1.  Should Socrates flee prison in order to escape his unjust condemnation?  Crito’s four reasons for escaping  The majority will think ill of Socrates and his friends if he does not escape  Since the court erred, it should not be obeyed  The welfare of the children of Socrates requires his escape  Death is an evil to be avoided 1

2.  Majority opinion is relevant only if true  Rejection of Relativism  Relativism = truth determined by beliefs or attitudes; we create truth  One reason in support of some forms of relativism is that some truths are unobservable but knowable.  How is this possible?  Answer: Perhaps such truths are determined according to relativism and, hence, knowable though unobservable  Absolutism = truth is determined by conditions of the world, not beliefs or attitudes; we discover truth 2

3.  Consistency  if you are not a relativist in science or mathematics, why be a relativist in morals?  The possibility of rational discussion regarding a topic (morals) precludes relativism  If rational disagreement with the moral majority is possible, relativism is false 3

4.  If morality is a matter of happiness & happiness is an objective/absolute condition, then morality is objective/absolute & relativism is false  Is happiness an objective condition?  What is happiness?  Can we be mistaken about our own happiness? 4

5.  If relativism were true, then what the Nazis did would have been right (for them)  However, what the Nazi’s did was not right for them or for anyone  So, relativism is false 5

6.  Socrates’ children are better off by his death than exile. (Absolutism)  We do not know whether death actually is a evil. Hence, we can’t appeal to the evil of death as a reason to escape  What of the injustice of the death sentence? Is civil disobedience just? 6

7.  Why does Socrates oppose civil disobedience?  His implicit contract with Athens  Promise to obey all laws, regardless of how they are enforced  Is this a binding promise?  Stability of Athens as a condition of Socrates happiness throughout life  Life’s overall quality & the final act  To have lived well, Socrates must accept execution now  Compare the artist’s last brush stroke or the parent’s dying act  Too much is too much: Just as moderation in eating is better than excess, so too not living “too long” is better than living too long. 7