Notes on Plato's Apology and Crito

The Trial of Socrates

• Socrates introduces a new conception of citizenship that emphasizes rational and philosophical engagement, challenging traditional Homeric notions of loyalty and patriotism.

• He claims to have focused on private matters, leading to the question of how citizenship can be devoted to private concerns rather than public ones.

• Socrates' investigations and interrogations in public forums contradict his claim of pursuing a private life.

• His policy of principled abstinence from public life is aimed at avoiding complicity in public injustice.

Socrates' Abstention from Political Life

• Socrates abstained from participating in collective actions that could lead to injustice.

• He refused to join the judgment to condemn and execute the Athenian generals who failed to collect the dead after a battle.

• He refused to assist in the arrest of Leon of Salamis, which would have led to Leon's execution, defying the Thirty Tyrants.

• His moral integrity serves as a litmus test for engaging in political life.

• Socrates' principled disobedience raises questions about whether a citizen can put their conscience above the law, similar to Thoreau's idea of civil disobedience.

Socratic Citizenship

• The question is raised: Can a citizen prioritize their conscience above the law, as Socrates seems to do?

• Hobbes later grapples with whether individual conscience can supersede the law.

• Socrates' concern for his moral integrity leads him to abstain from public life, raising the question of whether politics requires one to "dirty one's hands."

• Hegel describes Socrates as a "beautiful soul" who prioritizes private moral incorruptibility above all else.

Socrates as a Gadfly

• Socrates defends his policy of abstinence by claiming it benefits the city. He defines himself as a gadfly that improves the city's quality of life.

• He argues that his actions are for the benefit of his fellow citizens, asserting that he is a gift from the god.

• Socrates claims he has no choice but to philosophize, as he is acting under a divine command.

• He envelops his conception of citizenship within religious imagery, prompting questions about his sincerity and irony.

Sincerity and Irony

• Socrates' use of religious language could be seen as a way to rebut the charge of impiety and appeal to the jury.

• Declaring himself a gift of the divine could be viewed as ludicrous or as a serious claim of divine calling.

• Socrates maintains that his path is the result of a divine command that has led him to neglect his worldly affairs.

• He presents himself as a human being of unparalleled piety and devotion, willing to risk his life rather than abandon his calling.

• The question remains whether Socrates is sincere or using rhetoric to envelop himself.

The Dilemma of Belief

• Socrates realizes he is in a dilemma because his reference to a divine mission will be taken as irony, while his defense of the examined life on rational grounds will be disbelieved.

• This raises the question of whether Socrates should be tolerated and how far freedom of speech should extend.

• The trial of Socrates is often seen as a case for freedom of thought and discussion, but Plato's teaching may be more nuanced.

• Socrates demands a revolutionary change in Athenian civic life, asserting that the unexamined life is not worth living.

• The question is whether Socrates is a man of high principle or a revolutionary agitator who should not be tolerated.

The Crito

• The Crito presents the city's case against the philosopher, with Socrates making arguments against himself.

• While the Apology denigrates political life, the Crito defends the dignity of the laws and the city.

• The Crito makes a case for obligation and obedience to the law.

• The Apology is a speech before a large audience, while the Crito is a conversation between Socrates and a single individual in a prison cell.

• The Apology presents Socrates as a martyr for philosophy, while the Crito shows his trial and sentence as a case of justice delivered.

Socrates' Contradictory Points of View

• The dialogues differ in content and dramatic context, raising the question of what Plato is trying to convey.

• Crito urges Socrates to escape, but Socrates creates a dialogue between himself and the laws of Athens.

• The argument against escape is that no state can exist without rules, and disobeying the law undermines its authority.

• Breaking a single law calls into question the authority of law as such, constituting anarchy.

Obligation to the Laws

• Citizens owe their existence to the laws that have shaped them.

• The laws exercise a paternal authority, and disobedience is an act of impiety. The Crito is, in some ways, about piety.

• Socrates seems to accept entirely the covenant that binds citizens to absolute obedience, contrasting with his earlier defiance.

Reconciliation of Contradictory Views

• The Apology and the Crito represent a tension between individual reason and the laws of the community.

• One code values sovereign reason, while the other emphasizes the obligation to the community's laws and institutions.

• These represent irreconcilable alternatives, and individuals must choose between them.

The Choice

• The distinction reflects differing views on Socrates' innocence or guilt, philosophical versus political perspectives. This echoes the intro question of the lecture.

• Socrates chooses to stay and drink the hemlock, but one might ask why he cares about the laws if he values his own reason.

• Plato's dialogue, The Laws, features an Athenian stranger in Crete, possibly representing Socrates in exile, but it raises the question of whether Socrates' words to Crito are his true reasons.

• The speech with the laws may be for Crito's benefit rather than Socrates' deepest opinions, reconciling Crito to the laws.

• Socrates remains a "law unto himself" while providing an example of dignified obedience.

Legacy/Impact

• Socrates' death was an act of philosophical martyrdom, intended to favorably promote courage and justice.

• Plato sought to depict Socrates as young and beautiful, fearless before death, dispensing wisdom and refusing injustice.

• Plato's dialogues defend philosophy against accusations and present it as something of value.

Modern Application/Questions

• Most instinctively side with Socrates, overlooking his hostility to democracy and his claims of divine command.

• A responsible body of citizens might extend toleration to civil dissidents, but toleration risks trivializing Socrates' challenge, the Athenians take Socrates seriously.

• Socrates poses a fundamental challenge to their way of life.

• The trial of Socrates prompts reflection on the limits of toleration and whether freedom of speech should trump all other considerations.

• Endless tolerance can lead to intellectual passivity and uncritical acceptance, potentially resulting in nihilism and the abandonment of truth and standards of judgment.