Socrates and law-abiding concept and
its Implications to China
Abstract
The Death of Socrates is one of the thoughtful law cases in human history. Although the adjudgement of Socrates is a draconian one and it is based on unwarranted charges, Socrates was willing to accept the death to defend the dignity of the law. The death of Socrates showed that he did not stick to the legal concept of pragmatism and the non-ethical-legal concept, but a legal concept of formalism. It has great significance for his legal concept to maintain the authority of the law and construct the compliance order. Moreover it is of great value for China which is in the start-up phase of the rule of law. Nevertheless, we must recognize that the law concept of Socrates has the danger of indulging the draconian law. Thus the state must improve legislation and establish an effective mechanism for correcting the draconian law.
Keywords: The death of Socrates, Legal concept of formalism, Law authority, Law-abiding