Plato’s Crito

Last summer we offered a course on Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro, which was well received and a lot of fun for us to teach. This summer we are offering another dialogue, the Crito. The Crito is the second part of Plato’s three-part depiction of the trial, condemnation, and death of his teacher Socrates. The dialogue is short, fewer than a dozen pages in most editions, but it raises questions that remain of philosophical interest. We will focus on topics that include the proper relation of the individual to the state and whether it is ever right to defeat evil by doing evil. The course will also introduce information about Greek history and religion. Familiarity with Greek is welcome but not required.