An Examination of Socrates' Attitude Towards Death and Dying

An Examination of Socrates' Attitude Towards Death and Dying

When presented with a problem or argument Socrates, the philosopher,

attacked most issues with a relatively disingenuous attitude. A

question or idea would be presented and he would automatically respond

with either another question or a new philosophy for his opposite

party to ponder. These were the ways of Socrates, an intelligent yet

humble man who knew the limits of his knowledge. And through his

passion for knowledge and quest for the meaning of life, Socrates

often stumbled across the theme of death and dying. Now of course the

natural human instinct when presented with the idea of death is to run

away from the problem and dismiss such thoughts from ones head. For

what happens after death remains in the world of the unknown, and

although death is expected to occur at the end of each human life, it

is easier to hide behind fear even during the process of dying.

However Socrates stoically examined matters of death and dying with

great admiration. In fact according to Plato’s dialogues, when

Socrates is presented with the idea of death he not only remains

strong and steadfast in his philosophies, but cheerful in the

expectation and meeting of death as well.

In the Apology Socrates is presenting his case before the jury due to

an accusation on three accounts: not recognizing the gods recognized

by the state, inventing new deities, and corrupting the youth of

Athens. He presents his “defense” however in contrast to the

scholarly definition of the term. He instead informs the jury of his

philosophies and converses with them, stating that he must be wiser

than ...

... middle of paper ...

...wisest, and justest, and best of all the men whom I

have ever known” (118a).

For a man not to fear death, not even the slightest bit is a

remarkable feat. However when examining the life of Socrates, his

daily life involved the preparation for his own death. Through his

daily philosophical debates, Socrates engaged in conversations which

forced him to examine his life. After all as Socrates states himself

in the Apology, “the unexamined life is not worth living” (38a). For

me personally it is difficult to understand how Socrates could totally

commit his life to this. And ironically Socrates was aware of this

type of difficulty and responds with fear: “I am afraid that other

people do not realize that the one aim of those who practice

philosophy in the proper manner is to practice for dying and death”

(64a).