Plato's Dialogues: Crito; summary and commentary

(Notes: 1st draft, unrevised. I consider this open sourced information free from copyright. Don't copy any part of this text verbatim for academic work since that would constitute plagiarism under academic University rules. The content of this blog is easily found through internet searches and exact word duplicates will show up under metasearches. Use my work if you wish but don't get busted for plagiarism in the process.)

This is a summary and commentary on the dialogue "Crito" written by Plato. Source = "http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/crito.html"

The dialogue "Crito" by Plato is written as an account of Socrates's conversation with a friend named Crito. The topic of the dialogue is Socrates's upcoming execution sentence passed by the Athenian State on charges of corrupting the youth and something else, promoting Atheism I think. I will iron out the exact details later and revise this draft accordingly.

While the dialogue contains some interesting and significant concepts I believe it is imperative the reader understands that Socrates himself never wrote down any of his teachings during his life. Plato was a disciple of Socrates and thusly was highly influenced by the life and thoughts of the man. However, since Plato is the author of the dialogue it calls into question the veracity of the material when imagined against the potential teachings of Socrates. In the modern context several scientific studies in the field of psychology show that human memory is fallible, subject to internal censors of the individual and changes according to the personality and subjective perceptions of the individual remembering events. Since Plato is the author then it is reasonable to assume Plato has injected his own subjective perceptions, values, and personality into the construction of Socrates's teachings.

By no means do I intend to discount the entirety of the lessons available through Plato's dialogues but only to raise awareness that these dialogues are second hand transmissions of Socrates's teaching's filtered through the fallible medium of Plato's perception.

On top of Plato's bias coloring the whole dialogue I feel it's important to realize the text is a work of fiction where the author, Plato, writes out the entirety of the dialogue. This means Plato imagines and writes the part of Crito as well as Socrates. The construct of the dialogue gives the illusion of a recorded text written down by some stenographer taking dictation. This is not the case and is merely an literary illusion. All content is the work and produce of Plato's imagination and may or may not accurately reflect the values and opinions of Socrates.

To summarize the dialogue, Crito is an intimate friend of Socrates who is imprisoned by the Athenian State and is awaiting execution. The purpose of Crito's visit is to try and convince Socrates to flee from Athens and avoid execution. Crito represents himself and several interested parties who are more than willing to contribute their efforts and resources to rescue Socrates from death. The dialogue begins when Socrates awakes from sleeping to find Crito sitting with him in his cell.

There is some minor attention paid in the beginning text to establish the relationship between Crito and Socrates. They are friends and Crito is distressed by Socrates's predicament; so much so he is seeking to rescue Socrates from his situation and convince Socrates it is just to escape his sentence. This theme, whether or not it is just and good to avoid Socrates's death sentence is the central issue of the dialogue.

Crito presents arguments that the sentence is unjust because it deprives Socrates's friends and family of his wisdom and influence in their lives. The argument centers around the potential unjust nature of the sentence and it's effects in the lives of those who are intimate with Socrates; his children and his friends. A great deal of attention is paid on the potential perception of the public and their opinions formed by Socrates's actions allowing himself to be executed for what seems to be unjust reasons. Crito fears the public opinion may be that the friends of Socrates stood by and allowed him to be unjustly put to death instead of taking steps to rescue him when he (Crito) and his friends had the means to rescue Socrates.

I wonder if Plato is trying to deal with his own feelings of guilt in allowing Socrates to die when he had the means and the power to rescue him from his fate. This dialogue can be the process by which Plato alleviates himself from the guilt of not intervening in Socrates's sentence. Ultimately we must realize the sole author of this dialogue is Plato himself and all the text is the work of Plato's mind and not some recorded conversation between Crito and Socrates. It is, however, important to remind ourselves that Plato was a disciple of Socrates and was highly influenced by his teachings so the content of the dialogue is the best and closest we will ever come to understanding the nature of Socrates in this event.

Socrates counters Crito's argument with his own that ultimately states he must subjigate himself to the will of Athens and die as sentenced or he would otherwise contradict all of his prior statements, arguments, and ethics presented during the trial. Socrates argues he is bound by an implied contract with the State of Athens where as a willing citizen he agreed to uphold the Laws and decisions of the State regardless of whether or not the sentence itself is considered just and right. Socrates shifts all the impetus of Crito's objections as burdens of the jurors who tried and sentenced Socrates and not as burdens of consideration for Socrates himself.

Socrates's sole consideration is whether or not it is Just and good to obey or disobey a lawful sentence from the State of Athens. He concludes that he must obey the sentence regardless of whether or not it is justice because the Laws of the State are sacrosanct whether the sentences of those jurors guided by such Laws are correct or not. Essentially Socrates implies that the people (Jurors) can make mistakes but the Laws they represent are infallible and any error in justice lies with the people, not the Law. This stance reflects Plato's further expositions of the Realms where absolute truth exists as a pure and supernatural realm of existence outside the influence of mankind. Socrates chooses to obey the process of Law in spite of recognizing the potential fallibility of the men involved in interpreting the Law in sentencing.

I believe the whole substance of Socrates's argument is about whether or not Socrates will uphold the very values and ethical statements he has personally advocated. If Socrates escapes and avoids the sentence of the State then he contradicts all things he has previously advocated up to that point and in doing so loses credibility. It is important, however, to note I am unsure whether or not this is the factual stance of Socrates himself or just the rationalization of the disciple Plato in trying to make sense of the whole event. Yes, Plato reflects a great deal of values learned by Socrates but this does not mean Plato was privileged to exact knowledge about what Socrates was thinking during this event that is described by the dialogues.

In short, the dialogue of Crito is to justify the death of Socrates as one Just and consistent with the teachings of Socrates as Plato understood them to be. This conclusion requires a complete examination of all Plato's works and then a reading of the dialogue in context of Plato's overarching narrative.

Personality tests results...

Global short test:

Global Personality Test Results

Stability (86%) very high which suggests you are extremely relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic. Orderliness (30%) low which suggests you are overly flexible, improvised, and fun seeking at the expense too often of reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment. Extraversion (56%) moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

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trait snapshot:
messy, tough, disorganized, fearless, not rule conscious, likes the unknown, rarely worries, rash, attracted to the counter culture, rarely irritated, positive, resilient, abstract, not a perfectionist, risk taker, strange, weird, self reliant, leisurely, dangerous, anti-authority, trusting, optimistic, positive, thrill seeker, likes bizarre things, sarcastic

Medium length test

Global Personality Test Results

Stability (76%) high which suggests you are very relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.. Orderliness (23%) low which suggests you are overly flexible, improvised, and fun seeking at the expense too often of reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment. Extraversion (56%) moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

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Trait snapshot = same as above.

Big 5 Personality Test

Big Five Test Results

Extroversion (56%) moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity. Accommodation (34%) moderately low which suggests you are, at times, overly selfish, uncooperative, and difficult at the expense of the well being of others. Orderliness (40%) moderately low which suggests you are, at times, overly flexible, random, scattered, and fun seeking at the expense of structure, reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment. Emotional Stability (88%) very high which suggests you are extremely relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic. Inquisitiveness (82%) high which suggests you are very intellectual, curious, imaginative but possibly not very practical.

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Personality type (Big 5) SCUEI S(56%)C(88%)U(60%)E(66%)I(82%)
SCUEI (3.3% of women; 5.3% of men)

Primarily Calm
not easily hurt, rarely if ever loses temper, keeps emotions under control, positive, not prone to envy, rarely sick, self reliant, trusting, stable, sturdy, optimistic, fits in most places, not defensive, likes change, if they were to live life over again they would not change much, content (possibly over content), believes in choice more than fate, good at building things, good at taking advice, does not make enemies, good at fixing things, admits it when they make a mistake, gets along with others, has more desire than fear, motivated, self confident, believes the benefits of freedom outweight then benefits of attachment

Overall snapshot of SCUEI
not afraid of doing the wrong things, does not value rules and regulations, prefers unpredictable to organized, does not accomplish work on time, needs to maintain high levels of excitement, out for own personal gain, not afraid to draw attention to self, more pleasure seeking than responsible, not bothered by disorder, retaliatory, thrives on the rush of risk taking, unpredictable, asks questions that nobody else does, often does not know what they are doing, spontaneous, first to act, not easily hurt, not apprehensive about new encounters, does not readily admit mistakes, not a perfectionist, not apologetic, disorganized, socially comfortable, outgoing, calm in crisis, fearless, atheist/agnostic tendencies, good at getting people to have fun, opinionated, not easily moved to tears, sexually immodest, adventurous, unconventional, aggressive, often late, high energy level, likes the spotlight, ambivalent about the needs of others, worry free, acts without thinking or planning, bad at saving money, selfish

favored careers:
philosopher, philosophy professor, film director, comedian, rock star, international spy, freelance writer, filmmaker, ambassador, movie director, screenwriter, diplomat, movie producer, astronaut, dictator, cinematographer, novelist, author, entertainer, playwrite, politician, performer, creative director, radio broadcaster, assassin, freelance artist, actor, music performer, dj, media industry, broadcast journalist, music producer, musician, egyptologist, poet, art director, performing arts, film critic, political analyst, fighter pilot, theater industry, tv producer, travel writer, strategist, photojournalist, reporter, scientist, songwriter, theater director, composer, film editor, broadcaster, college professor, casting director, astronomer, pilot, news anchor, radio dj, activist, anthropologist, psychoanalyst, sound engineer, entrepreneur, mercenary, artist, political scientist
disfavored careers:
secretary, childcare worker, receptionist, stay at home parent, office assistant, home maker, pediatric nurse, personal assistant, child care worker, health care worker, wedding planner, administrative assistant, office worker, preschool teacher