The Death Of An Ancient Greek Philosopher

The government has always had regulations that must be followed. One of these cases was in Athens, 399 BC, confronting the trial and execution of Socrates. This particular situation focused on the violations of the government’s devine rules and expectations; however, there is more than meets the eye as to why the execution took place. Socrates’ execution was brought upon by his thoughts and teachings, the conflicting ideas of the government, and his refusal of a trial.

Socrates was a Western Ancient Athenian Greek philosopher who lived from 469 BCE until his death in 399 BCE. He was a student to another philosopher, Sophists, Socrates was different from most Greek philosophers he wanted to get at the truth and find out how one can truly be ‘good’ and moral in life. “To Socrates the soul is identified with the mind; it is the seat of reason and capable of finding the ethical truths, which will restore meaning and value of life” (ADD IN-TEXT CITATION SEMINAR). We continue to use many of Socrates teachings today, such as, ‘The Socratic method’, which is known as asking a question and within these questions you lead it to the answer you wanted to hear, many uses this as a teaching technique and is shown to be highly effective. A great number of Athenians looked up to Socrates and considered him the wise man of Athens, he had many followers whom would ask questions and seek answers. As popularity and following of Socrates grew so did accusations. The charges laid on Socrates by the Athenians were unjust and therefore his death was highly wrong in the eyes of true democracy that Athens was apparently known for. In this paper, I will discuss how Socrates was wrongfully convicted for the corruption of the youth despite having many young followers, introducing new Gods while still being considered an Atheist, and the main reason he was seen as a threat to Athens was that he brought change to the city.

Epicurus was a hedonist, a materialist and a consequentialist who strongly believed that in order to attain the good life one must live a pleasant existence free of worry and pain. Through reflection of the concepts in Epicurus’s Letter to Menoeceus this paper will

Death is the most inevitable and unknown aspect of life. It is unescapable, and by most of today’s population, it is feared in the utmost regard. Our materialistic views and constant desertion of religious ideals has forced our society to view death as an ultimate end. Socrates and St. Augustine’s views on death differ from many views on the subject in 2017, however, for their time, these men had the power to influence a plethora of individuals with their theories. For Socrates, death should never be feared and should be considered a blessing if our souls were to ascend to heaven, or death could be an extensive slumber without any dreaming whatsoever. With

Socrates and Jesus were two teachers whose guidance people still follow today. They were both sentenced to death for their teachings even though there were witnesses to their innocence. Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth and practicing atheism by three men, Lytus, Anytus, and Meletus. Plato, Socrates’ student, recorded Socrates’ defense speech. Socrates succeeded in getting some of the jury to see the truth, but in the end, he was sentenced to the death penalty. The Gospel of Luke is a section in the New Testament that reveals the Lord Jesus Christ and all he taught until he was killed. Jesus ' teachings and preaching are brought out as he healed the wounded and sick, and brought hope to the desperate. Jesus was also sentenced to death, but death did not keep him from teaching and after three days he resurrected and continued to teach. These men both died for truth and accepted their punishments. Socrates and Jesus have some similarities in their teachings and experiences, but Jesus focused more on shaping others and taught the “Christian life”, while Socrates shaped his students by teaching them how to take a different path than what the majority follows.

By viewing the painting The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David, Socrates’ loyalty to the Athenian government was far more important to him than his own death or friendship. He was more interested in teaching his students about his belief in reason and the law of justice before he died. Still, the students and friends were arguing with him and trying to convince him to renounce his teachings. Socrates was strong in telling his students how it was for the good of society that he drinks the poison hemlock. He was not going to change what he was teaching all along when he truly believed in the democratic Athenian government laws. Socrates’ loyalty to the government was much stronger than the ties of friendship or acquaintances.

Terror management theory (TMT) asserts that human beings have natural tendency for self-preservation if there is threat to one’s well–being (Greenberg, Solomon, & Pyszczynski, 1997). It notes that we are the cultural animals that pose self-awareness on the concept of past and future, as well as the understanding that one day we will die. We concern about our life and death but aware that it is unexpected by everything. The worse matter is that we become aware of our vulnerability and helplessness when facing death-related thoughts and ultimate demise (Pyszczynski & Greenberg, 1992). The inevitable death awareness or mortality salience provides a ground for experiencing the existential terror, which is the overwhelming concern of people’s

25. Epicurean teachings and politics were based on individual pleasure. The highest of all pleasures is the serenity of the soul, in complete absence of mental and physical pain. This can be achieved by eliminating fear.

In evaluating the philosopher’s goal of determining how to live a good life, Epicurean philosophers argue that pleasure is the greatest good and pain is the greatest bad. Foremost, for the purpose of this analysis, I must define the pleasure and pain described. Pleasure is seen as the state of being pleased or gratified. This term is defined more specifically by the subject to which the pleasure applies, depending on what he likes. Pain is the opposite of pleasure, which is a type of emotional or physical un-pleasure that results in something that the person dislikes. “Everything in which we rejoice is pleasure, just as everything that distresses us is pain,” (Cicero 1). Through this hedonistic assessment of pleasure and pain, epicurean philosophers come to the conclusion that, “the greatest pleasure [is that] which is perceived once all pain has been removed,” (Epicurus 1).

The question of why Socrates was executed and if he deserved the charges put against him has been asked by historians for centuries.

Viewing the painting “The Death of Socrates” by Jacques-Louis David, one can perceive many different subject matters, both literally and metaphorically. The obvious is seen within the setting of the painting. The clear illustration of where the event is happening provides the onlooker with a glimpse into a different time and era. Conversely, the artist has taken the liberty to hide deep meaning inside the work of art through less apparent means. Symbolism through art work has endured from early works to contemporized ones, here is no different. Taking the two aforementioned into consideration gives us a glimpse into both the symbolic and factual significance of the occasion.

In the painting, The death of Socrates as elaborated in the video shows emphasis through the choice of color, placement and implied line as well as directional forces. For example, Socrate is placed in the middle of the painting with a white brilliant colored robe beside a man that is giving him a cup of poison with a brilliant red robe. The use of these colors create the contrast between death and blood with life and purity. By placing Socrate by himself helps create more attention to his figure. Emphasizing the importance of his character and his status. Emphasize shown through implied space can be seen by the interaction between Socrates and the man giving him the cup of poison. Giving more meaning to the painting and enhancing the motives

Classical Greek thinkers have many outlooks on the world and how it became what it is today. As a group the Classical Greek thinkers helped provide us with a basis of modern science as well as the idea of epistemology or the study of knowledge. Their ideas and curiosities allowed for rational or philosophical outlooks on life. However, the Greeks did not abandon the idea of having a mythopoeic outlook

Rosenbaum defends the epicurean view throughout his essay. Epicurus “argued that since death is neither good or bad for the person dead and since the fear of that which is not bad for one is groundless, it is unreasonable to fear death” (Benatar, 175). A person when dead is lifeless and therefore cannot feel anything. This

The Death of Socrates was painted by the French painter Jacques-Louis David during the Neo-classical era in 1787. The painting illustrates the execution the Philosopher Socrates as told by Plato in his Phaedo. In 399 B.C, the Athenian court had put Socrates on trial for talking about things in the sky and below the earth, corrupting the minds of the youth, and not believing in the gods, but in other spiritual things. Socrates was then sentenced to death by drinking a poisoned hemlock. In Plato’s Phaedo Death Scene and Apology, both works recount the trial and death scene of Socrates. David, later on, paint the death scene of Socrates inspired by the Phaedo Death Scene. Socrates gives his last lesson to his students while calmly facing