Plato Death Comparison

One of the most ancient mystery yet unsolved is the question pertaining to death and the afterlife. This mystery is one of the fundamental studies in both field of philosophy and religion. Comparing those who believe in a god-existing religion against those who don’t, we often see many differences in the answers relating to death. In the contrary, the similar answers to theist and atheist are evident strongly in two great thinkers and their works. The focus will be on Socrates’ speech in the Apology by Plato setting in 399 BCE and De Rerum Natura by Titus Lucretius 300 years later.

The Death of Socrates “The Death of Socrates” was painted by a French painter . His name was Jacques Louis David. The painting represents the scene of the death of Greek philosopher Socrates. He was condemned to die by drinking hemlock for the expression of his ideas against those of Athens' and corrupting the minds of the youth. The painting also depicts both Plato and Crito, with the former sitting at the edge of the bed and the latter clutching the knee of Socrates. Socrates had the choice to go into exile and , hence, give up his philosophic vocation or be sentenced to death by drinking hemlock. Socrates chose death. In this painting, someone hands a confident Socrates the goblet of hemlock. Socrates' hand pointing to the

Plato's views on life after death were manifold, and developed over time as an examination of a bevy of his literature readily indicates. However, during all phases of his writing he does demonstrate that there is in fact life after physical death, which is widely attributed to his notion of the soul. Plat always viewed the soul as an entity that was distinct from the physical body. Moreover, while the physical body was destined to die, the soul was enduring, interminable, and destined to go on somewhere in some state of being. In just what sort of way the soul would endure was a matter of question, in which at various points in his career as a writer Plato offered different accounts. Yet the most consistent part of this conception of the author's was the fact that the soul was everlasting.

Socrates’ reasoning for not fleeing from death had to do with his concern for his friends being punished for helping him escape, and also because of the fact that doing so would violate his teachings. Socrates’ concern for his friends being punished can be found on page 47 where Crito asks Socrates’- “…Are you anticipating that I and your other friends would have trouble with the informers if you escape from here, as having stolen you away, and that we should be compelled to lose all our property or pay heavy fines and suffer other punishment besides? (47).” Socrates replies to him that he does have these things in mind as he does many other others (47). However, this is not the main reason for why Socrates’ does not choose to flee with his

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates takes a stance on death by saying that to die is basically equivalent to being blessed. He backs this statement with two arguments as to the possibilities of death. From his perspective, death with no afterlife is to have a lack of awareness or existence. He states that in this nonexistence, death would be like sleeping an eternity. To him, this would feel like a night of deep, restful sleep with an absence of dreams; something that is favorable in his eyes. His second argument states that death with afterlife would also be the opposite of a punishment. Death with an afterlife would take him to be judged by the Gods, who were righteous in their own lives. To Socrates this would be inherently better than being judged by those who claimed to call themselves “jurors” without being just. In this afterlife, Socrates would also have the chance to speak with far more interesting and relatable people than those he was living among.

Two of the greatest philosophers of Athens, Socrates and Plato, each gave their ideas on several issues. These issues included justice, government and education, allegories about the Line and the Cave. Also, their views could be tied into the first chapter of the book that we have. The views and ideas of Socrates and Plato had an influence on several governments that would follow their time.

Christopher Aguirre Professor Eric Wickey PHR 100-002 17 February 2017 The Double Meaning of Death in the Eyes of Socrates Plato’s Apology was supposed to represent Socrates’ trial for his being a nuisance and corrupting the youth. Socrates defended himself by saying that he was merely performing service to the god that said that he was wiser than anyone else. This defense did not work, and he lost the trial. Socrates remained defiant during the sentencing portion of the trial, which led to him be sentenced to death, and as such he had to face his mortality. Socrates viewed death as not being an unscrupulous entity. In this paper, I will explain his two meanings of death, difference between both meanings, and argue the one I believe in.

Comparing Aristotle and Plato We have two great philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. These are great men, whose ideas have not been forgotten over years. Although their thoughts of politics were similar, we find some discrepancies in their teachings. The ideas stem from Socrates to Plato to Aristotle. Plato based moral knowledge on abstract reason, while Aristotle grounded it on experience and tried to apply it more to concrete living. Both ways of life are well respected by many people today.

I believe that human beings are basically good. When they are first born and grow up as babies and toddlers, humans are innocent. However, with the effects of outside experiences and social expectations, human beings can be prone to evil. Humans want to be recognized within society and this can be seen in the movie, “The Talented Mr. Ripley”. Due to the social environment that Tom Ripley lives in, he feels the need to fit in and be wealthy like the people around him. This causes him to seek for ways, whether the action is moral or immoral, to attain a higher social status.

During the middle ages, Christianity was the most dominant force and empire in Europe. The catholic church had vast wealth, influence, and power during this time in the history. On of the main figures of that time was Pope Innocent III he was one of the most powerful and influential people in the world. An important writing the Innocent published was “On the Misery of the Human Condition”. This piece talked about the nature of the world as well as impending death and damnation. “He will become fuel for the eternal fires, food for worms, a mass of rottenness”(Innocent III).The “On the Misery of the Human Condition” reveal the medieval idea of the nature of man that humanity is evil and unworthy and life are pointless. Major churches stressed

Matthew Engel Intro to Philosophy 6 December 2017 The Problem of Evil Greatness exist everywhere, from something as important as the creating to cure for sick to something small as holding a door open for a stranger. Even the smallest good can have an influence on people. Although there is so much greatness in the word, people don’t take into account how much evil there is in the world. To get to where were as a civilization there has been so much war and death. Medicine and vaccines now maybe able to cure diseases such as the Spanish flu, but almost a century ago, hundreds of thousands of people died. These examples might be some of the worst cases of evil, but evil be as simple as bullying a kid at school. Some people don’t even recognize

In his most well known work, The Republic, Plato states that in his view, only in a good society can the good life be achieved. The Republic outlines Plato’s idea of a perfect or utopian society. He also identifies the four cardinal virtues that are required for a good society. These cardinal virtues are temperance or self-control, courage, wisdom, and justice. Without these virtues he believed that the good life could not be obtained. In The Republic Plato also discusses two different forms of

“Early eightieth century BC records of legalised death penalty laws have been uncovered in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes.” Famous philosophers Plato and Bentham have given their ethical viewpoints; from there assumptions can be drawn on

Comparing the political theories of any two great philosophers is a complex task. Plato and Aristotle are two such philosophers who had ideas of how to improve existing societies during their individual lifetimes. While both Plato and Aristotle were great thinkers, perhaps it is necessary first to examine

Imitative Art A Comparison of the Philosophies of Plato & Aristotle And the Ultimate Beneficial Nature of the Tragic Drama By: Stephanie Cimino In the various discussions of imitative art there has been a notable disagreement between two distinguished philosophers; Plato and Aristotle. Although it was Plato who first discussed the concept of imitative art, it is my belief that Aristotle was justified in his praise and admiration of imitative art, specifically, the tragic drama. In my discussion on the two philosophers’ dissertations I will begin with the ideas of Plato and his position and requirements for imitative art and its respected uses, after which I will discuss the ideas of Aristotle to show that the tragic