Abstract
Socrates is visited in his prison cell by his friend Crito, who tries to get Socrates to escape. Socrates responds to Crito with a shocking refusal to escape prison, even though he is able. The bulk of the dialogue consists of Socrates’ reasons for not fleeing. Socrates says the citizen is bound to the Laws like a child is bound to a parent, and so to go against the Laws would be like striking a parent. Students also read the section of the introductory text where they learn about conformity, compliance, and obedience. Class time is spent discussing the meaning of society, weighing how powerful social forces can be upon individuals, and what enables some individuals to resist these forces.
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Dillon, J.J. (2016). Teaching Social Psychology with Crito . In: Teaching Psychology and the Socratic Method. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95050-8_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95050-8_17
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