Wrestling With Civil Disobedience Introduction It is prevalent that citizens around the world feel the need to follow their moral compass rather than the laws their state administers. When faced with a certain dilemma that causes any citizen to choose between following his moral conscience or following the rules mandated by the state, he is prone to following the law out of fear of the consequences if he chooses not to comply. However, there are those who prove to be an exception to this assumption, those who rebel against the state due to the moral and ethical considerations man has.
Greek hilosopher Sophocles conveys this trait of rebellion due to morality in Antigone through the protagonist Antigone and Plato discusses the same trait by referring to Plato, both whom serve as the primary example of wrestling with civil disobedience. The Fear of Force Sophocles suggests that a basis for political authority does not exist. Although Creon is the king of the city, his citizens don’t obey him solely because he is the king, Creon’s subjects obey him because they fear the consequences of disobedience.
Refusing to follow Creon’s mandates is punishable by death; naturally, no one wishes to face such a punishment. Antigone’s sister Ismene only obeys Creon because she fears death and remains undeterred by the fact it means her brother, Polyneices’ body will be left to rot instead of receiving a proper burial because he defied Creon. Giving Polyneices a proper burial is punishable by death; therefore, no one dares to attempt to bury him except for Antigone.
Ismene asks Antigone to forget about their brother and instead choose to live happily by marrying Creon’s son so that everyone else may continue to live on without facing further retribution that Creon has already imposed on their family. Antigone is not willing to forget about her brother like lIsmene, by virtue that she sees burying her brother as morally imperative which she feels overrules any laws Creon imposes. Antigone is fulfilling her duty as sister before she fulfills her duty as Creon’s citizen and chooses her family over her obligations to the state.
Sophocles presents the notion that political authority is derived from the fear of force. Again, an individual chooses to obey the law acting out of fear and wanting self-preservation. The individual follows the law for their own sake and feels obligated to acknowledge the right of he ruler to govern because he feels it is moral to accept the moral correctness of the laws enforced even though it may conflict with his virtues. Antigone immediately decides to defy Creon’s edict because it is at odds with what she feels is ethically appropriate.
Creon attempts to shame Antigone because her views are different from his and because she keeps choosing to defy his orders. He threatens those around him with death if they do not comply with him, referring back to using force to maintain order (Sophocles, 39). When threatened, one in higher power feels the need to condemn others who do not agree with im to uphold his authority over the rest of his subjects. Although it is conceived that no one would risk their lives over personal morality, religiousness, or politics, Antigone is the first to reject Creon’s command.
She states that these laws were not made in heaven thus she has no reason to obey any laws Creon institutes; particularly, ones that are obviously immoral (Sophocles, 18). She acts as she pleases because she has no reverence for human authority and is unafraid of death if she chooses to defy it. Antigone elevates religious law over the law of the state while her sister concerns herself more with the laws f the state (Sophocles, 4). Since Antigone conserves her ethical beliefs over any of Creon’s edicts she does not feel the need to deliberate between following her beliefs or the laws, she promptly chooses to adhere to her virtues.
Creon’s son Haemon attempts to define a sense of political authority to Creon. He suggests public opinion is the basis of political authority, the same public opinion is not favoring Creon at the moment causing him to be at risk of losing his power (Sophocles, 28). Creon and Tiresias are the only characters to address the conflict of political authority; however, neither of hem provides a clear answer as to whether political authority serves to be motivation because of the issues are relevant to having power or having personal gain.
The chorus questions if a leader can put his personal desires aside to morally serve the public and concludes if it is not possible, the only alternative is for power being the prime way to maintain public order. Once Antigone chooses to end her life over permitting Creon to execute his divine right to rule over her, the chorus explains that it is essential to honor both the laws of the land and the laws of the gods.
Since Antigone chooses to end her life how she prefers instead of giving Creon the satisfaction of punishing her, she ultimately defies his authority by this action, honoring her Plato, Socrates, and Immoral Authority in Crito Socrates questions how any type of organization that must act immorally has moral authority. A political community requires of its citizens to full heartedly and unquestioningly accept to obey the laws so their community may continue to survive and prosper. Such a demand causes this organization to restrict their citizens of the pursuit of knowledge.
Socrates chose to pursue nowledge and wisdom; as a result, he faced execution because the political community needed to secure their stability by ensuring there would be no one to question their moral authority. A primary example of a state committing such an injustice is show through Socrates, he proves that the community needed to act immorally to preserve itself and therefore has no sense moral authority.
As implied in Antigone, virtues. no type of a moral political authority exists because political communities rule by force. iscusses obligations and the state while emphasizing the right and ability to challenge positions. He claims that ideally, ethical and political knowledge reflects political life. Plato also questions to what extent is an individual obliged to obey the state and refers to individuals fearing the force of the state if they choose to disobey. At a certain point, the state takes on a life of its own and does what is possible to protect itself even if it must do unjust things like allowing injustice in its community by disposing of those who pose a threat to its survival.
Socrates exerts the defiance of political authority, as does Antigone when she puts before ethical beliefs before any other. Once presented ith having to choose between morality and following the laws purely out of fear of force, they choose to side with their morality. Because they choose to defy the state, they threaten its authority and the state decides that the best option is to execute them to continue to domineer over its community safely.
Like Antigone, in Crito, Plato Conclusion In order to survive and prosper, the state ensures its protection by its use of force to coerce its citizens into fearing the consequences of disobedience. In a myriad of ways, how the state enforces its authority by using force keeps its citizens in ine by demanding them to follow the laws without any doubt the state is morally governing over them even though it means they may have to act unjustly to upkeep their authority.
When an individual is conflicted with following their moral compass or following the laws the state has imposed on them, they are more apt to choose to obey the law of the state rather than their virtues. Antigone had no struggle in deciding what to do, she already her mind set nor did she ask what she had to do. She chose to disobey the power above her, to obey an even higher power, the virtues she holds to herself
