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Socrates:

Socrates alludes to higher law to justify his civil disobedience. He claims to have done it out of devotion
to god.
Firstly I would like to define dissent in the context of Socrates trial. By practicing the Socratic
Method on numerous citizens of Athens, making reputable individuals look like fools, Socrates slowly
made himself a target of hostility. This tension eventually peaked when Meletus and his fellow cohort
charged Socrates for criminal meddling, in that he inquires into things below the earth and above the
sky, and makes the weaker argument seem stronger(The Apology 21). As Socrates dismantles the
charges of his accusers, we quickly see that the real objective of the trial is to scare Socrates into
resigning from philosophy. If he does not, the state will bring about punishment to Socrates. And so, for
Socrates to dissent to the state is simply enough: to keep practicing philosophy. And here he makes his
case for his dissent.
Starting off as a disbelief of the god at Delphis proclamation that Socrates is the wisest man in the
world (since Socrates was quite aware of his own ignorance), Socrates seeks out to interview men with
high reputation for wisdom in order to disprove the oracle. Finding no one he interviewed to be truly
wise, and still aware that he himself isnt wise, Socrates concluded that the gods did not literally mean
that Socrates is a wise man, but rather the wisest of you men is he who has realized, like Socrates, that
in respect of wisdom he is really worthless (The Apology 24). And from then on, carrying out gods
oracle (a crusade to help others become aware of their own ignorance) became Socrates religious duty.
For him to stop philosophizing and to mind his own business would be disobedience to God (The
Apology 36)

Socrates looks to himself as a gift sent from God to provoke thought in citizens the city of Athens who
are slowly getting consumed by material wealth and hubris (thinking that they are wise when they are
not). He makes the analogy that the city of Athens is like a large thoroughbred horse which because of
its size is inclined to be lazy and needs the stimulation of some stinging fly (The Apology 31).
To further prove that he is genuinely carrying out divine duty, he asks the jury to ponder the
following:

Does it seem natural that I should have neglected my own affairs and endure the
humiliation of allowing my family to be neglected for all these years, while I busied
myself all the time on your behalf, going like a father or an elder brother to see each one
of you privately, and urging you to set your thoughts on goodness? (The Apology 31)

Here Socrates makes a strong argument to prove his devotion to his religious duty. The fact that he has
neglected all practical faucets of life to perform public service can mean one of two things: either he is a
madman, or that he is compelled by a superior force. And in this case the superior force is his religious
duty. His poverty (The Apology 24) is testament to his devotion to God.
As good as his intention goes, Socrates quickly realized that his public services were making him
quite unpopular. Even though he is aware that he is putting himself on a dangerous path, even say that if
he had enter public life he would long ago have lost [his] life (The Apology 32), he still commits to
philosophizing and probing into other peoples business, because stopping would be disobedience to
God (The Apology 36)

While he shows deference to state law, he respects both laws, and tries to comply by the explicit state
laws (implicit state law would be that the state wants him to stop philosophizing). The fact that he even
showed up to the trial at all is testament to the fact that he tries to comply with all laws. As he said
during his trial, thinks that to do wrong and to disobey my superior, whether God or man, is wicked and
dishonorable (The Apology 30).

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