Plato: Selections These Dialogues Present Several of the Main Ideas of Socrates's

question 27

Essay

Plato: Selections
These dialogues present several of the main ideas of Socrates's moral philosophy, including the views that one's primary concern should be cultivating justice within oneself, and that true wisdom consists of being aware of one's ignorance. By writing in dialogue, Plato also introduces Socrates's method of doing philosophy via the give and take of rational discussion.
In the Euthyphro, Socrates interrogates a young Athenian about the nature of holiness. When Euthyphro claims to know what the holy is, Socrates pressures him to provide a definition. After several initial attempts to do so are unsuccessful, Euthyphro proposes that the holy is what all the gods love, and the unholy is what all the gods hate. Socrates responds with a now-famous question: "Is the holy loved by the gods because it is holy? Or is it holy because it is loved?" When Euthyphro replies that the gods love things because they are holy, Socrates points out that this definition implies that things are holy prior to the gods' love for them. Thus Socrates complains that Euthyphro has not explained what it is to be holy. The dialogue closes without arriving at any satisfactory definition of the holy.
In the Defence of Socrates, Socrates is on trial for corrupting the young and failing to acknowledge the gods of Athens. Over the course of his defense, Socrates tells the story of how he came to be a philosopher, and claims that his superior wisdom consists in knowing that he is ignorant of things that other people falsely claim to know. Socrates also claims that death is not to be feared, for we do not know whether death is truly a harm or not. Despite his defense, Socrates is convicted and sentenced to death.
In the Crito, Socrates is in prison awaiting his sentence when he is approached by a friend, who argues that he should try to escape punishment. Socrates argues that by choosing to live in Athens, he has agreed to follow the laws of the city, and therefore it would be unjust for him to escape from prison. Because Socrates values justice more than he values his own life, he chooses to remain in prison. His sentence is carried out in the excerpt of the Phaedo printed here.
The Republic is Plato's masterpiece, and is a long reflection on the nature of justice, both at the level of the city-state and within an individual. Just as in the Euthyphro Socrates sought an account of the nature of holiness, here he seeks to know what it is for a person or a state to be just, and whether a just life is preferable to an unjust one. For this purpose, Socrates presents a detailed description of what he regards as the ideal city, ruled by philosopher kings. Just as the just city is ruled by philosophers, Socrates claims that a just soul is ruled by its rational part. One of the primary conclusions of the dialogue is that the life of a just person is also happiest.
-In the Crito, what arguments does Crito make to persuade Socrates to try to escape from prison? How does Socrates respond to these arguments? Who do you think has the stronger case, and why?

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