Precis

Melanie Pittman

Discussion Section 101

Rhetoric 103A

Virtue in the Face of Death: The Apology

Socrates: “…if, I say, now, when, as I conceive and imagine, God orders me to fulfill the philosopher's mission of searching into myself and other men, if I were to desert my post through fear of death, or any other fear; that would indeed be strange, and I might justly be arraigned in court for denying the existence of the gods, if I disobeyed the oracle because I was afraid of death: then I should be fancying that I was wise when I was not wise. For this fear of death is indeed the pretence of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being the appearance of knowing the unknown; 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. Is there not here conceit of knowledge, which is a disgraceful sort of ignorance? And this is the point in which, as I think, I am superior to men in general, and in which I might perhaps fancy myself wiser than other men, - that whereas I know but little of the world below, I do not suppose that I know: but I do know that injustice and disobedience to a better, whether God or man, is evil and dishonorable, and I will never fear or avoid a possible good rather than deny a certain evil.”

Throughout Plato’s Apology, Socrates makes four arguments against the charges brought against him by the court. In this passage, he is making his third argument, having already argued against charges of corruption and atheism; now, he is asserting that a fear of death is not a valid reason for rejecting one’s true calling in life, and that he will never abandon the practice of philosophy, even under the threat of execution. Socrates makes his argument against succumbing to a fear of death in two parts: the first argues that to do so would be of the most impious nature, and the second denounces the fear of death itself as the ultimate display of ignorance.

 Socrates believes that God has assigned him the mission of being a philosopher in search of truth and knowledge, and that this divine charge is of the utmost importance to undertake and carry out. Like a soldier who battles bravely on in the face of death, Socrates too will continue to serve his purpose to the gods, and not allow a fear of death to deter him. Indeed, to forsake his task in fear of death would be the ultimate act of impiety, equal to “denying the existence of the gods.” If he were to ever let himself fall prey to this level of cowardice, to deny his gods in place of his own self-preservation, then he would be deserving of a trial for impiety and atheism.

The rhetoric employed by Socrates in this portion of his argument subtly accomplishes two things: first, in attributing his life’s work of philosophy to the determination of the gods, he further substantiates his prior argument that he does indeed believe in gods and the supernatural. Additionally, in stating that “if I were to desert my post for fear of death… I might justly be arraigned… for denying the existence of gods,” he effectively invalidates the charge of atheism against him which (partially) brought him to trial. The judges of the court want him to admit to the charge of atheism in exchange for being spared death; he does the exact opposite, by accepting the possibility of his death if it means he doesn’t repudiate his gods. This role reversal subliminally tells his accusers that the very thing they’ve accused him of is the opposite of what warrants accusation, and they have no legitimate case against him.

The other main argument Socrates makes in this passage is that the very fear of death itself is irrational and unvirtuous, as no man has knowledge of what death entails; it is just assumed by most to be a “greatest of evils.” He sees this type of broad assumption of what comes after death as a gross “pretense of wisdom,” in which men presume they know particulars of something in which they cannot possibly have knowledge of at all. They will let this false knowledge influence them to take a dishonorable course of action to avoid dying, rather than stand by what is virtuous and welcome the notion of dying with honor.  

Socrates claims to have no knowledge nor assumptions about death and the afterlife, pointing out that for all anyone knows, it could be “the greatest of all blessings for men.” Men only assume the worst will happen after death, but it could truly be Heaven; with such a possibility present, and no evidence for the contrary, Socrates states that he would “never avoid a possible good” to instead choose a path of injustice. Though he declares full ignorance of the afterlife, he also believes the knowledge of knowing he doesn’t know makes him wiser than those who claim to know, as the absence of a fear of death keeps his judgment unclouded and his decisions more virtuous.

In both parts of his argument, Socrates makes it abundantly clear that he will not falter in his pursuit of philosophy, justice or virtue, even with the risk of death looming over his head. He uses rhetoric to flip the arguments of the courts in a way that uses their own charges against them, while simultaneously proving his innocence, all the while maintaining the stance that though he knows nothing, he is still wiser than the men passing judgment against him.