What are your thoughts on Socrates choosing death?

Socrates insisted that for a moral person, death was a good thing and should be welcomed. Suicide was wrong, he added, because men and women are the property of the immortal gods, and as such should not be harmed intentionally because this was an attack on the property of others.

What does Socrates think should be his punishment?

The accusers of Socrates proposed the punishment of death. In proposing death, the accusers might well have expected to counter with a proposal for exile–a punishment that probably would have satisfied both them and the jury.

What does Socrates fear more than death?

Putting an innocent man to death is far worse, and thus far more to be feared, than dying oneself, according to Socrates, and so really it is the jury, and not Socrates himself, that is in grave danger. In doing what he does, Socrates claims he is doing Athens a great favor, and he will not be easy to replace.

Why did Socrates suggest that he was a gadfly to Athens?

According to the words put into his mouth by Plato, Socrates believed that he had been sent by the gods to act as a “gadfly” to the Athenian state. Socrates believed he did this by stinging the steed of state “all day long and in all places”. No wonder it wanted to get rid of him by forcing him to commit suicide!

What does Socrates think is worse than death?

Socrates believes that wickedness is worse than death (“death is something I couldn’t care less about…my whole concern is not to do anything unjust or impious” (32d).)

Why does Socrates consider himself to be a gift from the god to Athens?

At 31b, Socrates attempts to convince the jury that he really is a gift from God to Athens by asking them whether it seems natural for someone to neglect his own affairs, endure the humiliation of allowing his family to be neglected while he busied himself on behalf of Athens’ citizens.

Why did Socrates decide to kill himself?

Xenophon’s account states that Socrates believed it was the right time for him to die and “he was better off dead”. The reasons he gave in support of his decisions were many: 1. He did not want to create an impression that he was afraid of death.

How did Socrates die in the Crucible?

Faced with the two choices, the jury selected death for Socrates. The philosopher was taken to the near-by jail where his sentence would be carried out. Athenian law prescribed death by drinking a cup of poison hemlock. Socrates would be his own executioner.

Could Socrates have avoided death by recommending exile?

Socrates was given the opportunity to suggest his own punishment and could probably have avoided death by recommending exile. Instead, the philosopher initially offered the sarcastic recommendation that he be rewarded for his actions. When pressed for a realistic punishment, he proposed that he be fined a modest sum of money.

What happened to Athens during Socrates’ life?

During Socrates’ life, Athens was going through a dramatic transition from hegemony in the classical world to its decline after a humiliating defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. Athenians entered a period of instability and doubt about their identity and place in the world.