The trial and death of socrates (book by Plato) - Essay Example

Having lived at the end of the Golden Age, Socrates arose as a response to the structural changes occurring within the city at that time. Living a very simple life by sacrificing wealth and politics, Socrates decided to stay among the common people of Athens to challenge everyone’s intellects. In this way, he became a founder of philosophy: choosing instead to look at the nature of knowledge, instead of what can best be said to belong to our current state of knowledge. Socrates is the protagonist of the Apology and the Crito.

Although he is a simple man, he is presented to the jury in Athens as a man of great intellectual power, despite his claim that he in fact knows nothing. Despite his common appearance, Socrates is interested in investigating ethical matters, particularly those related to the state and, in this case, related to why the city identifies him as a troublesome element. In the death scene of the Phaedo (115b-118a), Socrates demonstrates himself to be accepting of his fate, which he resigns to accept in the Crito (49b10-11).

In the Phaedo, Crito asks Socrates how he would like to be buried, to which he responds, “In any way that you like; only you must get hold of me, and take care that I do not walk away from you” (115c). In the face of execution, Socrates retains his old-timey kind of charm and joking demeanor. This kind of joke is also meant to represent his lack of respect for the system that has found him guilty of trumped-up charges, even though he has committed himself to follow the dictates of the court.

In the time leading up to his execution, Socrates engages in this dialogue with Crito, during which Crito remarks on his admiration of Socrates’ level-headedness in defending himself against the threat of death (43a). Socrates, having no knowledge of this person, does not react unkindly to his guests and admits that because of his advanced age, he will not react too strongly to such a situation. Crito then tells Socrates that he has come at this early hour to give him the opportunity to escape, which creates a philosophical and a practical problem for Socrates, who disagrees with the outcome of the trial and their sentence, but at the same time does not want to disregard the nature of the relationship between man and state.

Crito’s appeals to Socrates are moral in nature, such that they appeal to his virtues. For instance, Crito remarks that not fleeing from an unjust death would be cowardly in the face of injustice (45d). Socrates has, according to Crito, an obligation to his children that he would not respect if he voluntarily remains in his cell and receives an execution. Socrates demonstrates the nature of his character by not responding to the practical problem that Crito has posed. By offering him a way out, Crito has made remaining in his cell a voluntary act on the eve of execution.

In response, Socrates expresses his disrespect for people who do not act rationally and that because he has virtues, such as the ability to recognize justice, he is electing to stay in his cell (47c). He is not thinking about the goods that typical Athenian men, like those who brought him to trial, think about: money, reputation, and political stance. These external goods are the values of those men who do