Recounting the Last Days of Socrates in Crito Essay

Recounting the Last Days of Socrates in Crito In the Last Days of Socrates the dialogue â€Å"Crito† recounts Socrates last days before his execution. Socrates had been accused of corrupting the youth and not worshipping the Gods of the state. During his trial he denied all accusations and attempted to defend himself by proving his innocence using reason . He was judged to be guilty and given a death sentence. His long time friend Crito proposes to Socrates a plan to escape from his death sentence in prison. Crito and Socrates argue the issue of escape with Socrates deciding on accepting his sentence. I feel that in light of his beliefs Socrates was ethically correct in refusing to escape from prison. It was important to Socrates that he†¦show more content†¦Life would not be worth living with an unhealthy body, it would be even worse with an unhealthy (unjust) soul. Life in itself is not of great value, but living a good life is. To Socrates a good life is one lived in just and moral manner. â€Å" I should lik e you to consider whether we still agree on this point: that the really important thing is not to live, but to live well. ...to live well amounts to the same thing as to live honorably and justly† 48b To Socrates justice dictates the health of the soul and so he would follow the orders of justice in the manner as which he would follow a doctors orders for his physical health. What is important is whether it is just or unjust to escape while enlisting the help of others in doing this. â€Å"shall we be acting justly in paying money and showing gratitude to these people who are going to rescue me, and in escaping or arranging the escape ourselves, or shall we really be acting unjustly in doing all this? If it becomes clear that such conduct is unjust, I cannot help thinking that the question whether we are sure to die, or to suffer any other ill-effect for that matter, if we stand our ground and take no action, ought not to weigh with us at all in comparison with the risk of ac ting unjustly.† 48d Socrates seeks to establish whether an act like this one would be just and morally justified. To intentionally commit a wrong act would to be damaging to the souls of all involved. Even actingShow MoreRelatedBroken Family3761 Words   |  16 PagesSocrates Philosopher Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, Wikipedia â€Å"Personal background† Born: 469 BC, Athens, Greece Died:399 BC, Athens, Greece Full name: Socrates Nationality: Greek Era: Ancient philosophy Region: Western philosophy School: Classical Greek Main interests: Epistemology, ethics Notable idea: SocraticMethod,Read MoreEssay about Plato1268 Words   |  6 Pageshis family tree, and this suggests a considerable amount of family pride. According to Burnet, the opening scene of the Charmides is a glorification of the whole [family] connection ... Platos dialogues are not only a memorial to Socrates, but also the happier days of his own family.[17] Name According to Diogenes Laertius, the philosopher was named Aristocles after his grandfather, but his wrestling coach, Ariston of Argos, dubbed him Platon, meaning broad on account of his robust figureRead MoreComparing Phaedo and Ecclesiastes3040 Words   |  13 Pagescounterpart among the sacred pages of the Old Testament, Ecclesiastes. Though the ages of each cannot definitely determined, most scholarly assumptions place their birth within a century and a half of one another. The Greek probably was authored just after Socrates death in 399BC and the Hebrew text was likely composed sometime around 250 BC, leaving an insignificant difference relative the overall scale of antiquity. This reasonably close proximity of authorship can clearly be seen in the way these two works