Bonus:
Summary: Socrates explains his suicide by cop and is a deadbeat dad.
Commentary: Officially DNFing Phaedo after reading another page and wanting to gouge my eyes out, so I'm going to Crito which I should've actually read first. I remember thinking Phaedo seemed too long, probably because I checked the Crito page count (a very manageable 15ish). I decided to plow through it all in one go. Seems more likely I'll enjoy or get something out of it this way. When I reviewed it last year, I mostly panned it as less bad than the others. Not a great start.
I learned from this that Socrates had a wife and kids. Can you imagine being his wife? You husband just goes around harassing people all day, not helping out around the house or supporting the family. Ugh.
Beyond that, some super cursory tyranny of the majority and black and white thinking (along with making sure you listen to your designated master, not anyone else.) I can't believe people thought he was building a youth corruption cult...
Anyway, Socrates basically says that if you believe in justice you have to accept the decisions of the state, and thus he can't run away from his death sentence. Considering the fact that he basically argued himself into his death sentence, it's pretty goofy. He points out that he might travel to and be accepted in other states, but didn't suggest exile as his punishment? This whole thing is just one long suicide by cop. (Also, why is the state's justice perfect and absolute, but that's less fun.)
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