MAPE Assignment 2: Plato (Essay Sample)

MAPE Assignment 2: Plato Read the dialogue called the Crito and answer the following questions. a) What reasons do Crito and his companions give Socrates for their view that he should escape to safety in some other country? b) How Socrates respond to each of their arguments? c) What is Socrates attitude towards death? MAPE Assignment 2: Plato In the dialogue called Crito by Plato, Crito provides Socrates several reasons why he should escape to Thessaly. First, Crito would lose a friend, whom he adores and is willing to risk his life to save him. Secondly, the execution would tarnish the reputation of Socrates’ friends, as they would be found guilty by association. Thirdly, all the arrangements were in order to ensure his escape and passage to Thessaly, which was a safe haven that would guarantee his safety. Fourthly, Socrates has an obligation to his children to raise them. The fifth reason is that Socrates would collaborate in his death by state assisted suicide. Such a voluntary acceptance of his death was wrong and shameful. Lastly, Socrates was wronged by the city by falsely accusing him. Therefore, he had no obligation to accept his death penalty. Socrates, however, dismisses several of Crito’s arguments in his response. First, Socrates suggests that Crito should not be concerned about how people will think of him and his friends because the opinion of many is not powerful as it cannot do the greatest harm or greatest good. Secondly, Socrates argues that one must never do wrong. Therefore, one must never return a wrong for a wrong. Escaping from prison is the same as justifying wrongdoing because one is wronged, which is against his principles. In addition, one must fulfill just agreements with others. According to Socrates, escaping from prison would mean that he has chosen to violate the just agreement of his punishment that he had accepted at his trial. Consequently, he rejected the idea of escaping from prison. Unlike Crito, Socrates was not scared of death. He had a strong belief in the afterlife and was, therefore, not terrified of dying. He argued that death was a good thing for a moral person. It was a liberation of the soul to discover eternal truths, which was the main purpose of philosophy. At the time of his death, Socrates was in a particularly good mood because he believed he had lived his life in a good way and had no reason to fear death. He believed that a true philosopher should embrace the day of his death as a good one. Works Cited Plato. "Crito." University of Pittsburgh, sites.pitt.edu/~mthompso/readings/crito.pdf. Accessed 2 May 2022. source..