"The Trial and Death of Socrates"

Paper Summary:

In this paper the author explores why Socrates refused to escape his death sentence in the tragedy "The Trial and Death of Socrates." Although Socrates had opportunities to flee the prison, the author argues that Socrates felt escape would have been acting unjustly. Socrates did not want to manipulate the jury with his dialogue or use any other means except his beliefs to defend himself. The author sees the final decision of the court to be unjust in many ways. However, the author feels Socrates' acceptance of the death sentence upheld his moral beliefs.

From the Paper:

" To Socrates, for anyone to live well, their soul must be in the best possible state. To achieve this state one must not commit any unjust acts. Committing an unjust act corrupts a person and ultimately harms their soul. For Socrates, having a corrupted soul, prevents him from living the best possible life. While speaking to Crito, Socrates states that "life [is not] worth living for us with [the soul] corrupted" (47e). This statement meaning that a life is not worth living unless you live it well. This can mean doing or seeking what someone's purpose in life is. To Socrates this purpose, or how he lives well, is by pursuing what is true and just. Since he can not know what is just, he must always be seeking it. He also says that one can not properly pursue what is good and just if one's soul is unjust or corrupt. Therefore, for Socrates to live a fulfilling life, he must never do anything unjust act that would harm his soul and prevent him from seeking what is just and true. For this reason, fleeing is not an option because an unjust act like that would harm his soul."

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