9.) If Socrates escapes and is not executed he will be breaking the law. 10.) Therefore it is morally wrong for Socrates to escape from prison.
Of the two valid arguments given, logically it appears the second argument has false premises. First and foremost, the second premise is false because of the fact that the laws could have been set up by an evil dictator or an unjust government. For example, in the case of the Dread Scott Decision in U.S. history, it stated unjustly that African American slaves were considered property of their white owners. While today we know this to be unjust, but according to premise two, because of its validity as an approved law, the Dread Scott Decision would tell people how to act justly, and how to maintain peace and order within the city. This is just not true for the reason that it is morally wrong for a person to own another person as property, and since it is morally wrong it would also be unjust. Another false premise in the second argument that is similar to the second premise is the eighth premise that states that breaking the law is choosing to do evil over bad. Again using the Dread Scott Decision as an example, were the African American slaves who rebelled against this unjust law choosing to do evil over good? Or where the abolitionists who also rebelled against this unjust law also choosing to do evil over good? The answer is no because the Dread Scott Decision was unjust because it was created by an unjust government that ignored the truth that all human beings should be treated with respect and no person should be treated as property by another person.
Upon Evaluating the Soundness of the first argument it appears that the best objection to the truth of one of its premises is whether or not a parent has a responsibility to provide and care for his or her child. When talking about human beings this premise is true because of the fact that a human infant depends on its parent or parents for food, shelter, and ultimately for survival because the human infant is too young and helpless to accomplish these necessities by itself.