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Who is Crito in the Crito by Plato?
Like many of Plato's dialogues, the Crito takes its name from Socrates' primary interlocutor. Crito is a long-time follower of Socrates, and is deeply distraught at the prospect of Socrates' impending execution.
How is Crito affected by Socrates'impending execution?
Crito is a long-time follower of Socrates, and is deeply distraught at the prospect of Socrates' impending execution. Crito, and some of Socrates' other friends, have pooled together their resources to arrange an escape for their friend and mentor.
What is the setting of Crito and Socrates?
Crito: Summary | SparkNotes The dialogue takes place in Socrates' prison cell, where he awaits execution. He is visited before dawn by his old friend Crito, who has made arrangements to smuggle Socrates out of prison to the safety of exile.
What was Socrates accused of in Euthyphro?
Though enormously respected by students and admirers, he also had powerful enemies, who accused him of two weighty crimes: atheism and the corruption of the youth. "Euthyphro ," the first episode in Plato's Trial and Death of Socrates, takes place outside the courthouse in Athens.
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What is the main point of Crito?
He suggests that one can only maintain good moral standing in one's community by acting in accordance with their values, and that acting in any other way is “shameful.” Crito's argument is therefore premised on his belief that the community is the ultimate judge of right and wrong action.
What is the story of Crito about?
In Plato's Crito, Socrates has been unjustly accused of his crimes by those opposed to him. His friend Crito comes to urge him to escape from the prison where he is being held awaiting execution. Crito argues that people will think Socrates' friends do not care if he does not allow them to help him escape.
Is Crito and Plato the same person?
Crito (/ˈkraɪtoʊ/ KRY-toh or /ˈkriːtoʊ/ KREE-toh; Ancient Greek: Κρίτων [krítɔːn]) is a dialogue that was written by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.
What happens to Socrates in Crito?
In a dialogue with Crito, Socrates considers the proposal, trying to establish whether an act like that would be just and morally justified. Eventually, he came to argue that by rejecting his sentence and by trying to escape from prison he would commit unjust and morally unjustified acts.
What Crito tells Socrates?
Socrates states that if such is the will of God, he is willing to die. However, he is convinced, because of a dream that he experienced that morning, that there will be a delay of one more day. At this point, Crito pleads with Socrates to take his advice and escape from prison.
What arguments does Crito make to Socrates?
One of Crito's strongest arguments in favor of escape comes at 45c, where Crito suggests that Socrates would be abetting the wrong-doing of his enemies in following through with their wishes. Socrates' reply to this argument is that he would in fact be harming the Laws, which are just.
What does Plato say in Crito?
Dear Crito, your zeal is invaluable, if a right one; but if wrong, the greater the zeal the greater the evil; and therefore we ought to consider whether these things shall be done or not.
When did Plato write the Crito?
399 B.C.E.Plato's dialogue "Crito" is a composition originating in 360 B.C.E. that depicts a conversation between Socrates and his rich friend Crito in a prison cell in Athens in the year 399 B.C.E.
What does the word Crito mean?
Crito. Crito ( KRY-toh or KREE-toh; Ancient Greek: Κρίτων [krítɔːn]) is a dialogue by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It depicts a conversation between Socrates and his wealthy friend Crito regarding justice (δικαιοσύνη), injustice (ἀδικία), and the appropriate response to injustice.
Why does Crito think Socrates should escape?
All it would take is a few appropriate bribes, which would not be at all difficult to manage. Crito explains that if Socrates does not escape, no one would believe that he had willingly faced execution. Instead, Crito would be accused of not having helped Socrates, and of valuing his money more than his friend's life.
What does Socrates say about Crito?
At this point, Socrates introduces the voice of the Laws of Athens, which speaks to him and explain why it would be unjust for him to leave his cell.
Where does Crito take place?
Crito: Summary | SparkNotes. The dialogue takes place in Socrates' prison cell, where he awaits execution. He is visited before dawn by his old friend Crito, who has made arrangements to smuggle Socrates out of prison to the safety of exile.
What would happen if Crito stayed?
On a more ethical level, Crito presents two more pressing arguments: first, if he stayed, he would be aiding his enemies in wronging him unjustly, and would thus be acting unjustly himself; and second, that he would be abandoning his sons and leaving them without a father.
What would happen if Socrates broke from prison?
If Socrates were to break from prison now, having so consistently validated the social contract, he would be making himself an outlaw who would not be welcome in any other civilized state for the rest of his life. And when he dies, he will be harshly judged in the underworld for behaving unjustly toward his city's laws.
What is Socrates' duty to the citizen?
These Laws present the citizen's duty to them in the form of a kind of social contract.
Did Socrates' death reflect badly on his friends?
On a practical level, Socrates' death will reflect badly on his friends--people will think they did nothing to try to save him. Also, Socrates should not worry about the risk or the financial cost to his friends; these they are willing to pay, and they have also arranged to find Socrates a pleasant life in exile.
Should Crito worry about Socrates?
Crito should not worry about how his, Socrates', or others' reputations may fare in the general esteem: they should only concern themselves with behaving well. The only question at hand is whether or not it would be just for Socrates to attempt an escape.
Who is the protagonist of the Crito?
Socrates. The protagonist of the Crito (and most of Plato's dialogues). Socrates is one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy, standing at the origin of the rational tradition initiated by himself, Plato, and Aristotle. Socrates himself arguably never advanced any doctrines of his own.
Why are the laws given a voice in the Crito?
The Laws are given a voice in the Crito because, for the Greeks, just or unjust action is something that one does to someone else. Socrates wants to say that escaping from prison would be unjust, but he must also say whom he would be wronging.
What is the name of Socrates' interlocutor?
Like many of Plato's dialogues, the Crito takes its name from Socrates' primary interlocutor. Crito is a long-time follower of Socrates, and is deeply distraught at the prospect of Socrates' impending execution. Crito, and some of Socrates' other friends, have pooled together their resources to arrange an escape for their friend and mentor.
Did Socrates have any doctrines?
Socrates himself arguably never advanced any doctrines of his own. His method consisted more of questioning others who claimed to have great knowledge or wisdom, and through the elenchus, or cross- examination, showing them that they were in fact ignorant.
Did Plato use rhetorical devices?
Thus, Plato is not simply employing a rhetorical device in giving the Laws a voice, he is also substantiating the argument.
Who did Socrates encounter on his way to trial?
On his way to trial, Socrates encounters Euthyphro, a confident Athenian preparing to sue his own father. Naturally, Socrates stops to question Euthyphro regarding the nature of piety. In Plato's dialogues, Socrates draws out seemingly simple discussions, always in search of true forms.
Who was Socrates' pupil?
The life and death of Socrates are enshrined in the works of Plato , Socrates' pupil. Plato lived in Athens from 429 to 347 BCE, where he founded his Academy. Plato, in turn, trained another major figure of the Western Tradition: Aristotle.
Where did Socrates live?
He lived in Athens, from 469 until his execution in 399 BCE. He never wrote a word -- our knowledge of the philosophy of Socrates depends absolutely on the records of his students and contemporaries.
What was Euthyphro accused of?
Though enormously respected by students and admirers, he also had powerful enemies, who accused him of two weighty crimes: atheism and the corruption of the youth. "Euthyphro ," the first episode in Plato's Trial and Death of Socrates, takes place outside the courthouse in Athens.
What was the trial of Socrates?
The trial of Socrates (399 BC) was held to determine the philosopher's guilt of two charges: asebeia ( impiety) against the pantheon of Athens, and corruption of the youth of the city-state; the accusers cited two impious acts by Socrates: "failing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges" and "introducing new deities".
Why is Socrates' trial so mysterious?
The trial of Socrates has always seemed mysterious ... the charges sound vague and unreal ... because behind the stated charges was Socrates's real crime: preaching a philosophy that produced Alcibiades and Critias ... but of course he couldn't be prosecuted for that under the amnesty [which had been declared after the overthrow of the Thirty Tyrants] ... so his accusers made it "not believing the Gods of the city, introducing new gods, and corrupting the youth".
How old was Socrates when he was executed?
Therefore, faithful to his teaching of civic obedience to the law, the 70-year-old Socrates executed his death sentence and drank the hemlock, as condemned at trial. (See: Phaedo )
Why was Socrates guilty of the Thirty Tyrants?
The totalitarian Thirty Tyrants had anointed themselves as the elite, and in the minds of his Athenian accusers, Socrates was guilty because he was suspected of introducing oligarchic ideas to them. Larry Gonick, in his " Cartoon History of the Universe " wrote:
How many jurors were there in Athens?
Although neither Plato nor Xenophon of Athens identifies the number of jurors, a jury of 501 men likely was the legal norm. In the Apology of Socrates (36a–b), about Socrates's defence at trial, Plato said that if just 30 of the votes had been otherwise, then Socrates would have been acquitted (36a), and that (perhaps) less than three-fifths of the jury voted against him (36b). Assuming a jury of 501 , this would imply that he was convicted by a majority of 280 against 221.
How long did Socrates stay with Alcibiades?
Socrates remained Alcibiades' close friend, admirer, and mentor for about five or six years. During his career, Alcibiades famously defected to Sparta, Athens' arch-enemy, after being summoned to trial, then to Persia after being caught in an affair with the wife of his benefactor (the King of Sparta).
Why did Socrates get the death penalty?
The death sentence of Socrates was the legal consequence of asking politico-philosophic questions of his students, which resulted in the two accusations of moral corruption and impiety. At trial, the majority of the dikasts (male-citizen jurors chosen by lot) voted to convict him of the two charges; then, consistent with common legal practice voted to determine his punishment and agreed to a sentence of death to be executed by Socrates's drinking a poisonous beverage of hemlock .
What is the death of Socrates?
The Death of Socrates ( French: La Mort de Socrate) is an oil on canvas painted by French painter Jacques-Louis David in 1787. The painting focuses on a classical subject like many of his works from that decade, in this case the story of the execution of Socrates as told by Plato in his Phaedo. In this story, Socrates has been convicted of corrupting the youth of Athens and introducing strange gods, and has been sentenced to die by drinking poison hemlock. Socrates uses his death as a final lesson for his pupils rather than fleeing when the opportunity arises, and faces it calmly. The Phaedo depicts the death of Socrates and is also Plato's fourth and last dialogue to detail the philosopher's final days, which is also detailed in Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito .
Who consulted David on Socrates' death?
Although he consulted Father Adry, a scholar on the subject, David's depiction of Socrates' death contains many historical inaccuracies. He removed many characters originally described in the dialogues of Plato.
What is Socrates' final lesson?
Socrates uses his death as a final lesson for his pupils rather than fleeing when the opportunity arises, and faces it calmly. The Phaedo depicts the death of Socrates and is also Plato's fourth and last dialogue to detail the philosopher's final days, which is also detailed in Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito .
What does the signature of Socrates mean?
His initials under Plato are a reference to the fact that the story comes from Plato, a thanks for the inspiration. His fuller signature under Crito means that this is the character whom the artist identifies most with.
Why is Socrates so calm?
Socrates is stoic and calm because he sees death as a separate, actual realm, a different state of being from life but not an end to being.
What color is David's Oath of the Horatii?
The only two serene men, Socrates and Plato, are garbed in a contrasting bluish-white. The more muted color scheme of this painting may be a response to critics of David's Oath of the Horatii, who called his colors "garish ".
When was David's death of Socrates painted?
Vidal states that "the younger of Trudaine de Montigny's [ fr] two sons commissioned David's Death of Socrates in 1786", but Bordes says that "the drawing for Socrates…bears the unexpected date of 1782.". However, it is possible that the commission in 1786 was for a painting ...
Why was Socrates sentenced to death?
This old man is Socrates who is sentenced to death by the Athenian government for corrupting the youth and not acknowledging the Gods of the city. Socrates is surrounded by men of different ages, most of them showing a range of emotional distress, unlike him, who remains calm. Plato mentioned in Phaedo that Socrates could have escaped in exile ...
How to read Socrates' death?
Reading ‘The Death of Socrates’ 1 Right in the middle of the painting, an old man wearing a white robe sits upright on a bed. His left hand is in the air projecting a fierce gesture and his right hand is extended over a cup that contains poison hemlock. This old man is Socrates who is sentenced to death by the Athenian government for corrupting the youth and not acknowledging the Gods of the city. 2 Socrates is surrounded by men of different ages, most of them showing a range of emotional distress, unlike him, who remains calm. Plato mentioned in Phaedo that Socrates could have escaped in exile but instead he chooses to die. He teaches the last lesson of his philosophy to courageously embrace death.
What is the space between the left hand of Socrates and the cup?
The space between the left hand of Socrates and the cup holds the center of the image and the man holding the cup cannot look into Socrates' eyes and is shown in utter pain.
What is the significance of Socrates' painting?
After the American Revolution, United States became the first liberal democracy and appreciated this art piece for depicting Socrates, who was ideally the first reformer challenging the political status quo.
Who said "to fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not,?
Plato mentioned in Phaedo that Socrates could have escaped in exile but instead he chooses to die. He teaches the last lesson of his philosophy to courageously embrace death. “To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know.
Who signed the painting of Socrates?
In the background, Socrates' wife, Xanthippe is shown in distress, waving her right hand and moving up the stairs. David, the painter, has signed the painting at two places. The initials are placed at a short stool on which Plato and Crito are sitting.
Who is the man leaning against the wall in the Arch of Socrates?
The man leaning against the wall within the arch is Apollodorus, a student of Socrates, who is shown with extreme grief and sorrow.