Is it just or unjust for Socrates to accept his punishment and die?

ABSTRACT: In the dialogue, Crito, Socrates justified his decision to accept his death penalty. His decision was praised as principled and just. However, such a view was one of the greatest myths in the history of philosophy.

Why did Socrates accept his sentence?

Unsurprisingly, his jurors did not see the funny side and passed the death sentence by a greater majority than that by which he had been convicted. Instead of fleeing to save his skin, he accepted the verdict, claiming that “he owed it to the city under whose laws he had been raised to honour those laws to the letter.”

What does Socrates say about unjust laws?

“One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty… an individual who breaks a law that consciences tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality …

What did Socrates suggest should be his sentence at the trial?

The accusers of Socrates proposed the punishment of death. In proposing death, the accusers might well have expected to counter with a proposal for exile–a punishment that probably would have satisfied both them and the jury. Instead, Socrates audaciously proposes to the jury that he be rewarded, not punished.

Why does Socrates say it would be unjust for him to break his city’s laws?

Since the Laws exist as one entity, to break one would be to break them all, and in doing so, Socrates would cause them great harm. The citizen is bound to the Laws like a child is bound to a parent, and so to go against the Laws would be like striking a parent.

What sentence did Socrates choose?

It was true that Socrates would teach his philosophies mostly to young men, but eventually the government had had enough, tried him, found him guilty, and sentenced him to death.

What did Socrates believe law?

Abstract: Socrates´ thought of justice and obedience to laws is motivated by a will to avoid the destructive effects of Sophistic criticisms and theories of laws. He thus requires-against theories of natural law-an almost absolute obedience to the law, as far as this law respects the legal system of the city.

What do you think Socrates was trying to achieve when he gave his speech in the apology?

The name of the dialogue derives from the Greek “apologia,” which translates as a defense, or a speech made in defense. Thus, in The Apology, Socrates attempts to defend himself and his conduct–certainly not to apologize for it.