Socratic Citizenship: Plato's Crito
Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science and Philosophy
This lecture analyzes Plato's Crito, examining Socrates' conception of philosophical citizenship, the ethics of civil obedience, and the individual's duty to community laws, contrasting it with the traditional Homeric ideal.
Introduction to Political Philosophy (PLSC 114)
In the Apology, Socrates proposes a new kind of citizenship in opposition to the traditional one that was based on the poetic conception of Homer. Socrates' is a philosophical citizenship, relying on one's own powers of independent reason and judgment. The Crito, a dialogue taking place in Socrates' prison cell, is about civil obedience, piety, and the duty of every citizen to respect and live by the laws of the community.
Socratic Citizenship: Plato's Apology
Next · Lecture 4Philosophers and Kings: Plato's Republic, I-II