her final days.…

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As a citizen in a country you must obey the laws of the land and not be a troublemaker in society. For Martin Luther King Jr, Crito and Socrates, they have different views on how to do things as a citizen; King wants to disobey laws in order to end racism in the south, Crito wants to get Socrates out of jail, and Socrates wants to serve his death sentence because that’s what he believes is the right thing to do. In Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963 Martin Luther King was locked up in a jail cell for protesting peacefully against discrimination. While sitting in his cell, King wrote an open letter to tell people that it is morally right to disobey laws that seem unfair and take direct action rather than waiting for the courts to do something about…

    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Crito, a dialogue written by Plato, the Greek philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death because of corrupting the youth, creating new gods, and being an atheist. Centuries later, another prominent figure, Martin Luther King, Jr., is jailed for civil disobedience in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. When questioned of their imprisonment, Plato and King, Jr. are both determined to maintain justice despite the injustices charged against them, but for Plato, justice means upholding the law at all costs since one should do no wrong, whereas King is concerned with reforming the law, therefore doing wrong could make a “right”. To both King and Socrates, a portion of injustice in law damages justice as a whole.…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    These series of questions culminate into Socrates’ conception of virtue leading him to reject Crito’s pleas for him to escapes because if he does he will be disobeying the laws of the state. By disobeying the law of the state he would be committing an injustice and doing what is wrong therefore harming his soul. If he harmed his soul, then he would not be living the virtuous or examined life which he states in the Apology “is not worth living”; so even if he disagrees with the state he must still obey its laws since that is, in his perception of virtue, just and right. This dialogue gives more understanding as to why Socrates questions the views and actions of others and gives practice to Plato’s teachings from Euthyphro and…

    • 1839 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The balance between the law of the state and natural, or divine law is a topic that has been scrutinized for thousands of years. Antigone by Sophocles and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. share similar standpoints on the controversial matter that has baffled philosophers. Sophocles uses Antigone to assert his opinion, as she disobeys Creon’s law and buries her brother, Polyneices. Similarly, King structures his plan of nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience to curtail racial injustice and segregation. While there are many similarities, each text has several technicalities regarding civil disobedience that differ.…

    • 1502 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Both King and Socrates were outspoken men who stood by their beliefs despite others thoughts. While Socrates follows a strict guideline that under no circumstance is breaking laws okay; King has a slightly altered position stating, “One has not only legal but a moral responsibility to follow just laws,” he goes on, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” When discussing the debate of just and unjust laws, King follows God’s standards, the “Natural Law. ”It would be erroneous to strictly base your standards on actual laws when laws are constantly changing. Furthermore, if laws are constantly changing, a person’s standards may change.…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” encompasses the purpose behind the movement and reveals King as a strong rhetorician. Through his letter, King provides a detailed look into the racial inequality taking place in that time. King’s eloquent response to the clergymen dispels their criticisms and presents a strong argument for racial equality. Throughout the letter, King references different philosophers in order to establish himself as an intelligent and legitimate authority.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Literary Techniques of MLK On April 19, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an open letter to eight clergymen who questioned his involvement in non-violent protests in Birmingham, Alabama. The Letter of Birmingham Jail brilliantly appeals to both the clergymen and a broader audience. King masterfully uses strategies such as narrating, exemplifying and comparing-contrasting.…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Over the course of history and throughout works of literature, our society has come to know civil disobedience as an act that defies certain laws as a way of peaceful protest. Sophocles’ Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, are two works of prose that exemplify two different ways in which civil disobedience can be carried out. Antigone acted out of selfishness when defying the law of Creon and wanted self-satisfaction through her engagement in civil disobedience. Martin Luther King Jr., however, sought reform for all people and called on them to fight for freedom, not just for their own benefit, but for the benefit of the entire nation. While Antigone and King both defied the unjust laws to stand up for what they believed in, it was King who acted on morality, rather than instinct.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Do you think Socrates did the right thing by allowing himself to be unjustly executed? Socrates had made an intelligent decision by sacrificing himself to protect the “Social contract” between the state and him, rather than escape from prison to break the rules. Use life to exchange for the preservation of his thought Escape from the prison is equivalent to destruct all of his thought and value what he had constructed during his lifetime. Because leaving Athens is kind of actions to contradict what he taught to his followers, be faithful to the righteousness.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    We argued that that the imprisonment of an innocent man has already undermined the Laws of Athens and so his escape would be just, in reversing the damage to the state. However, Socrates believes that one should ever wrong someone else, and he believes that his escape would undermine the Laws of Athens, and so under this justification, Socrates is justified in not escaping. We considered the idea that perhaps for Socrates his not escaping is not about political obligation but is instead a matter of maintaining his character, and if this is his true justification then he is justified in his…

    • 1501 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    So I put forth, “If we allow him to continue his teachings the youth of Athens may continue to be corrupted and grow ideas of a hegemony over the people, and throw away the democratic virtues we fought and died to preserve.” The members of the assembly nodded and murmured in approval, all except for one, a young student of Socrates from a well respected family, named Peristrato. Peristrato angrily shouted in Socrates defense, “Socrates does no such thing as undermining Athenian Democracy, nor did he ever corrupt the youth that he so ardently teaches.” This outburst caused a ripple of anger to move through the crowd, and somebody put forth the call to have anyone who studied under Socrates or his works to be arrested.…

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The idea is that rulers make the laws in their own best interests, and adherence to those laws is what constitutes justice for the individual. Socrates leaps at this opportunity to further his discussion on the subject of justice in book one: what it is, and whether or not it pays to be just. In this essay I will clarify Thrasymachus’…

    • 2199 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Antigone Vs Law Analysis

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Socrates and Antigone vs. the Law The proclivity for people to challenge the law has been a topic of discussion for thousands of years. In Plato’s Crito, Greek Philosopher Socrates explains his point of view on the subject in which he chooses to abide by the law, even if he knows that he will be executed. Antigone, a main character from Sophocles’ play of the same name, contradicts Socrates’ ideas and clarifies her belief that one should rebel against authority according to their own justice.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays