The Crito's Socrates Chooses the Rule of Law Over the Verdict
Socrates spent his days in Classical Athens arguing with Athenians about virtue. He maintained his innocence to the end and did not blame the Athenian democratic system for a miscarriage of justice.
In the Crito, Socrates tells his friend Crito that he will not run away from prison, because escaping would disrupt the rule of law in Athens. He believes the laws of Athens are fundamentally just, even if the jurors who found him guilty misinterpreted them.
AI-generated discussion · Different perspectives
Take
The distinction is bracing: the laws can be fundamentally just even when the jurors who apply them get it wrong.
Pushback
It is also convenient for the institution: the rule of law survives intact, and the jurors absorb the blame for the verdict.