Maddie Amsterdam

Professor Scott Brophy

Philosophy 100-01
13 September 2013
Moral Obligation: A Comparative Analysis
Laws are a necessary aspect of almost every civilization. Their goal
is to allow for a fair society where individual rights are respected and
secured. But sometimes the laws imposed deprive us of our rights. As
citizens, is it our responsibility to respect all the laws we are governed
under, including those that are unjust? Platos Apology and Crito and
Martin Luther King, Jr.s Letter From Birmingham City Jail seek to
provide an answer to this underlying question.
Socrates answer to this question is that it is always wrong to break
the law. In the Apology, Socrates is charged with corruption of the
youth and impiety. To defend himself, Socrates initially claims that
breaking the law is sometimes the right thing to do when virtue and
knowledge occur as the result. Still, Socrates is found guilty and
sentenced to death. In the Crito, Socrates contradicts himself, making
the final conclusion that he has made an agreement to obey the law
and therefore, it is just for him to be put to death after being
convicted.. On the contrary, King concludes that it can be wrong not to
break the law. In Letter from Birmingham City Jail, King defends civil

disobedience and argues that he has a moral obligation to disobey the

law in an effort to end racism and segregation.
Both King and Socrates make conclusions based on the rights they
have been denied or given. King feels a moral obligation to gain his
rights; Socrates feels a moral obligation to respect the rights he has
been given. When comparing each argument, I will consider historical
context and civil obligation. I will argue that although the conclusions
appear to be contradictory, the premises of each argument are
compatible with each other.
When comparing both arguments, one must take historical context
into consideration. After all, classical Athens and 1960s America are
like apples and oranges. In Athens, Socrates fully reaped the benefits
of his society, which is today regarded as the birthplace of
democracy.1 Socrates was born, raised and educated in the city of
Athens. Although he could have left whenever he wished, he chose to
stay and continue to live under the protection of the city. In response
to Critos claim that Socrates should flee the city in an attempt avoid
his death sentence, Socrates says, Is your wisdom such as not to
realize that your country is to be honored more than your mother,
your father, and all your ancestors, that it is more to be revered and
more sacred?2 Clearly, Socrates respected and felt an allegiance to
1 Athens Birthplace of Democracy, New York Post,
http://nypost.com/2008/02/12/athens-birthplace-of-democracy
(February 2008)
2 Plato, Crito, trans. G.M.A. Grobe (Indianapolis, Hackett, 2000), 51a
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Athens, which is why he believed it was wrong to disobey the laws he

had lived under and was protected by. King, however, felt no such
respect for America during Civil Rights Era. Birmingham in 1963 was a
place of prejudice, inequality and racism. King made no agreement
with his country to obey the laws because he believed that an unjust
law is no law at all (King 5). Because King did not have the minimal
rights that Socrates did, he felt the need to gain them through civil
disobedience. For instance, Jim Crow laws in the South mandated du
jure segregation. King did not believe these laws were just, so he went
against them by organizing marches and sit-ins, both of which had
been declared illegal. I do not believe it is fair to conclude that
Socrates and Kings arguments are incompatible because they are
making conclusions based off of two completely different
environments. Platos reader is never exposed to a Socrates in a world
without basic rights, and we can assume that King would not have
disobeyed the law under just circumstances.
While King and Socrates lived in fundamentally different cultures,
both felt a moral obligation to their respective societies. Socrates felt
an obligation to educate the youth, while King felt an obligation to
gain rights for blacks in America. In the Apology, Socrates states, I
was attached to this city by the godsthough is seems a ridiculous
thing to sayas upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat

sluggish because of its size and needed to be stirred up by a kind of

gadfly. It is to fulfill some such function that I believe the god has
placed me in the city.3 Socrates believes that the gods placed him in
Athens so that he could spread knowledge, and therefore it is his duty
to do so by educating the youth. Just as the gadfly agitates the horse,
Socrates agitates the youth in an attempt to stir up conservation and
dispel ignorance in Athens. Similarly, King feels that it is his duty to
reveal the prejudice in the South and fight for justice. He writes, We
must see the need of having nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of
tension in society that will help men to rise from the dark depths of
prejudice and racism (King 3). King recognizes Socrates efforts as
similar to his own. Not only are their strategies compatible, but it
could be argued that Socrates influenced Kings activism. King felt the
same obligation to create a tension in his society, but he did so
through civil disobedience rather than through lecturing the youth.
One might ask, If Socrates felt such an obligation to his society,
why did he choose to die? Why didnt he stick around and continue to
educate the youth? Socrates was content enough with his
contributions to society and the rights available to his people. By
dying, Socrates believed he was doing what was best for his city. In
the Crito, he states, Consider what good you will do yourself or your
friends by breaking our agreements and committing such a wrong. It
3 Plato, Apology, trans. G.M.A. Grobe (Indianapolis, Hackett, 2000),
30e
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is pretty obvious that your friends will themselves be in danger or

exile, disenfranchisement, and loss of property.4 Socrates chooses to
obey the law so that the Athenians may continue to reap the benefits
of their democratic society. King, on the other hand, was not given
the minimal conditionsprotection, equality, basic rights. He needed
to continue his work for the civil rights movement in order to gain
these conditions. Just as King felt a moral obligation to practice civil
disobedience, Socrates felt a moral obligation to die instead of
disrupting Athens.
Although the two conclusions are seemingly incompatible,
Socrates argument in the Crito works toward the same goal as Kings
position in Letter from Birmingham Jail. While Socrates claims one
has a moral obligation to obey the laws of ones country, Socrates was
already granted rights King was deprived and so he was not at the
same disadvantage. However, Kings disadvantage forced him to feel
a similar civil obligation to gain equal rights for blacks. Socrates and
Kings arguments are consistent because they both work toward the
common goal of bettering their societies.

4 Plato, Crito, trans. G.M.A. Grobe (Indianapolis, Hackett, 2000), 53b

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Works Cited
Grube, G.M.A., trans. "Apology, Crito." The Trial and Death of Socrates.
Ed. John M. Cooper. Third ed. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2000. 20+.
Print.
King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from Birmingham City Jail." Letter to
Clergymen. 1963. MS. Birmingham City Jail, Birmingham,

Alabama.
Williams, Jasmin K. "ATHENS BIRTHPLACE OF DEMOCRACY." New York
Post. New York Post, 12 Feb. 2008. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.