What reasons could an innocent man have for wanting to die for something he was not guilty of? If his objective was to prove to the jury he was a just and honorable man and therefore incapable of the charges against him; this might be the reason an innocent man with serious convictions would die for his cause.
Socrates ideas of whether or not he should escape prison have to do with whether it is right or wrong, or just or unjust, to do so. A man would be morally righteous or superior if he knows the true difference between what is right and what is wrong. If a man has this knowledge, then does something considered unjust or wrong, even if only he considers it to be a wrong action, he will bring damage to himself or to his soul. I believe Socrates had this knowledge. Even though he said true knowledge was knowing or admitting that you do not know something, Socrates knew because of his belief of what was the truth. Socrates had a standard of what was true and by being true or just he could avoid doing an action that was unjust. Socrates thought to be a virtuous man was to have a healthy soul (Allen p. 71). It is reasonable to Socrates to sacrifice himself without expecting a reward for this action, if the alternative to not dying would be escaping, which would be an act of injustice. It is better to suffer an injustice than to cause the injustice. This was another of Socrates beliefs. .
I find his argument to be unsound because I feel like the choice to escape or not should depend more on doing justice to yourself by not letting yourself be put to death for something you did not do. It would have been hard for me to take the view Socrates had and decide to do what is right above all else. It would be difficult to make an example of yourself. Your soul would be hurt because of the injustice being done to you, so hurt that it might take precedence over the idea that you had to do what was right no matter the cost.
