The Man Who Was Socrates

In Plato's account of the death of Socrates, The Apology, the Greek philosopher and gadfly explains to his disciples why and how it is that he is able to accept his death sentence without fear or regret. The main thrust of Socrates position is that he prefers death to abandoning his principles, by which he means the right to speak and act freely and according to his convictions. Socrates is not entirely idealistic or irrational in his preference for death; he admits that he is old, that he has no irreplaceable attachments or obligations, and that he has accomplished most of what he set out to do in life. But at the same time, he offers compelling reasons why he should follow his convictions rather than obey his instinct for self-preservation: 1) he would "never give way to anyone, contrary to right, for fear of death, but rather... be read to perish at once; 2) he does not think it right "to entreat the judge, or to be acquitted by entreating; one should instruct and persuade him" (Plato, 1956:441); and finally 3) death is only a "migration from this world into another place," and is mostly likely a good thing which should be received as a blessing. Against these arguments, Socrates sees only the vain hope of preserving his life amid the likes of his judges, or fleeing ignominiously to some other land, losing his only home, his friends and the respect of those who admire the strength of his principles. In this essay, I will examine Socrates' decision to accept death rather than abandon his principles, and show why it is better to live and die according to one's convictions, than to take the easy way out.

To begin with, Socrates is obviously a proud man, and when he declares that he will never give way to anyone for the sake of h...

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... and used Socratic inquiry to show the weakness of arguments that appear strong and foolproof. He has demolished routine ideas of justice, proposed ideas for a state ruled by a philosopher king and a group of elite intellectual guardians, and attacked the rhetoricians and sophists for their false used of Homer and the teachings of the ancients. And because his teachings have encouraged others to do the same,, mostly young men of an impressionable age and character, he is probably guilty of this interpretation of the charge "corruption of youth."

Works Cited

Brickhouse, Thomas, and Smith, Nichol. Socrates on Trial.

Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1990.

Plato. The Apology. In Great Dialogues of Plato, Translated by

W.H.D. Rouse. New York: New American Library, 1956.

Taylor. A. E. Socrates the Man. Connecticut: Greenwood Press,

1951.