Subject Areas |
Art and Culture
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Philosophy |
History and Social Studies
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World History - Ancient World |
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World History - Human Rights |
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Time Required |
| One to two class periods |
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Skills |
| information gathering and research skills
critical thinking
historical issues analysis
argumentation
Internet skills
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Additional Data |
| Date Created: 05/21/02 |
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Date Posted |
| 4/11/2002 |
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Argument in an Athenian Jail: Socrates and the Law
Introduction
This
lesson focuses on the Crito, in which Socrates argues against the idea
that he should escape the penalty of death imposed on him by Athens, laying the
groundwork for future debates over the rights of the individual and the rule of
law. Students read the dialogue and analyze its arguments in class discussion,
extending the dialogue by adding themselves to it. They then consider how Socrates
might have responded to extenuating circumstances: for example, if his sentence
had been imposed by a tyrant rather than in a trial, or if it had been influenced
by prejudice. To conclude, students consider whether this Socratic argument still
holds true today, finding examples in contemporary American society to demonstrate
their point of view.
Learning Objectives
(1) To learn about Socrates and his significance within
Western civilization; (2) To analyze the arguments on the rule of law that Socrates
presents in the Crito; (3) To explore the claims of law on personal conscience;
(4) To consider the relationship between individual rights and the rule of law
in contemporary society.
1
Begin
by introducing students to Socrates and Plato, using resources available through
EDSITEment at the Episteme
Links website. At the website's homepage, click "Philosophers," then select
"Plato" for a link to the Clark
College "Last Days of Socrates" Project, which includes background and a text
of the Crito, as well as additional lesson plan ideas. For more extensive
background, click Socrates
from Ethics of Civilization by Sanderson
Beck, which includes a comparison of Plato's portrayal of Socrates with the
account offered by Xenophon, another of his students. Socrates also makes a comic
appearance in Clouds, by Aristophanes; for a text, visit the Perseus
Project website on EDSITEment, click on “Classics” from the left sidebar, then select “Texts.” Scroll down to find the English translation of Aristophanes’ Clouds.
Look at the section beginning with line 133, where a pupil describes some absurd
Socratic arguments, and the section beginning with line 221, where Socrates appears
suspended among the clouds, which he explains as the proper way to attain lofty
ideas. Such jokes demonstrate that Socrates was well known in ancient Athens,
but also show that he and the enterprise of philosophy were not always accorded
the respect we might assume they deserve.
2
Before students read Crito, summarize the story,
explaining why Socrates was put on trial and condemned to death, why he was not
executed immediately, who Crito is and what he wants to do. Spend some time talking
about Socrates and Crito as characters. In what sense are they both "good" men?
What motivates Crito in his attempt to help Socrates escape from prison? Why would
we say that he has "good" intentions? What motivates Socrates in his decision
to accept his punishment? What concept of the "good" does he seem to hold? How
does this concept compare to Crito's sense of what is good and right? Discuss
with students their own sympathies for these two characters and the moral principles
they represent. To what extent does Crito equate the good with whatever is good
for him and his friends? To what extent does Socrates uphold a standard of goodness
beyond the practical demands of human life?
3
In class discussion, lead students through the dialogue in Crito, having
them summarize the arguments point by point. Use the chalkboard to diagram the
structure and flow of the argument, showing premises, evidence, refutations, etc.
For assistance in the analysis of arguments, click "Topics" on the Episteme
Links homepage, then scroll down and select “Reasoning and Critical Thinking” to find a link to The
Argument Clinic, which includes a page on arguments and their evaluation,
and to the Argument
Identification Tutorial. As you proceed through the dialogue, remind students
that the purpose of the exercise is to practice close reading of argumentation
and that their own arguments and opinions should not enter into the discussion
at this stage.
4
Once the diagram is finished, have students analyze the
argument between Socrates and Crito. What are the weak points? What arguments
or refutations would the students make? Have students put themselves into the
dialogue as other characters who come to visit Socrates holding different points
of view, either by rewriting a passage of the dialogue or by performing a part
of the dialogue in class.
5
Point out to students that, in some sense, three characters
contribute to the argument in Crito: Socrates, Crito, and the personification
of the Law, whom Socrates introduces as an imaginary character. Have the students
consider the effect of this personification of The Law upon the argument.
- To what degree has Socrates created a complement
to Crito through his personification of The Law? Do these friends argue for strict
obedience in the same personal terms that Crito used in his argument for escape?
Have students compare the two arguments in this light. Then discuss whether Socrates
is justified in portraying The Law in personal terms. Does this make the claims
of the law upon an individual easier to grasp, or does it misrepresent those claims
to some degree? Is our relationship to The Law like our relationships with family
and friends? Should it be? In what sense is The Law that Socrates invokes the
same as what we refer to as "conscience"?
- Discuss
briefly what we mean by "the rule of law." What distinguishes law from other bases
for governance? What are some alternatives to the rule of law -- absolute monarchy,
consensus, etc. -- and what are the pros and cons of each? Discuss also how we
invoke the law in our own arguments about right and wrong. What do we imply by
phrases such as "the law says" or "show respect for the law"? Are these references
to a code of statutes or to something similar to the personification that Socrates
creates?
- Note that Socrates bases his decision
to accept execution on the premise that "one ought to fulfill all one's agreements,
provided they are right" (Crito 49e). What might be examples of wrong agreements?
forced agreements? Do we really have freedom to enter into such agreements with
regard to the law? What evidence does Socrates offer that shows he entered into
an agreement with The Law by his own free choice? Is there similar evidence of
an obligation to obey the law in students' own lives?
- Have
students consider how Socrates might have viewed his situation if extenuating
circumstances had been involved -- for example, if his sentence had been imposed
by a tyrant rather than in a trial, or if the trial jury had been influenced by
prejudice against him. To what extent does the argument that Socrates presents
rest on the assumption that the law is just? How would he test the justice of
a law? Consider this question in relation to the Socratic concept of a "good"
man. Should a good man obey a bad law? What is the basis for his goodness if he
disobeys?
- Have students examine this facet of
the argument by imagining other characters in the Athenian jail. For example,
might the argument have turned out differently if Socrates had had Martin Luther
King, Jr., as a cellmate? (To explore this idea in detail, students might read
King's "Letter
from a Birmingham Jail.")
6 Conclude the lesson by having students consider whether
this Socratic argument still holds today, finding examples in contemporary American
society to demonstrate their point of view. Can this argument be applied to all
laws -- for example, recycling laws, traffic laws -- or does it apply only to
major questions of right and wrong? Can this argument be used to justify a change
in the laws, or in the enforcement of laws, in order to bring them into alignment
with The Law as Socrates envisioned it?
Extending the Lesson
Complete the trilogy in which Plato presented the death
of Socrates by having students read the Apology, in which Socrates defends
himself against charges of immorality and explains the moral purpose behind his
questioning of common ethical assumptions, and the Phaedo, which describes
his final hours and includes his (or Plato's) argument for the immortality of
the human soul based on its capacity for knowledge of eternal truth. Texts of
both dialogues, with supporting commentary, are available through EDSITEment at
the Episteme Links
website; click "Philosophers" on the website's homepage, then select "Plato"
for a link to the Clark
College "Last Days of Socrates" Project.
Standards Alignment
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