Socrates Civil Disobedience Analysis

Socrates views of civil disobedience are not as consistent in Crito and in the Apology as his words and actions were in life. Although he is known to be an authentic, honest and wise man who took pride in recognizing ignorance while searching for the truth, at the end of his journey, his views seemed to be inharmonious with previous statements. Initially, he tries to persuade the jury, advises them to spare him as they would not find anyone else like him and attempts to justify his actions using his own method of inquiry. Eventually, he agreed with the outcome because it is the law of Athens that shall be honored, not broken.
In the Apology, during the trial, Socrates goes on to defend himself by going through the accusations one by one; pointing …show more content…
This was a way to show the jury that the accusations of calling him an atheist were wrong, as his calling came from the god himself, therefore it would be wrong to disobey him. Socrates says “For I do believe that there are gods, and in a sense higher than that in which any of my accusers believe in them. And to you and to God I commit my case, to be determined by as is best for you and me”. (Plato pg 40) Even though Socrates had a difference of beliefs with the Athenians when it came to gods, he was not dismissing their views but was blunt when he wanted them to rationally justify their reasoning and realize their accusations are …show more content…
He explains to his friend why he will honor the court 's sentence even if he finds it unjust.“Well, then since you were brought into the world and nurtured and educated by us, can you deny in the first place that you are our child and slave, as your fathers were before you” (Crito 51). His obedience is owed to them because they are responsible for his upbringing. “Would you have any right to strike or insult or do any other evil to your father or your master, if you had one because you have been struck or insulted by him, or received some other evil at his hands” (Crito 51). What can be interpreted from those words is if the law does injustice it is wrong to do injustice back because it would cause complete chaos by taking law into our own hands; you would not harm your father if he disciplined you, same goes for the law. Since Socrates knew what the law was before as a free man and did not leave Athens, he is obligated to complete the