Introduction to Philosophy Crito Instructor: Jason Sheley
Recall again our steps for doing philosophy 1) What is the question? 2) What is the basic answer to the question? 3) What reasons are given for 2)? 4) critique/assessment
Today we will get more practice with steps 3 and 4
Again, we begin with something obvious... Again, we find much under the surface...
Should I break out of jail? When is it morally okay to disobey authority? What justifies What justifies Political authority? Morality? Why be Moral?
The Set Up... At the beginning of the dialogue, what is Socrates situation? What does Crito say that he can do for him?
Crito s argument At 45c-46b, Crito gives his reasons for why Socrates should go with him. What are these reasons?
Arguments I like this working definition of logic: The science of moving from what we know to what we don t know (and guaranteeing that we can make the move). (Or, if you like, moving from what we ve established to what we would like to establish...) (By the way, the paraphrased quote is from C.S. Pierce.)
Another analogy: you can imagine an argument as being similar to a bridge......if you want to establish something, an argument helps you build a path to it
Sample Premise 1: All snakes should be killed. Premise 2: Socrates is a snake. Therefore...
Arguments (cont.) An argument has two main components: Conclusion: something that you want to support or show to be correct Premises: these are typically the reasons why we should accept the conclusion.
Valid, Invalid, Sound A VALID argument is one in which, if the premises are true, then the conclusion must also be true (or, in other words, if the premise(s) are true, then it is impossible for the conclusion to be false). These are typically the arguments that philosophers are looking for.
Invalid An argument is INVALID, if it s premise is true, but the conclusion is false. One of the best ways to test for validity is to ask yourself, can I think of a way in which the premise can be true, but the conclusion does not follow?
Sample (again) Premise 1: All snakes should be killed. Premise 2: Socrates is a snake. Therefore... (Are there any potential problems with this argument?)
Soundness An argument is SOUND just in case the argument is valid, and the premises are in fact true. (These arguments are best of all, of course, and highly prized among philosophers.)
Crito s argument? What is Crito s argument at 45c-46b? Well, let s start with the conclusion. What is it? (Hint: does Crito need any mini arguments to make the bigger argument work?) How many premises does his argument have?
How does Socrates respond? How does he suggest that they proceed from here onward? (hint: 46c-e) (hint2: what does he say about the opinions of the majority?)
One interesting feature of Plato's dialogues is that they often proceed by securing agreement to premises. The deductions are then made from the premises. From 49a-50a, what does Socrates get Crito to agree to?
Wrongdoing is harmful and shameful to the wrongdoer. So one must never do wrong. Harming another is wrong. Therefore, one must not harm another. One must either persuade or obey...
At 50c, Socrates introduces a kind of character: The Laws of the City. The Laws in turn get to practice the same kind of investigation on Socrates.
Securing Agreements... What are the points on which The Laws get Socrates to agree? 50d-e 50e-51a 51b-c (... persuade or obey... )
You stayed and derived advantages... You could have left.. You could have chosen a lighter sentence
Further agreements... 51e 52b-d: what did Socrates do? And how does this fit into the City s argument? 53b: the answer to the friends reputations 54b-d: this seems to be The City s overall conclusion.
What will other cities say? What will they say in Hades? Children? What about virtue and goodness?
Overall, which side do you agree with more? Crito? Or The City? Why? (And in particular, are there any weaknesses in either argument?)
Should I break out of jail? When is it morally okay to disobey authority? What justifies What justifies Political authority? Morality? Why be Moral? Republic
One further question: What does Plato really think? Why doesn t he just tell us?
Let s take a look at the paper topic