The Ring of Gyges

Crito

What is really important in life Main Themes What is really important in life Civil Disobedience

How would you summarize this dialogue? Crito How would you summarize this dialogue?

Prison where Socrates is awaiting executed Setting Prison where Socrates is awaiting executed

They have paid off the guards so Socrates can escape What is Crito’s Plan They have paid off the guards so Socrates can escape

Why does Socrates refuse to escape? To escape would be disobedient to the Laws And would lead to the destruction of the State and Society

Was the Process Just? The process that Socrates went through was just We must abide by the verdict even if we do not agree with it What would happen if every person found guilty refused to follow verdict

To disobey the laws of society is to contribute to the destruction of that society

Argument (1) The process that Socrates went thru was just (2) We must obey a verdict of a just process even if we don’t agree with it Therefore (3) Socrates must abide by the verdict

Popular Opinion Crito cares about what the popular opinion will be of Socrates of Crito Crito argues that we must care about the opinion of the many because they can put us to death

Whose opinion should we value? Gymnastics? Whose opinion should we value? The Uninformed Many The Informed Few

Argument (1) The opinion of the many is uinformed (2) We should not care about the opinion of the uninformed Therefore (3) We should not care about the opinion of the uninformed many

Argument (1) The opinion of the few is informed (2) We should care about the opinion of the informed Therefore (3) We should care about the opinion of the informed few

Who is the only one who can hurt us? Ourselves

Argument (1) Only we can hurt our souls (2) We hurt our souls when we are unjust Therefore (3) We should not be unjust

Crito’s Accusations Crito accuses Socrates of betraying his own life, wife and children if he does not escape Other cities will welcome him

Zeal Socrates tells Crito that our zeal must be for the right cause Reason must be our guide Suicide Bombers!

Argument (1) It is good to be zealous (2) But zeal can become misguided (3) Zeal guided by reason will not become unguided Therefore (4) Our zeal should be guided by our reason

Good Life v. Long Life Our goal should be to live a good life not necessarily a long life Would you do anything for a longer life?

Pursuing truth, justice, goodness The greatest improvement of our soul Good Life Pursuing truth, justice, goodness The greatest improvement of our soul

Argument (1) Most people want to live a long life (2) It is better to live a good life Therefore (3) Our goal should be to live a good life

Why is injustice always wrong? Because it hurts the one who does it Only we can hurt ourselves

Why is retaliation always wrong? Because it hurts the one who does it Only we can hurt ourselves

The Importance of Society Society is necessary for our lives Society is more important than the individual

Argument (1) Society is necessary for our lives (2) We cannot live without society Therefore (3) Society is more important than any individual

If you cannot obey society’s laws But never try to destroy it Love it or Leave it If you cannot obey society’s laws Leave it But never try to destroy it

Argument (1) We should obey the law (2) If we don’t like the law, we should try to change it (3) If we can’t change it, we should leave (4) But we should never try to destroy society Therefore (5) If we don’t like the laws, we should just leave

To be accept punishment if we do not Social Contract When we are able to leave and decide to stay we have an implied contract with our society To obey the laws To be accept punishment if we do not

Argument (1) Society is based upon the social contract (2) When we can leaven but don’t we agree with the social contract Therefore (3) We must obey the laws of our society or accept the punishment for disobedience

Change the Laws If we do not agree with the laws of our society Then work to change them Democracy

He will forfeit his integrity Socrates’ Integrity If Socrates escapes he will go against everything his life has stood for He will forfeit his integrity

Argument (1) Socrates has stood for integrity (2) To disobey the law is to forfeit one’s integrity Therefore (3) Socrates must obey the laws or forfeit his integrity

How should we live our lives? Main Question How should we live our lives?