What Is Crito Proposing to Socrates and How Does He Try to Justify His Proposal - Assignment Example

4. What does Socrates hold to be the most important thing?(48b4-5) To what is it equivalent, according to him? (48b6-7)When Crito delivered the news to Socrates that he will be executed and persuaded him to flee, Socrates told that the most important thing is “that one should value living well rather than merely living” (48b4-5).

He also said that death is nothing compared to injustice (48b6-7)10. How according to the "Laws," did Socrates enter into a tacit contract to obey the state? (51c-53a7)Socrates perceives the “Laws” from the point of gratitude that Athens provided him with a birthplace, and raised and took care of him. He was also educated in Athens and protected himself and his fellow citizens. It is therefore incumbent upon him to obey the state as it raised and took care of him. This tacit contract is enforceable for as long as one stays in Athens.

If one is not amenable to following the laws of Athens or the state, one is free to leave Athens and go somewhere else. But if they chose to stay, they must submit to the laws of the state. The Laws, as Socrates already suggested, have given him birth, have raised him and educated him, and have shared the wealth of Athens with him and his fellow citizens and if they do not like what they see, they are free to take their property and go wherever they please. However, if they choose to stay in Athens, they are actively submitting themselves to the Laws of Athens and must abide by them no matter what.

 This question should be one page long1. Now that you see what Socrates meant by the descriptor “gadfly” name two historical figures whose lives you believe share the characteristics of the Socratic gadfly. Why do you think they can be considered gadflies? (as a point of reference: Socrates calls himself a gadfly in 30e.)Gadfly is a harsh critic of the status quo who is already contented with how things are done even if they are in slumber. The term used in one of the most inflammatory arguments in the Apology was when Socrates described himself as a gadfly who is stinging a lazy horse which is a state.

The personalities I can think of in history that are appropriate to be called a gadfly are Luther Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. Martin Luther King is a gadfly because he went against the status quo of discrimination and removed the injustice against African American. Rosa Parks on the other hand went against the patriarchal society and asserted the equal rights of women. Name one contemporary person who your children might name as a “historical gadfly” when they take Intro to Philosophy in 25 years.

Barack Obama with his ending of discrimination against BlacksNelson Mandela for ending apartheid. What distinguishes a “gadfly” from a person who is just a “pain in the neck”?Gadfly is a critique of the status quo and works to change it for the better. Pain in the neck is just a whiner who only wants attention.