Examining Socrates and Antigone's Perspectives on Law and Justice

This essay explores the contrasting political philosophies of Socrates and Antigone, focusing on their differing views on law and justice. Socrates, as depicted in Plato's Crito, argues for the importance of obeying state laws, even when facing unjust consequences, emphasizing a social contract and the potential chaos of defying the legal system. Antigone, on the other hand, prioritizes divine law and moral obligations, defying human laws when they conflict with her conscience and religious beliefs. The essay analyzes their arguments, highlighting Antigone's belief in the supremacy of divine law and Socrates' commitment to the stability and order provided by state laws. While both characters respect divine principles to some extent, their approaches to secular versus divine law reveal fundamental differences in their understanding of justice and governance. The analysis considers the nuances of their positions, acknowledging Socrates' occasional questioning of state authority in the pursuit of justice and Antigone's unwavering commitment to her moral convictions, ultimately providing a comprehensive comparison of their influential perspectives on law and morality. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and study resources.

Running head: ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT
Ancient and Medieval Political Thought
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Author Note

1ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT
Socrates and Antigone were two of the protagonists of the play Crito, written by Plato
who himself was one of the followers of Socrates himself. Both these characters differed
from each other when it came to their opinions about the laws of the state. While Antigone
was of the opinion that human beings should abide by the divine laws, i.e. the laws made by
God himself. Socrates on the other hand, believed that human beings should always abide by
the laws of the state over the divine laws, as according to him, the divine laws were the ones
that was to be represented by the state itself. The play Crito is about the conversation that
Socrates has with his wealthy friend Crito while waiting his execution in the prison. It is what
the play by Aristotle is based on.
The purpose of this essay is to find out how Socrates argument for obeying the
law differs from that of Antigone’s argument for defying the human laws and only
obeying the divine laws.
In the beginning of Crito, we find that Socrates’ wealthy friend Crito had come to
meet him in the prison while he was awaiting his execution. Crito had been planning to save
Socrates by smuggling him away from the prison. On learning that Socrates is willing to
accept his execution, Crito comes up with various arguments to change his friend’s mind
about the execution. He says that Socrates’ death would be a loss for all his friends and that if
Socrates goes into exile, then he will both be safe and be able to live without any problems.
To which Socrates replies that his friends should not be bothered about his death and that
they should be concerned with their own well-being. As stated by Palmer (28), he would of
course go into exile with Crito if he feels that doing that would be all right. However, on the
other hand, if escaping from the prison is not a right thing to do, then he would remain in the
prison and face his death. It is at this point Socrates refers to the Laws of Athens which says
that escaping from prison would not be a good thing to do since that would mean breaking
the laws and if Socrates does that, then he would be punished after his death in the

2ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT
underworld. And that is why he prefers to stay in the prison and face his death as it was
meant to be. On hearing this, Crito put up many arguments to persuade Socrates to escape
from the prison with him but Socrates did not, as he always felt that human beings should
always abide by the rules of the society. It is here that Socrates’ ideas differs from that of
Antigone’s ideas who believed in defying the human laws and only abiding by the divine
laws as these law are the ones that are made by God himself.
When one compares Antigone’s argument for defying the laws and Socrates argument
for obeying the laws. Antigone was of the opinion that the divine laws are superior to any
form of man-made laws as in her opinion, abiding the divine laws meant that equality could
be given to both God and the family. In contrast, Socrates is of the opinion that human beings
should always abide by the laws of the state whether they seem to like it or not or whether the
laws are right or wrong. It is found that Antigone defies the laws of Creon as she feels that
obeying God’s laws is more important than obeying the laws of the king. She feels that she
should do whatever God directs her to, as obeying God’s laws would mean giving equality tio
both God and the King. Socrates, on the other hand, seems to be a strong supporter of the
laws made by the state. In Crito, it is seen that despite being imprisoned and awaiting
execution, Socrates refuses to escape even when his friend Crito wants to smuggle him out of
the prison. Instead, he says that if he tries to break out of prison himself, then it would not be
a good thing to do as that will account for breaking the law and if he breaks the laws, then he
would be punished after death in the underworld for breaking the laws.
This is where the main difference between both the characters comes to light. While
Antigone always wanted to break disobey man- made laws and obey laws made by God,
Socrates on the other hand, seems to be in full support of the laws of the system. Even
knowing that he would be executed, he stayed back in prison instead of escaping with Crito.
Antigone challenged Creon’s decision of not burying Polynices in spite of him attacking the

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city and killing her brother Eteocles. She was of the opinion that God wanted Polynices to
have a proper burial and Creone was no one not to obey the orders of God. In spite of
knowing that she would be imprisoned for disobeying the orders of her uncle, the king,
buried her brother. When questioned by the king for her actions, she said that the laws made
by the king was not above the laws made by God. As stated by Palmer (28),this incident
proves the fact that Antigone, in spite of being a woman, never was afraid of defying the laws
of the state. On the other hand, Socrates does not listen to Crito and says that he cannot
escape from the prison as he felt that it was not only him but everybody should obey the laws
of the state as they are generally made to protect the people of the state. If he was facing
imprisonment and execution orders, then there was a reason behind it for him serving in
prison. If he escaped from the prison with Crito then that would be breaking the laws that
would cause problems for the society. Thus, Socrates was always in support of the state made
laws.
By comparing both the characters, it can be said that both Socrates and Antigone
respect the divine laws in some extent. While Socrates refuses to escape with Crito by
justifying his actions with his principles, saying that people should not be bothered about the
things ordinary people says about them, they should only be bothered about what the rulers
says about them. This fact proves the point that Socrates had full faith in the laws of the state
as he believed that the laws of the state are the truth in itself. On the other hand, Antigone
always believed that the truth is with always with God which made her defy the laws of the
state. It is this belief which makes her defy the orders of Creone and bury Polynices. But
when it comes to Socrates, the readers get the idea that in spite of having faith in the laws of
the state, Socrates does not reject to divine justice. This is expressed through his beliefs that
one should not revenge himself for any injustice or injuries caused to him as then he would
be punished after death. As far as the subject of laws is concerned, it can be said that Socrates

4ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT
was more of a believer in secular laws than Antigone who believed in divine laws (Ann Ward
604).
When one compares between Antigone and Socrates and their different ways of
thinking, it is found that Antigone is by nature a religious person as she believes in God and
his made rules. It is this belief which makes her reject her uncle Creone’s orders of not
burying her brother Polynices. On the other hand, Socrates was not a religious person but at
the same time, he acknowledged divine laws although he did not believe in it. Although their
modes of thinking are different, both of them touch upon the good sides as well as the bad
sides of law be it divine or man-made. As stated by Selvi (237), this leads the reader to
believe that Socrates discusses both the good and the bad sides of man-made laws whereas
Antigone’s thinking is incomplete as she only thinks the divine laws to be good and superior
over the man-made laws. Socrates did not want to escape from the prison as he believed he
was in a social contract with the laws of the state and he would rather persuade with the law
to release him instead of escaping from the prison. He felt that his escaping would break the
laws which according to him was like striking his parents which he could not afford to do.
Moreover, he would violate living in Athens if he escapes and so he would rather stay back
than escaping from the prison. On the other hand, Antigone was stubborn about her beliefs in
God’s laws as she believed that no man-made could be superior to the Divine laws made by
God. Based on this belief, she not only challenged the decisions of her uncle Creone but also
buried her brother Polynices as she felt he deserved a proper burial. The differences in their
thinking is the major contrast between both of their characters i.e. one believing in divine
laws, the other believing in man-made laws. But both them indeed touch upon the subject of
laws.
However, it must be noted that although Socrates was always in support of the laws of
the state, he would never fail to question something that he finds wrong in his quest for

5ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT
justice. As stated by Palmer (207), just like Socrates, Antigone in this case has gone against
the state laws as according to her, believing in God made laws would mean giving equality to
both, but in this case, she felt that there was no equality which made her go against the laws
of the state. She felt that Creone was unjust as a ruler since he properly buried one of her
brothers but denied a proper burial to the other brother. This made her question her uncle’s
ways as she felt that her family came first before the state, which made her bury Polynices.
As stated by Honig (28), similarly, it was seen that although Socrates, in the apology of
Socrates, apologizes before the officials, he felt it to be wrong when the officials asked him to
stop his philosophies, he says that he would obey God rather than the officials. Although he
was still in support of state made laws, there are certain things within the state laws that he
could not accept which made him do what he felt was right. This action of his might make
some experts believe that Socrates would be on Antigone’s side when it came to the matter of
laws.
As stated by Ascarelli (604), similarly, there are other instances in the play which
make many experts believe that Socrates would be on the side of law. This is proven by the
fact that he believed in not injuring or getting revenge on others for the harm they caused
him. He might think of Antigone’s retaliation as unjust in the same way she thought her uncle
to be unjust in his rule. This point is further supported by the fact that once he was sentenced
to execution, he stayed in prison rather than escaping with his friend. This is because he was
in support of state laws and abided by it until his death.
However, readers get the idea that both Antigones and Socrates, although different in
their beliefs, were very similar to each other in many ways. Both of them, although in support
of different kinds of laws, looked for justice and were ready to risk their lives for it. Apart
from that, both of them both of them loved and held their families in high esteem and would
have done anything for them. As stated by Ward Ann (25), this point is proved by the fact

6ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT
that Socrates refused to bring his family at the trial since he felt seeing him being punished
would make her family members feel sad and he did not want such a thing to happen. This
proves that like Antigones, Socrates also loved and cared for his family members. That would
make both opf them willing to risk their lives for their family members. Apart from this, their
ideals, though different from each other, were also different from the rest of the society itself.
As stated by Ascarelli (167), both of them believed in different kinds of law but they never
failed to question whenever something seemed to be wrong to them. Socrates and Antigones
both, in their search for justice, faced disapproval from the society, but that did not stop them
from continuing their actions. Lastly, both Antigones and Socrates were tried and imprisoned
but both of them committed suicide rather than being killed by the government.
Antigones and Socrates were two if the greatest philosophers of all time. It was their
through their philosophies and thinking that they wanted to bring change in the society.
Although they had beliefs in different types of law, Antigones believing in divine law while
Socrates believing in man-made laws, they both questioned whenever something felt wrong
to them. As stated by Adlam (35), it is by this action that Antigones challenged her uncle’s
decision of not burying her brother as she felt no man-made laws ate superior to that of the
laws made by God. Similarly, Socrates refused to stop his philosophies when he was offered
to be released from prison. These facts proved that they were never afraid to question any
form of injustice when they saw it happening. It was because of their quest for justice that
they faced a lot of disapproval from the society and were punished for their activities.
However, that did not stop them from believing in their teachings. Socrates, in his strong
support for the laws made by the state, refused to escape from prison as he believed that
would mean breaking the laws and he did not want to do that since breaking the laws would
be same to striking his own parents. Similarly, Antigones believed that family comes first

7ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL POLITICAL THOUGHT
before anything else which caused her to bury her brother Polynices instead of him being a
traitor and killing her other brother.
Thus, from the above essay, it can be concluded that Antigones and Socrates differed
in their beliefs of laws but were similar to each other in many respects. While Antigones
believed that divine laws are superior to all other forms of laws, Socrates was of the opinion
that state laws should e abided by all as these laws were being made to protect the citizens.
Antigones would never hesitate to break the state laws in her support of divine laws.
Socrates, on the other hand, would never think of breaking the state laws as he was in full
support of the laws. He was against injuring or taking revenge on others for harming him.
Hus, the difference in their approaches make them very different yet very similar to each
other in their philosophies.

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