Plato’s Crito: Laws, Injustice, and the Social Bargain

Plato’s Crito is a short dialogue that begins with the title character arriving in Socrates’ prison cell with news that the time for his execution is drawing near. Unjustly condemned by an Athenian jury for corrupting youth with his questions, Socrates refuses Crito’s offer to secure his escape which could be easily obtained through bribery.

Displaying no fear of death, Socrates rejects the reasons Crito provides to justify breaking Athenian laws, among them the sense of shame the majority would bring to bear on Crito for failing to help Socrates avoid the fate of injustice. “Would that the majority could inflict the greatest evils,” Socrates tells Crito, “for they would then be capable of the greatest good, and that would be fine, but now they cannot do either. They cannot make a man either wise or foolish, but they inflict things haphazardly.”

To suffer injustice is better than to do injustice, Socrates argues, and to leave without the city’s permission would be to harm the people who should be harmed the least. As Socrates imagines himself in discussion with the city’s laws, giving themselves credit for his birth, nurture, and education, would we see matters similarly when confronted by a wrong? Is it proper for one person to take the law into his hands to right a wrong, and is any individual capable of determining the correct balance between justice and injustice? We might see modern parallels to the moral and ethical questions faced by Socrates some 2,500 years ago, as Plato’s Crito invites us to consider the nature of the ‘bargain’ that binds individuals and societies from one life to the next.

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Our discussion will be recorded in voice only without video, using first name as it appears on your screen profile, and broadcast on the “Plato’s Pod” Podcast for those who would like to share in our knowledge. We can go anywhere the group wishes, for which some suggested themes will be offered. Wherever our discussion leads, Plato, without a doubt, would have imagined no better way than in dialogue for knowledge – the account of the reasons why – to multiply its connections. We welcome the sharing of all perspectives, whether you are new to or experienced with Plato. Recordings of previous episodes of the Plato’s Pod podcast are at https://open.spotify.com/show/53Zvjr7avMylQgNqfqBxlk?si=7b50d100bfc4474d and other podcast platforms.

After the podcast recording ends in two hours, participants are welcome to remain for “Plato’s Café”, a casual half-hour discussion of your choice of themes from any of Plato’s works, or philosophy in general.

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There are many translations of Plato's works available, of varying quality. Your public library will have multiple editions. A free translation of the Crito is available at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/ or at https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1657. Participants in our entire series might be interested in purchasing Plato: Complete Works (https://www.amazon.ca/Plato-Complete-Works/dp/0872203492/).

FRIDAY BEFORE THE MEETUP: We will post selections from the reading for discussion on a shared drive for participants at https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqvPwkIofv4UaFldrPpbva3VSXI?e=3Y7PjP, where you can also find topics explored in our previous meetups. Our meetings will generally be scheduled every two weeks on Sunday at 2 p.m. eastern. During our dialogue, participants are encouraged to relate their comments to Plato's text, referring to the Stephanus number for the passage so others can follow in the reading. Participants are also encouraged to read the text aloud for the meaning of the written word to resonate.

The Meetup will take place on Zoom. Please RSVP to access the Zoom link at your Meetup account.