Reviews for Socrates Dissatisfied: An Analysis of Plato's Crito

The average rating for Socrates Dissatisfied: An Analysis of Plato's Crito based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-07-17 00:00:00 Gift Cardholder TBC later. Ch.1 ' Remaining at the Station Unity: In his Apology, Socrates is only beholden to the mandates of practical reason, which he takes to be divine. Indeed, it is to such mandates that he has dedicated his entire life ' seeking to improve individual Athenians by means of rational elenchus and an imbued care for justice. Socrates consistently answers to no higher authority. Plurality: 1. Does S. hold that blind obedience is good? 1. Yes to a god, because gods are infallible, and also because only critical inquiry in pursuit of justice (i.e. philosophy) constitutes obedience to a god. Otherwise, one should only submit to authority "thinking it to be best" (ἡγησάμενος βελτίστον εἶναι). 2. Does Socrates unqualifiedly obey the law? 1. No, esp. in the case of Leon of Salamis, Socrates often seems to disobey the law (though only when he thinks the law conflicts with Justice. Whether Socrates considers such laws to be truly laws rather than merely laws so-called is an open question. 3. Is Athens Special? 1. Not in-itself, but insofar as it tolerates the radical opinions of native citizens better than it tolerates the opinions of Socrates, Soc. prefers it to another city. He thinks that if he were to participate in the elenchus as a foreigner, he would be far less persuasive than if he were a native. cf. Meno here. 4. Socrates' Daimon 1. Daimon is Socrates' peripheral subconscious reminding his conscious mind that a given action is or is not consistent with his own predetermined convictions. It is the embodiment Socrates' moral mindfulness. 5. Proper Conduct in Court: 1. Socrates will not stoop so low as to beg the jury with pleading and crying, for to do so would be to persuade them by coercion rather than reason. In so doing, Socrates would be disrespecting the institutions of Athens. 6. Proper Penalties: 1. Socrates will only propose good (Prytaneum) or neutral (fine) penalties, since to propose bad (in the sense of Harmful of his capacity to practice philosophy), would be to inflict injustice upon himself. Socrates sees prison and exile as bad because they will hamper his continued ability to do philosophy. 1. How does exile harm his capacity to do philosophy? Doesn't death harm his capacity to do philosophy too? 7. Hades**: 1. Ch. 2: Crito Unity: Crito's dogged care for Socrates' life and reputation, as well as his personal wealth and use of bribery and willingness to overturn the law, demonstrate that he is fundamentally unphilosophical, and therefore, one of the many. Plurality: 1. C as S's Friend 1. Crito and Socrates are childhood friends who grew up to be very different people, but remained friends because that's how they'd always been. (Crito is Jack). 2. Unphilosophical 1. Crito thinks that death constitutes a real harm to Socrates (which Socrates vehemently disproved in Apology), and proposes that Socrates breaks his word on that ground. This is a position held by the unphilosophical many. Additionally, in other dialogues (particularly Meno and Euthydemus), Crito is made out by Plato to be somewhat unphilosophical, and concerned with material, not spiritual wealth. 3. Crito's Morality 1. Help out your friends and harm your enemies. Weiss claims that it doesn't matter to Crito whether or not Socrates was convicted unjustly or not. 4. Is Crito Moral? 1. Not in the least. Bribes the guard, cares for money. He's just about as good as the best Athenian gentleman. 5. How does Crito address Socrates? 1. daddy Ch. 3: Socrates' philosophical argument: Unity: Socrates' first argument to Crito sufficiently proves his position, but because Crito (as portrayed by Plato) is unphilosophical, Socrates must switch to the argument of the laws. Plurality: 1. S's Procedure for Solving Moral Problems 1. Only act on what you have decided to be just on rational deliberation OR submit to a genuine moral expert. 2. Injustice is always bad and justice is always good. 1. the many will not agree with this. 3. Escaping prison must be done against the explicit will of the Athenians, and so will require subterfuge/bribery. 1. Since subterfuge is often bad (see Apol.), we should examine this case further 2. S's Principles 1. Injustice is always bad and never good 1. Therefore one should never do injustice 2. Therefore one should not do injustice in return. 2. Doing harm to human beings is (at least) a kind of at justice (if not perfectly equivalent to injustice) 1. Therefore one should never do it 2. Therefore one should never do it in return 3. S's Argument against escape 1. We don't know whether death is good or bad, but we do know that certain actions are bad. 2. In a choice 3. One must never do wrong, because it is always bad for the agent. All harms (κακουργεῖν) are wrong. To submit. to bribes and flattery is necessary to escape. Bribes and flattery harm one's soul (unqualifiedly?). therefore, to escape would be bad. 4. S as C's friend. Reread! Ch 4: The Laws =/= Socrates Unity: Socrates' does not agree with the Speech presented to Crito the Laws, but gives it because Crito has repeatedly proven to not understand Socrates' original reason. * Perhaps Socrates gives it as a test, rather than as a lie. If Crito accepts the faulty reasoning, then he really is one of the many. Plurality: 1. Protecting Crito 1. Socrates takes the full brunt of the Law's criticism, and does not accuse Crito of wrongdoing. 2. "Like an Orator" 1. The reference to the laws speaking "like an orator" by Socrates tips us off that the Laws do not represent Socrates' own views. Socrates, as he notes in the Apology, abhors Orators. 3. The Citizen's Agreement: 1. Socrates only agrees to obey the laws if they are just, not unqualifiedly, whereas the laws demand unqualified obedience. This should tip us off that the Laws' argument is not Socrates' argument. Ch 5: "Whatever we bid" Unity: The Laws demand complete obedience from their subjects on the grounds that Laws have a parental-relationship to their citizens. Unlike Crito, the Laws believe that there is something that Citizens should value above and beyond death ' namely, obedience to the state's dictums ' but they differ from Socrates in that they do not think justice requires rational deliberation from the perspective of the agent ' only blind submission. 1. City as Parent and Master 1. Why does Laws-as-parent imply Laws-as-master? 2. Argument from Agreement: 1. Socrates has lived in Athens his whole life, therefore he must be satisfied. 2. Socrates scoffs at "proofs in deed" in the apology, saying that they don't constitute adequate proof to convict. 3. Escape benefits Nobody. 1. This shows all the more clearly that the Laws probably are not Socrates' opinions, because Socrates explicitly does not care whether one way the other about benefits to reputation, children, etc. 2. This argument does defuse Crito's point tho. Ch 6: The Corybantic Cure: Ch. 7: Socrates is Crito's friend: * I'm lying to help you Crito. Improve your soul even in the smallest. * See laws here and why Plato says that kids should follow laws. * Why does Socrates lie here when otherwise subterfuge/lying would be bad, even though it would improve the Athenians. Ch 7: Socrates the Radical:

Review # 2 was written on 2021-01-04 00:00:00 Pablo Tramazaygues Pamies [HARRY's apartment from When Harry Met Sally. HARRY is asleep on his couch. On the table next to him are a mostly-empty bottle of bourbon and a copy of Phaedrus. Enter SOCRATES.] SOCRATES: Good evening, Harry. HARRY: How-- SOCRATES: Don't worry, I'm not real. This is a dream. HARRY: Uh-- SOCRATES: I see you're reading Phaedrus. Looking for advice, maybe? HARRY: I-- I just can't understand how I could have done it. Why did I fuck her? I've ruined everything. SOCRATES: You're sure about that? HARRY: We had such a great thing going. We weren't, like, dating, so we could hang out and have fun and talk. There wasn't any jealousy or possessiveness or any of that crap. It was perfect. SOCRATES: Because you weren't lovers, you could enjoy each other's company much more? HARRY: Exactly. We did so many goofy things. You know, there was this one time we were in a diner together... SOCRATES: And what happened? HARRY: It doesn't matter. All over. SOCRATES: You seem very upset, Harry. HARRY: Of course I'm upset! It was the best relationship I've ever had. And now I've just flushed it down the can. I must have been crazy. SOCRATES: Maybe it's not such a bad idea to be crazy sometimes? HARRY: Oh, puh-lease. Don't give that mad-people-are-the-only-sane-ones bullshit. It's not going to help. SOCRATES: Come on, think about it Harry. Whenever you've done anything difficult or creative in your life, weren't you a little crazy? People shook their heads. But sometimes it worked and you felt really good about it afterwards. HARRY: Okay, Socrates, I see where you're going. But this time I just screwed up. That's all there is to it. SOCRATES: And it's particularly true with romance. Have you ever made an important romantic decision and not wondered at least once if you weren't doing something totally insane that you'd regret later? HARRY: Well, now you mention it-- SOCRATES: In everyday life, one must of course act sanely. But with religion and art and love, a little insanity is essential. HARRY: Hm-- SOCRATES: Here, let me give you this picture I sometimes use to help me focus on my own romantic life. When I want to imagine my soul, I see it as this guy driving a chariot with two winged horses. There's one good horse and one bad horse-- HARRY: You know, you were almost talking sense there for a moment, but now you're losing me again. What's My Little Pony got to do with it? SOCRATES: No, no, Harry! This isn't about children's toys, this is serious. The good horse is noble and obedient, but the bad one is full of base instincts. When it sees the loved one-- HARRY: Say, let me just ask you a direct question. What is your romantic life, exactly? SOCRATES: Well, mostly oral sex with underage boys. Some anal. But the whole point of the analogy is that I try to keep it under-- HARRY: So I'm taking romantic advice from a pedophile? SOCRATES: Now Harry, you need to remember that we belong to different cultures. In my society, what you regard as-- HARRY: I'm waking up now. [SOCRATES disappears. A moment later, HARRY is sitting up on his couch, rubbing his eyes. In the background, the sound of scattered fireworks.] HARRY: What the-- [He looks at his watch, which shows 18 minutes to midnight. Suddenly, he grabs his coat and opens the door] HARRY: I might just be in time. If I run.