Plato Socrates Death Analysis

There are many explanations within our grasp of why Socrates accepted his death in Plato’s The Last Days of Socrates. It often comes as a surprise to those reading the dialogue Crito, after gaining knowledge of the type of rebellious character that Plato portrays Socrates to be, that Socrates reveals his admiration and loyalty to the state and the laws which govern societies. This explanation plays a key role in his willingly accepting death which will feature greatly in my essay. I will also address other explanations such as his utilitarian approach to obeying laws, martyrdom and the immortality of the soul. Anthony D’Amato raises the question, ‘Do we have an obligation to obey any law, no matter how unjust or evil, provided only that it …show more content…
He believed that to lead an authentic life was a life dedicated to philosophy and the sought for wisdom. In doing this, we are guaranteed a pure life which will direct us to a more rewarding and happier after life. To assume there is an afterlife is to assume that one has a soul that is immortal. Socrates’ view of death is very different to the typical view of death held today in Western civilisation where death is commonly not thought of and is pushed to the side-lines. Socrates however, contradicts himself by talking of the immortality of the soul as fact when also previously stating in the Apology, ‘To be afraid of death is only another form of thinking that one is wise when one is not; it is to think that one knows what one does not know. No one knows with regard to death whether it is really the greatest blessing that can happen to a man; but people dread it as though they were certain that it is the greatest evil’. (Apology, 29a). By believing in the prior statement of what may happen after death, Socrates is also claiming to have more wisdom than he has as we do not know for certain whether or not the concept of souls has any