Individual and State

Paper Summary:

A literary review of Socrates "The Apology" and "Crito" focusing on the issues of the individual within society. The writer reflects Socrates belief that the reason human beings come together to form a state in the first place is because human beings have certain needs which can only be fulfilled by the involvement of other people, and in the properly administered state the individual is enabled to fulfill his or her needs. Both pieces represented by the paper show the author's belief that philosophy is the highest of all callings and the aspiration of all men.

From the Paper:

"Plato presents his explicit statement of the relationship between the individual and society--even an unjust society--in the form of the "Apology," the statement of Socrates to the court that ultimately sentences him to death. The speech represents the conflict that often develops between the power of the state and the integrity of the individual. The court gives Socrates an out if he recants his teachings, but he will not do it. Socrates represents the primary social value of inquiry, of the pursuit of philosophy, of the examination of the meaning of life."

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