Essay On Socrates Fear Of Death

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Megan Sanders
Phil 101

Explain Socrates’ view of the fear of death (see 29a-c, 40c-e). Is any of this plausible? Socrates views death as something we should not fear. He believes we have no right to be afraid of death because we do not know what or who awaits us after we pass; and for the people who are afraid of it are considered ignorant. As in they believe it is something to fear because they do not know what is going to happen next. Socrates believes that is considered ignorant or uneducated because how can we fear something we do not know? Socrates is so confident in his belief that the last few seconds before he died, he had no fear in him at all. I do not think any of this is plausible because Socrates does not have any facts about after death, he simply holds only an opinion about the topic, therefore, it can not be …show more content…
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. And surely it is the most blameworthy ignorance to believe that one knows what one does not know.” This is a quote from the Apology of Socrates. I understand we can not fear something that we do not know or understand, but also, isn't it allowed to fear the unknown? I do not agree with Socrates when he says we are not allowed to fear something that is unknown or something that we have no knowledge of. The only thing I agree with Socrates is when he talks about not knowing if death is good or evil. He states, “Whether to die be evil or good, I know not, though many think they know it to be evil…” This part of the arugement I agree with. The second half states “…But to disobey authority, human or divine, I know to be evil; and I will not do what I know to be evil to avoid what may in fact be good.” I have to disagree with the second half because not all authority is

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