Plato's Apology of Socrates and Crito

Socrates' Sides With?

Through my reading of Plato's Apology of Socrates and Crito, I have been able to see how Socrates makes important decisions and what he primarily bases his decisions on. As a individual person we have individual morals which lead us to our own moral or immoral decisions. Sometimes are own morals or beliefs might oppose the views of the state or the enforced law that clams to find justice. In this case we rely on our own beliefs that may be through passed down morals or through ones belief in a higher power to find justice. In my view I feel that Socrates respects the states law and ability to find justice but is willing to question it when his own morals or views on justice conflict with the states. With this idea in mind, I feel that Socrates would also take the same actions as Antigone in Sophocles's Antigone.

The story Antigone takes place in Thebes where Antigone's uncle Creon is the temporary king until Antigone's twin brothers Eteocles and Polyneices grow to an age where they can take over the thrown. when they became of age Creon was to choose one to take the throw. Polyneices thought that he would be king because he was the first born, but when Creon chose Eteocles to take the thrown. Polyneices was outraged and left Thebes and went to the neighboring city to fight against Thebes and ended up dying in battle, and Eteocles also died. Eteocles received a military burial with all the bells and whistles while Polyneices was sworn by Creon to receive no burial. Antigone decides that the ruling made by her uncle is unjust and goes against the king and secretly buries her brother because she feels that family comes before the state and even though he betrayed the state and fought against it he is family and therefore deserves to at least be buried. So the rest of the play is about Antigone's views on justice vs. her uncles views.

Creon as King of Thebes feels that although he is related to Polyneices he must rule with only the state in mind. Creon says to the people publicly, 'Polyneices, I say, shall have no burial';(Antigone 197) This shows the citizens that he has only the state in mind and will also help him to bring the people together so that they will respect him and back his authority.

Antigone sees the o...

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...unjust act. One supporting the Creon side may also say that since Socrates ended up sticking with his sentence and not escaping that he follows the laws handed down by the state. So by these few examples one could see other sides point of view

Is this side stronger than the side of Antigone? In my view Socrates siding with Antigone out weighs his siding with Creon. Here are some main points why I believe that Socrates would side with Antigone and not Creon. Antigone and Socrates both believe that there is a higher power than the state that commands them. With this believe they both feel that they are willing to risk death for what they believe in. They both also hold their families at a high level and would not want to see them hurt. we obviously know this to be true with Antigone and Socrates hints towards this same idea in the Apology when he says that he could have brought his family to the trial to show their grief but he would not want to put them through that for something that he has done. From this evidence that I have shown I strongly feel that Socrates would side with Antigone and he would have down the same if he was put in that situation.