Work Classification Layer
Compare Works
Pick two or more works to set their attribute fingerprints, dimension-by-dimension passages, and shared school embodiments side by side. Especially useful for author-stage comparisons (Wittgenstein early vs late) and for setting a single tradition's foundational texts against each other.
Crito
The Laws of Athens speak: by remaining and accepting their benefits, the citizen has tacitly agreed to be bound by them — even unto death
Attribute Fingerprint
Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.
| Attribute | Crito (Early) |
|---|---|
| Time · Extent | Infinite |
| Time · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Time · Grain | Continuous |
| Time · Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Time · Traversability | Linear |
| Time · Dimensionality | One |
| Time · Direction | Uni-directional |
| Space · Extent | Finite |
| Space · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Space · Curvature | Flat |
| Space · Dimensionality | Three |
| Space · Locality | Local |
| Matter · Extent | Finite |
| Matter · Ontological Status | Emergent |
| Matter · Conservation | Conserved |
| Matter · Dimensionality | Three |
| Matter · Locality | Local |
| Observer · Time Instance | Multiple |
| Observer · Space Instance | Single |
| Observer · Knowledge Extent | Immediate |
| Observer · Knowledge Retainment | Total |
| Observer · Physicality | Both |
| Observer · Agency | Active |
| Observer · Number | Plural |
| Observer · Metaphysical Agency | Cosmic-ordering |
| Observer · Moral Authority | Reason |
| Observer · Theological Method | — |
| Energy · Extent | Finite |
| Energy · Ontological Status | Emergent |
| Energy · Conservation | Conserved |
| Energy · Dispersibility | Irreversible |
| Information · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Information · Cosmic Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Personal Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Granularity | Continuous |
Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence
What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.
Time
Crito
Real moral time of the citizen's lifetime commitment to the polis. The dialogue presupposes the Platonic immortality of the soul.
Space
Crito
The polis of Athens is the lived political space. Real, substantival.
Matter
Crito
Background; not directly engaged.
Observer
Crito
The Socratic observer is the morally-committed philosopher. Embodied, plural, active in moral reasoning, committed to the city through tacit agreement.
Energy
Crito
Not engaged.
Information
Crito
Real moral order is preserved across generations through the laws. Personal information conserved through Platonic immortality.
Internal Tensions
Where each work's argument pulls against itself.
The Crito's argument for unconditional civic obligation is famously hard to reconcile with the Apology's "I shall obey the god rather than you." Whether Socrates is consistent across the two dialogues, and how, has been one of the central debates in ancient political philosophy. King's Letter from Birmingham Jail engages the question directly.