How does “Crito” by Plato weave into our previous discussions on legal philosophy, society,

morality, and justice?

The discussion in "Crito" by Plato addresses issues of justice, obligation, and the
relationship between the individual and the state. “Crito” by Plato taught us important
lessons that can be referred to as the key concepts from our previous lessons in Philo.

1. The popular opinion isn’t always valid:

Crito's worry about getting a bad name for failing to save his friend can be used to illustrate
this lesson. There is a deeper lesson here, which is to accept the truth before you examine
it

2. Life ought to be lived in virtue and justice. Given its length, there should be a
preferential indifference:
Even though he was falsely accused and given a sentence, Socrates argues that men, not
the law, had mistreated him and that to escape his punishment would constitute a crime. As
a result, he would violate his moral code out of incapacity, fear, and inequity, which for a
philosopher would be the equivalent of life being useless.

3. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind:

As quoted from the speech of Mahatma Gandhi, this phrase is saying it is always wrong to
perform an injustice (escape from prison) in response to an injustice (being falsely accused
due to social prejudice).

4. True friends will share the burden of your responsibility:

This questions the fact of how Socrates' friends won't care for his sons after his death if
they commit to do so when he's escaped and living in another place.

5. The rational laws imply no evil, man’s irrational interpretation is what produces
evil:
In order to do this, Socrates creates a personification of the laws of Athens and uses its
perspective as an argument for the state and its decision against Socrates.
Had Socrates violated the law, what message would he be sending to the people? Any
man can break the law if the laws were unfair, which would cause chaos in the city of
Athens. Socrates also had the option to select exile over execution, but he insisted on the
latter because he had done nothing wrong.

PHILOLAW S7 | Manalese, L.M.