In the formation and development of philosophy in ancient Greece, Socrates had a prominent place. The subject of his philosophical reasoning is human consciousness, the soul, and life in general, but not the cosmos and nature, as it was with his predecessors. Analyzing the issues of human existence, Socrates focused on ethics and legality in his speeches and talks; he taught the norms by which people should live in society.
Socrates raised numerous vital issues, and the dilemma of the essence of goodness and piety was one of the major ones. He questioned the formation of morality and its relation to the Gods (Wundt & Titchener, 2020). Subsequently, the question of the essence of laws and obedience to them was one of the most difficult in philosophical doctrine. In Crito, Socrates refuses to break the law when it threatens his imminent ruin. In Apologia, by contrast, he expresses a bold determination to disobey the will of the Athenians, whose power is to punish non-compliance to the law.
Socrates’ position seems contradictory only on the assumption that he considers the rules imposed by the Athenian legislator as the only regulation binding on him. However, the paradox disappears if one accepts that Socrates could regard the injunction to follow Athenian law as only one of the requirements of natural rules. He is convinced of the existence of a moral obligation to follow the law, rooted in the rational nature of the regulations of the City, which are founded on the rules of nature itself.
Philosopher thus fundamentally excludes the possibility of disobeying a law he considers natural and the most significant. The only question for him is which of the injunctions of natural law is more reasonable in a particular situation (Wundt & Titchener, 2020). Therefore, a man who believes that a rational soul constitutes his nature will not commit an act contrary to virtue to save his biological existence. If the City does not allow one to lead a life filled with the care of his soul, the logic should be different. No one has the right to violate the laws of nature because they are the most significant public good.
Reference
Wundt, W. M., & Titchener, E. B. (2020). Ethics: An investigation of the facts and laws of the moral life. Routledge.