Hauptli's Lecture Supplement on Plato's Crito:
Copyright © 2015 Bruce W. Hauptli
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1. Introduction:
Socrates is convicted of corrupting the youth and vilifying
the gods and after this trial one of his friends comes to him and details a plan
for escape. In response Plato’s
Socrates asks if it can ever be right to defend oneself against evil by doing
evil. Granted that it was unjust to
condemn him to death, can it be right for him to escape by breaking the law?
What will happen to a state if individual men are able to set aside the
laws?
Two senses of ‘law’ (law in general
vs. the specific laws of a particular state):
Nature/Convention:
Is the polis natural? Is it
conventional?
On the need for law—traffic rules, for example.
For Plato, man as a
social animal.
While Athens (the particular City-State) is not natural,
society is natural and necessary for man!
We saw that Euthyphro was not a philosopher, and thus we should ask “Is
Crito a philosopher, like Socrates?”
Clearly, unlike Euthyphro, Meletus, Anytus, and many others, Crito is
Plato’s friend. Moreover, it is
clear that Crito has been exposed to many of Socrates’ philosophical
discussions. Of course, these
factors do not, on their own establish that he is a philosopher.
In her Socrates Dissatisfied: An
Analysis of Plato’s Crito, Roslyn Weiss argues, contrary to the more common
picture, that Crito has an “unphilosophical nature”[1]
maintaining that:
since it was fully expected of an Athenian gentleman that he
put the welfare of friends and family above fidelity to the city and its laws,
Crito’s readiness to break the law in order to save the life of his friend might
well be simply the right thing to do by Athenian standards.
Crito is certainly no worse from a moral perspective than his peers.
And his offenses and potential offenses involve little more than fibbing
and using money in mildly unsavory ways....it is practices such as these that
Socrates seeks to discourage. Just
as Socrates condemns the begging and wailing and other such behaviors that are
regularly employed in court to secure life and freedom, so he shuns practices
such as bending the truth and offering money for the sake of achieving similar
ends. As Socrates sees it, that one
indulges in behaviors such as these indicates deficiencies in one’s soul.[2]
Thus, we will have to look at what Crito says, does, and
agrees to as we try to determine whether he should be counted along with Plato’s
Socrates as a philosopher.
2. The Text:
[divided into three parts]
A. The Expert vs. The Many [44c-49e]:
the “second part” will be: “justice and fairness” [49b-50a]
and
the “third part” will be “the Law’s Speeches” [50b-end].
44c Crito: If you die, I’ll be deprived of a unique friend
and many will think ill of me because I
did nothing to aid you.
44d Crito: The opinion of the
majority [or “the many”]
must be regarded—as your condition shows, they are capable of doing great
harm!
Soc: The many can not do great harm or good.
45a-46 Crito: A plan for escape which will not harm
Socrates or his friends, a new city to live in, and reasons to go.
Others will help—no one will suffer; men will love you in those other
places, think of your children and their education, think of your reputation and
of your friends.
46b Soc: Dear Crito, your zeal is invaluable, if a right
one, but if wrong the greater the zeal, the greater the evil...We must examine
whether.....
...I am the kind of man who listens only to the argument that on reflection
seems best to me.
-Does Plato’s Socrates mean that he only listens to the
argument that pleases him (and him
only)? That is, what determines
whether an argument is worthy—personal decision based on arbitrary likes and
dislikes? Contrast and compare this
passage with passage on 49d regarding “let this be the basis of our
deliberations.”
--One scholar, Ronald Polansky, usefully translates this
passage as: “I am the kind of man who listens only to the best arguments
(logos).”[3]
It is clear that this expresses Socrates’ basic attitude—it is
philosophic argument that “moves” him, and it is this sort of argument that he
thinks should “move” others also. As
the Euthyphro and
Apology show, others are not so
“moved,” however, and given this Socrates must sometimes “tell stories,” rather
than argue. In this dialogue, he
will try the path of philosophic argument first with Crito.
-Contrast this passage with the one in the
Euthyphro [33d] where he claims that what he is doing has “been
enjoined by the gods”—is Plato’s Socrates primarily on a “divine mission
enjoined by the gods,” appealing to “the gods” to help Athenians understand his
“activity” of philosophizing, or some combination of both (it is the right thing
to do in and of itself, and would be approved by gods worthy of piety)?
In addition, contrast this passage with the one in the
Apology
[33c-d] where he says that his philosophical activity has been
ordained by the god(s) by all possible signs and portents.
This raises the question “How pious
is Plato’s Socrates?” See the
supplement
“Socrates, Divine Voices, and Listening [Only] To Reason” on the course
website.
46d Soc: Some opinions, and the opinions of some men only,
are to be valued...[Shouldn’t we listen to the one expert
if
there is such a person?]
-Physical training example (expert trainer and others—whose
advise should we take?).
-47d-48e Soc: with regard to the just and unjust, the shameful
and beautiful, the good and bad—should we follow the opinion of the many and
fear it or that of one, if there is one who has knowledge of these things, who has
knowledge of these things? If we do
not follow his directions, we shall harm and corrupt that part of ourselves that
is improved by just actions and destroyed by unjust actions.
--Note that Plato does not imply that there is such an expert
here! However, if there is no such
expert, then there is little we can do which is right except engage in
dialectic: when there are no experts and the knowledge is important, we must
seek it ourselves using the best critical tools at our disposal!
The only other choice seems to be to allow hatred, anger, and hostility
to manifest themselves—cf.
Euthyphro 7d-e.
--47d One translator, Hugh Tredennick, translates the passage
as: “...what we ought to consider is not so much what people in general will say
about us but how we stand with the expert in right and wrong, the one authority,
who represents the actual truth.”[4]
47d-48c Soc: Bodily metaphor—health
and disease. Is life worth
living with a body that is corrupted and in bad condition?
-47e-48c Soc: And the soul [psyche] is more important than the
body!
-So we should not listen to what the many say about justice.
-48b While “the many are able to put us to death,” “...the
most important thing is not life, but the good life.”
B. Justice and Escape [49b-50a]:
49d “So then consider very carefully whether we have this
view in common, and whether you agree, and let this be the basis of our
deliberation, that neither to do wrong or to return a wrong is ever right, not
even to injure in return for an injury received.
Or do you disagree and do not share this view as a basis for discussion?
I have held it for a long time and still hold it now....”
Crito indicates that he continues to hold to this principle.
-What is it that Crito would have Socrates do?
-Does this passage suggest that Plato’s Socrates
does know things after all?
Does he claim to know that it is never right to return a wrong for a
wrong?[5]
49e Soc: “...when one has come to
an agreement that is just with
someone, should one fulfill it or cheat on it?”
Crito agrees that one should
fulfill such agreements.
-“See what follows from this: if we leave here without the
city’s permission, are we injuring people whom we should least injure?
And are we sticking to a just agreement or not?”
-Here Plato’s Socrates is simply asking Crito to complete what
should be an easy inference from what has transpired thus far in the dialogue,
and in the Apology (of which he is, of course, supposed to be fully aware):
--1. Crito should be fully aware that there has been an
“agreement” on Socrates’ part to the punishment.
He had the opportunity at the time of the trial to propose banishment
(along with a jail term, and he was certainly aware that the jury would have
found it acceptable. But he did not
take this alternative then, because he felt that it would be
wrong for him to propose this
punishment. Roslyn Weiss maintains
that “for Socrates, the injustice of proposing imprisonment or exile is related
to the following two facts: (1) that he would be
proposing—not merely submitting to—these punishments and (2) that
these punishments are “bad.””[6]
Of course, Crito should also be aware that this “agreement” was a
carefully considered one that Plato’s Socrates entered into fully consciously.
--2. Given the above principles (that is, it is never right to
return a wrong for a wrong, and not right to cheat upon just agreements), which
Crito has indicated he accepts, clearly, then,
--3. It would be wrong for Socrates to escape from
jail. Given the views expressed (and
accepted by Crito) earlier in this dialogue, we should not listen to “the many,”
nor should we care about the things they care about (the body, what they view as
honor, etc.), but, instead, should devote ourselves to the soul (psyche) and its
care.
--4. Since Plato’s Socrates (and presumably Crito) is the sort
of man who listens only to the best argument (46b), and since we seem clearly
led here, Crito should agree!
50a But, Crito indicates that he doesn’t understand!
How can this be? If he has
truly agreed with Socrates about the principle that it is wrong to return a
wrong for a wrong; agreed about the relative roles of the experts and the many,
and about the relative importance of the body and soul; and understands why
Socrates could not propose one of the alternate penalties; then how could Crito
not, at this point, understand why Socrates can not escape?
Because Crito doesn’t properly digest the philosophic arguments here,
Socrates tries a different tactic—he gives Law a voice, and asks it to speak to
Crito.
-Critical Comment: Is Plato’s argument as strong as it appears?
Aren’t there a number of cases in which one is allowed (perhaps even
required) to fail to act upon a “just agreement?”
For example think of cases where there is a competing and higher
obligation, or where one has been released from the agreement, or, even, if the
morally relevant surrounding circumstances change?
In such cases, it would seem, Plato’s principle is not quite right.
C. The Law’s Speeches [50a-end]:
In her Socrates
Dissatisfied: An Analysis of Plato’s Crito, Roslyn Weiss maintains that:
“Socrates’ hopes fade in the face of Crito’s admission [at 50a] that he
does not understand. Socrates can no
longer ignore the gulf that separates Crito from him.
He accepts now, for the first time that Crito will not be persuaded
through rational argument. It is at
this point that Socrates makes the greatest sacrifice for his friend: he steps
aside, transferring the argument to the Laws.
The Laws will speak to Crito in a way that Crito understands; they will
produce a “willing” Crito. But they
will not engage Crito in elenctic exchange, and they will not defend Socratic
principles.”[7]
50b Laws: “Socrates, you would overturn the state.”
-Right of the state to punish—note that the laws are not defending
the judgment against Socrates, but instead the necessity (for the state) that
the punishment dictated by its laws be fulfilled.
Without this possibility, could a state exist?
[49 d] “...by this action you are attempting to destroy us, the laws, and
indeed the whole city....Or do you think it possible for a city not to be
destroyed if the verdicts of its courts have no force but are nullified and set
at naught by private individuals?”
50d-51c The City Is Like A Parent [50c-51c]:
-Note that this discussion of what one owes parents also
tells us something about Euthyphro’s activity against his father!
-51c-d You must either persuade it or obey its orders.
--Which sense of ‘persuade’ is relevant here?
--Note he allows a distinction between what the state says and
what is right.
--Refer back to 46b-d (“I am the kind of man who listens only
to the argument that on reflection seems best to me”).
If Plato’s Socrates is advancing this view (rather than it being the view
of the Laws only), is he claiming that (a) one must obey if one doesn’t
persuade, (b) one must do only what critical reflection dictates, or (c) where
one does not succeed with one’s “persuasive efforts” (and where what critical
reflection and the laws of the state differ), one may [or must] continue trying
to persuade? What happens when there
is little or no hope that others would either listen or be “moved” by rational
argumentation? What, exactly, is the
relationship between social obligation and critical reflection for Plato?
52 You Have Several Agreements With the City [51d-53a]:
(A) An implied
agreement with Athens:
-you stayed in this city;
-you have served in the military;
-you have not chosen to move to another city;
-you have raised your children here.
(B) An explicit
agreement with Athens (trial and refusal of banishment as the punishment):
-52d-e You could have fixed your punishment at banishment!
-52e-53a “You are breaking the undertakings and agreements
that you made with us without compulsion or deceit, and under no pressure of
time for deliberation.”
53b There is No Advantage in Escaping [53b-54d]:
-you will forsake your agreements,
-your friends will suffer,
-well-governed states will not welcome you,
-you will confirm the view that you corrupt,
-what sort of a teacher will you be if you escape,
-54c you are now someone against whom an injustice has been
performed, but you would become someone who has performed an unjust act!
54d The dialogue ends with Socrates’ comments on the Laws’
speeches. While Socrates and the
Laws agree that he should not escape, their arguments are not in perfect accord
with his. In her
Socrates Dissatisfied: An Analysis of
Plato’s Crito, Roslyn Weiss notes that at 54d of the
Crito, Socrates compares the effects
of the speech of the Laws to the Corbantic experience of hearing flutes.
Weiss maintains that: “Corbantes were worshipers of Bacchus.
Their wild and enthusiastic rites featured deafening flute and drum music
and furious dancing.”[8]
She also notes that “the Corbantic condition, then, is one bordering on
mania, involving psychic disturbance and disorder.
The externally imposed disorder of wild and loud music and dancing is
designed to vanquish the inner disorder of fear and hysteria.
The therapy provided for disturbed souls by the Corbantic flutes, then,
takes the form of an exaggerated version of the very malady it is meant to cure.
What does it mean for Socrates to compare the effect of the
Laws’ speech to the effect of Corbantic flutes?
The comparison suggests, second, that there might be someone in need of
that cure.
If we ask who it is in the Crito who is agitated and restless
and in need of calming, the answer is Crito.”[9]
(end)
3. Questions:
Is it really
better to be completely just?
Why can he disobey the law by teaching philosophy but not
by escaping?
Is the act of escaping really an unjust one?
-“persuade or obey” where “persuasion” fails;
-explicit agreement and possibility of “competing
obligations;”
-implicit agreements and parenting: a “mad” parent is “due”
devotion?
-advantage: will soul really be harmed if the above
counter-arguments apply?
Remember the noble lie of the
Republic!
Should a philosopher lead a public or a private life?
4. A Background
Critical Comment:
In their “Socratic Method,” Thomas Brickhouse and Nicholas
Smith maintain that:
nothing whatever is said about the need for questioning any of
the premises or for offering additional arguments for truth.
Their continued agreement is sufficient to warrant the use of the
premises in the argument. Given that
the premises rest only on the fact that Socrates and Crito continue to hold
them, it is more reasonable to conclude that Socrates has only shown that
leaving prison is inconsistent with their long-standing principles and that
remaining in prison is consistent with those principles.
Like any other elenctic argument, then, the acceptance or rejection of
the initial claim under examination…turns on whether or not it
contradicts beliefs that are more
basic to both Socrates’ and Crito’s conception of
how best to live. How Socrates and
Crito resolve the issue before them tells us something about what is central to
their conceptions of how it is best for anyone to live: is it prudent for anyone
to commit an injustice in order to preserve one’s own life?[10]
(end)
[1] Roslyn Weiss,
Socrates
Dissatisfied: An Analysis of Plato’s Crito, op.
cit., pp. 43-49.
[2]
Ibid.,
pp. 53-54.
[3] Ronald Polansky,
unpublished Lecture Notes for Plato Seminar at
Duquense University, 1975.
[4] Plato,
Crito,
trans. and ed. Hugh Tredennick, in
Plato: The
Last Days of Socrates (N.Y.: Penguin, 1959).
[5]
Cf.,
Gregory Vlastos, “Socrates’ Disavowal of
Knowledge,”
The
Philosophical Quarterly v. 35 (1985), pp.
1-31.
This essay provides a good discussion of
the issue of “Socratic ignorance.”
[6] Roslyn Weiss,
Socrates
Dissatisfied: An Analysis of Plato’s Crito, op.
cit., p. 28.
[7] Roslyn Weiss,
Socrates
Dissatisfied: An Analysis of Plato’s Crito, op.
cit., p. 83.
[8] Roslyn Weiss,
Socrates
Dissatisfied: An Analysis of Plato’s Crito,
op. cit.,
p. 134.
[9]
Ibid.,
pp. 135-136.
[10] Thomas
Brickhouse and Nicholas Smith, “Socratic
Method,” in their
Plato’s Socrates (N.Y.: Oxford U.P., 1994), pp. 3-29, pp. 24-25.
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