Socrates Corruption In The Apology And The Crito

Whether or not Socrates is truly breaking the law by practicing philosophy is questionable. In the city of Athens it is said that Socrates has corrupted the youth by teaching his incorrect version of philosophy and creating new gods. It is for this reason that he is being wrongly accused and put on trial. Socrates positions in the Apology and the Crito, in regards to following the law, appear to be contradictory to each other but in fact they are consistent in most ways. In the Apology, Socrates states that he would much rather die than refrain from spreading his wisdom of philosophy. In the Crito, Socrates refuses to escape from prison with Crito because he believes that it is morally wrong to intentionally break the law. This is an interesting reason for Socrates to believe this because he is being acquitted for supposedly breaking the law. There is a slight irregularity with Socrates arguments over following the law. In the Apology he seems to have no care
In the Apology Socrates is arguing with the jury for wrongly practicing philosophy. He is being sentenced to jail for corrupting the youth of Athens and teaching about the wrong Gods. In the Crito, Socrates is offered the opportunity to escape prison and live in exile. Considering Socrates has already broken the law, it would appear that this opportunity would be tempting to the supposed “criminal”. On the contrary, Socrates unquestionably denies Crito’s offer to escape from prison, claiming that it is morally wrong to purposefully break the law. How could Socrates be okay with breaking the law in Apology but in Crito he is completely against it? In the Apology he acts as a delinquent and refuses to stop practicing philosophy and in the Crito he appears to be a law-abiding citizen. This can be seen as contradictory to most readers; but in fact there is a connection with these