Apology And Phaaedo Analysis

Even though, The Apology and Phaedo appeared to be two different philosophies, by the way both are exhibit and by the circumstances the protagonist finds himself in, both books share the same views in philosophy. The message that Socrates gives in these two books is that he really loved philosophy and what it meant to be a philosopher, hence everything he did, as a free man and as a convict sentence to death, was for the love of it. Socrates spends his whole life practicing philosophy, and because of it, he thought himself a better man, therefore he believed philosophy as a gateway to purifying the soul. Socrates believed that dying for what he believed to be right is worth dying for, at the end of The Apology he mentioned, he would rather …show more content…
In his final speech, Socrates tells the jury “It is not difficult to avoid death, gentlemen; it is much more difficult to avoid wickedness, for it runs faster than death.” (Plato Pg. 39, 38 e) This are deep words from an amazing philosopher, for he is embracing death, and chastising the wickedness of the ones who sentenced him to death. Socrates did not view death as punishment, hence as a philosopher, he thought of it as a liberation of the soul from the sickness of being alive. In Phaedo, he mentions this philosophy throughout the book, furthermore, he mentions “one aim of those who practice philosophy in the proper manner is to practice for dying and death.” (Plato, Phaedo Pg. 55, 64a) These two quotes are an example of Socrates love for philosophy and what it means to be a …show more content…
Socrates would rather die than to spend the rest of his life, not practicing philosophy, for he mentioned this in a speech before he was found guilty, that if he is given the option to be acquitted, only with the condition to spend no more time on the investigation and not to practice philosophy, and if he is caught doing so he would die. This what Socrates said if these conditions were given to him “Men of Athens, I am grateful and I am your friend, but I will obey the god rather than you, and as long as I draw breath and am able, I shall not cease to practice philosophy, to exhort you and in my usual way to point out to any one of you whom I happen to meet.” (Plato, Apology Pg. 32, 31d.) This quote shows how much Socrates loved philosophy, for he puts it before life itself. One can just speculate by his speeches from both books that Socrates thought of life as just a road bump, the real freedom, starts after death, hence he mentions on and on that death, is not a punishment but a