Crito - argues on the basis of the consequences of his possible choices:
if he breaks Socrates out of jail if he leaves S. in jail (a) the many will think highly of him (a) the many will think poorly of him (b) he will save his friend (b) he will lose his friend
Socrates' reply--
Observations
1. On the level of bodily health, we recognize that:
(a) the few, not the many, are the ones who know - whose judgment we think is most important;(b) one value - health - may be achieved/applied/interpreted in different ways among different people.
2. In order to account for the things that the living (as a psyche/body unit) do, in contrast with the dead (as simply body) - the must be composed of at least these three elements:
| Element | Function |
| reason | distinguish between good and evil; "drive" us towards the good; |
| spirit | arouse us to anger, defense of honor, perseverance, etc. |
| appetites | drive us towards food, drink, sex |
Argument I
Premise 1: Life per se is not an absolute value; rather, life is worthwhile only if a certain level of bodily health is maintained.Conclusion 1: It would be better to die rather than live in a grossly unhealthy body.
Premise 2: Psyche - and its health - is even more important than body and its health.
Conclusion 2: It thus follows that it would be better to die than to "live" with an unhealthy psyche
Further observations
3. a "good" thing is one that fulfills its functions well (e.g., a good knife, a good horse, etc.)
4. evil is thus what goes contrary to the function of a thing - which, taken to its extreme, will result in the destruction of the thing (e.g., using a fine knife to cut brick, using a race horse to plow, etc.)
Argument II
|
Premise 1: The primary function of reason is to distinguish
between good and evil, and to pursue the good (Observation 2, above).
(Note: observations 3,4 are indications that reason can do this.) |
(Analogy of bodily health)
the primary function of the lungs is to deliver oxygen to the bloodstream |
| Conclusion 1: To do evil (e.g., to tell a lie) is at the same time to go contrary to the primary function of reason. | to smoke cigarettes goes contrary to the function of the lungs |
| Conclusion 2: To do evil will result in the destruction of reason, in an unhealthy psyche. | to smoke cigarettes will destroy one's ability to breathe |
| Premise 2 (from Argument I, above): it is better to die than to live life with an unhealthy psyche. | one cannot live well with damaged lungs; one cannot live at all with lungs destroyed |
| Conclusion 3: It would be better to die than to do evil | |
|
Conclusion 4: Never do evil - no matter what others do to you, no
matter what possible good consequences might result from your doing evil.
(Because whatever else happens - even if you achieve revenge, even if some other "goods" come from doing evil - by doing evil you at the same time are destroying your own reason; by doing evil, you are at the same time destroying the basis for living a good life, and life will no longer be worth living.) |
no matter what other goods I may get from smoking - immediate pleasure, social
status (?), etc.
- none of these are as important as preserving my lungs as the basis of my biological life |
From here, then, it is only necessary for Socrates to show - by way of analogy - that escaping jail is to do evil.