ipl-logo

Death As Depicted In Socrates's Speech 'Apology'

1312 Words6 Pages

What Socrates tries to convey to Athenians in his speech “Apology” other than “an unexamined life is not worth living” is that one should never give up one’s own philosophy for any reason, even though the reason is death. Socrates wanted his followers to know that death should not be feared. Socrates knows he is going to die, and he still continues his beliefs in the trial anyway. Socrates wants his followers to stick to what they believe in. Socrates pretty much has all of Athens against him and yet he continues on and sends a strong message to his followers.
Socrates considers that to carry on with a just life is superior to simply live. Socrates is not saying that living is not essential and that he ought to simply discard his life, he …show more content…

Death should never be an obstacle for a philosopher. No man has true knowledge of death. We have no cause or reason to fear death. The majority of the Athenians are in this mindset that death is the greatest evil of all. “No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils” (29b). They would do or say anything to preserve their lives. What Socrates sees is that fearing death is to greatly assume that one knows what one does not know. One cannot for sure say that death is of something that is bad if one does not have knowledge of death. If one is to have fear, it should be of something you know it is to be bad, not of something that is unknown to you. "I do know…that it is wicked and shameful to do wrong, to disobey one’s superior, he be god or man. I shall never fear or avoid things of which I do not know whether they may not be good rather than things that I know to be bad" (29b). Socrates is not saying he is not afraid of anything, actually, what he is truly saying is that he would be afraid of doing something that he is well aware to be bad that could potentially harm his soul, by doing

Show More
Related

  • Socrates Arguments In The Crito

    499 Words  | 2 Pages

    By breaking the law his soul would be ruined and a ruined soul is not worth living with. This goes back to when he said that the really important thing is not to live but to live well. Also, when he dies he would enter Hades as an outlaw and will not be well welcomed. Therefore, he believes that he should stay and face his execution because it is better to die than to live with a ruined soul. Socrates uses all of these points to support his main argument which is that escaping jail would be morally incorrect.

    Read More

  • Socrates: Should It In The Right To Escape?

    837 Words  | 4 Pages

    “May it be for the best. If it so please the gods, so be it.” (Cooper 44). Socrates states that if it pleases the gods then thats whats supposed to happen. Socrates has his morals that he grew up with and so does everyone else.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Socrates: Four Dialogues, By Plato

    1595 Words  | 7 Pages

    Therefore, Socrates was willing to die if it meant that his actions would still be

    Read More

  • Private Life In Socrates's Apology

    1021 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Apology, Socrates faces possible execution as he stands trial in front of his fellow Athenian men. This jury of men must decide whether Socrates has acted impiously against the gods and if he has corrupted the youth of Athens. Socrates claims in his defense that he wants to live a private life, away from public affairs and teachings in Athens. He instead wants to focus on self-examination and learning truths from those in Athens through inquiry. Socrates argues that "a [man] who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if [he] is to survive for even a short time" (32a).

    Read More

  • Socrates In The Clouds By Aristophanes And The Apology

    806 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this play the Socrates here doesn't sound like the Socrates from the Apology or the real life Socrates. The real Socrates doesn't actually teach per say, he teaches in a way that makes you yourself use your brain. He makes you question everything and understand things based on your own perception. The writer of this play clearly felt as if Socrates was a major problem in his society for allowing people to actually try to think outside of the box and ask questions. He most likely enjoyed the fact that everyone were robots and all thought alike and believed in the same thing because it brought no need to bring out discussion.

    Read More

  • The Failure Of Socrates In Plato's Apology

    740 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite the title of this historical piece of work, this speech, made by Socrates at his trial, was anything but an apology. Plato, who wrote Apology, was a student of Socrates and this is his account of the trial. Even though he was present at the trial, the colloquy may have been adjusted by Plato to reflect what he thought Socrates should have said or what he thought Socrates meant to say. Plato was very fond of Socrates, therefore the way he may present him can be bias. Socrates attempted to persuade the men of Athens of his innocence by presenting himself as a good man and an authority of knowledge, as declared by the Delphic oracle.

    Read More

  • Socrates The Apology Quote Analysis

    947 Words  | 4 Pages

    Was Socrates right to say he would stay in Athens no matter the consequences, or should he have fled Athens to avoid death? Socrates was right to say he would stay in Athens no matter what because first, he believed he was sent to Athens or “placed in Athens” for a specific reason and he also believed that even though the Athenians found him as a threat and annoying, he believed that it helped them. Socrates was right to say he would stay in Athens no matter what the consequences were because he believed that he was placed or in Athens for a reason. This quote from “The Apology” is an example to prove that he was placed in Athens for a reason. “Because if I tell you that doing that would mean disobeying the god, and so I can’t keep quiet,

    Read More

  • Comparing Socrates In The Apology, Crito, And The Republic

    802 Words  | 4 Pages

    Comparing Socrates words in the Republic for the philosopher to rule to the words of the Apology where philosophy is viewed as something that is punishable by death, this is where the defense or importance of philosophy is realized. For if the philosophers were the ones to rule, nobody would question whether or not what they were doing was right or wrong because the philosopher-kings make the rules through wisdom and knowledge. Plato wants to paint a portrait of the philosopher as not only something the city should want to have, but also as someone who would be fit to rule above all others. This contrasts, again, to the points made by the jurors to Socrates in the Apology for they saw Socrates as someone who brings the city

    Read More

  • Arguments For Plato's Apology

    376 Words  | 2 Pages

    No matter which path death is, death is a gain. One will either be a peaceful sleep, or a journey to another world filled with intelligent people and knowledge. He had support to his theory, but only talked about conversing with people from the past. The apology is repetitive in the last two paragraphs because Socrates desired to talk to all these different people. He did not clarify as to why living on Earth was cruel and that death was the only answer.

    Read More

  • Socrates In Plato's 'The Apology'

    623 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Socrates defends himself before the council, the jury asks him why he would live a life that would cause him to be on trial and put his life in jeopardy. He responds that he does not live focused on what will bring him death, but instead he lives focused on bringing honor to his god and doing what is just. He also says that those who fear death are unwise. If they were wise then they would realize they truly do not know if death is good or bad and that fear of it is thinking they have knowledge about it when they really do not. Living life focused on what is honorable and just to one’s god frees a person from being restricted by the fear of

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis Of Socrates 'Apology'

    1314 Words  | 6 Pages

    Socrates was a greek philosopher who found himself in trouble with his fellow citizens and court for standing his grounds on his new found beliefs from his studies about philosophical virtue, justice, and truth. In “Apology” written by Plato, Socrates defended himself in trial, not with the goal of escaping the death sentence, but with the goal of doing the right thing and standing for his beliefs. With this mindset, Socrates had no intention of kissing up to the Athenians to save his life. Many will argue that Socrates’ speech was not very effective because he did not fight for his life, he just accepted the death sentence that he was punished with. In his speech he said, “But now it’s time to leave, time for me to die and for you to live.”

    Read More

  • Fear Of Death In Plato's Apology

    1115 Words  | 5 Pages

    “…if I disobeyed the oracle because I was afraid of death: then I should be fancying that I was wise when I was not wise. For this fear of death is indeed the pretence of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being the appearance of the unknown: since no one knows whether death, which they in their fear apprehend to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good” (Apology, 29a-29b). This potent statement not only highlights Socrates’ wisdom, it effectively makes use of his belief that he is wise because he knows nothing. By saying that he knows nothing of the afterlife, it gives him the reason to illustrate to his audience that he cannot fear what he does not know.

    Read More

  • The Apology: The Importance Of Plato's Contribution To Meaned Today

    747 Words  | 3 Pages

    If we fail to acknowledge our hubris at the highest level, all of our society will suffer. We have given up our ability to evaluate life in favor of something far easier. For example, we choose to elect government officials who then act as tokens of our own values. This is the case in all republics be it Ancient Greece or the United States. By doing this we secure our fate and deny life itself.

    Read More

  • Jacques Louis David Essay

    1201 Words  | 5 Pages

    Socrates believed there to be an existence after death. He believed that the great minds of the past all were gathered and conversed over the various plights of man-kind. His acceptance of death as a result of his philosophical beliefs is made clear in the painting by his unusually calm demeanor given the situation he finds himself in, as well as his fearless reach for the chalice of hemlock. It is widely believed throughout the philosophical community that “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates may have shared this belief, and knowing he would no longer be able to examine life as he knew it if he chose exile, chose to die.

    Read More

  • Asclepius For Death Analysis

    1015 Words  | 5 Pages

    In order to gain this knowledge, to cycle it into the next life, living through one’s current life is a must. Living life is like learning a series of lessons to prepare one’s self for the next journey their soul takes on. This just goes to show why I believe Socrates’ appreciates life, while not being afraid of death. He uses his philosophical wisdom from this life, knowing that it has prepared him for the next he will take on. Socrates third argument for the immortality of the soul, the Affinity Argument, displays, that the body resembles that which is visible and mortal, while the soul resembles that which is invisible and holy.

    Read More

More about Death As Depicted In Socrates's Speech 'Apology'

Open Document