Why would Socrates rather die than to renounce his beliefs?

Considerations of life and death are selfish and unimportant next to considerations of justice. Socrates goes further to suggest that if the court were to acquit him only on the condition that he give up philosophizing, he would refuse their offer, choosing to die rather than to abandon his duty to Apollo.

What was Socrates philosophy on 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.

Why did Socrates choose death over exile?

Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and sentenced to death. Choosing not to flee, he spent his final days in the company of his friends before drinking the executioner’s cup of poisonous hemlock.

What are the two reasons that Socrates thinks it is irrational to fear death?

Socrates argues that we ought to face our own end in the same manner. For him, there is no reason to fear death because it is one of two things: The entrance to an afterlife; or. Dreamless sleep.

What is Socrates argument against suicide?

Socrates offers two justifications for the prohibition on suicide (62b1–9): first, that “we are in a kind of prison, and must not free ourselves or run away” (the Prison Argument, PA); and second, that “the gods are our guardians and we are one of their possessions” (the Gods Argument, GA).

What is Socrates philosophy of life why has it been called paradoxical?

Why couldn’t he accept exile? Socrates’s understanding of himself is that life is not worth living is he cannot choose what is right (c.f., the Socratic paradox. Socrates notes that he cannot change and improve his soul; hence, if he went elsewhere, he would continue his questioning.

How did Socrates change philosophy?

Socrates’ most important contribution to Western philosophy was his technique for arguing a point, known as the Socratic technique, which he applied to many things such as truth and justice. The Socratic technique is a negative strategy for gradually disproving unwanted theories, leaving you with the most logical one.