Sokrates wobec powinności moralnej i prawnej
Socrates against the moral and legal obligations

Summary/Abstract: A paradoxical phenomenon concerning Socrates is that he can be assumed both an archetype of being faithful to oneself as well as being unconditionally conformed to the law. On one hand, in his statements, a category of an objection of conscience is present as a premise justifying the citizen’s disobedience, whilst on the other hand arguments aimed at the citizen’s duty to obey the law can also be seen. This ambiguity of interpretation is in some respects caused by the fact, that the two most important dialogues by Socrates which concern these problems, i.e. “The Defence of Socrates” and “Kriton” seem to come to different conclusions. The antimonies visible in these dialogues bring up Socrates’s awareness of the fact that the relations between “a good man” and “a good citizen” are potentially conflicting. This determines the specifics of the relations between morality and politics. The duty of a philosopher should be to moderate or to overcome the tensions between the two, which would bring us closer to the desirable harmony which determines justice.

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