Edward Lynch

Philosophy Assignment #1

Despite the differences in time, setting, and certainty of death, Socrates Apology
and Phaedo have connected messages, that is, that there is life after death of the body,
and that philosophers such as he are concerned with disconnecting from the physical in
order to get in touch with the spiritual. A recurring theme of these two accounts is
(appropriately) death whether there is anything after it and whether the way you live up
until your death really matters. The accounts simply approach the subject from different
directions, namely Apology approaches the subject of death from the direction of life
and Phaedo approaches from the direction of the afterlife, so to speak.
In Apology, Socrates sheds light on the fact that death could be a good thing: I
mean, no one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all goods for people, but
they fear it as if they knew for certain that its the worst thing of all (Apology, 28e-29a).
This ignorance of others is backed up by his interrogations of people during his search for
the wisest. Socrates found that those who had a reputation for knowing a lot really didnt
know much at all. And so this finding remains true in regards to the subject of death.
This is a huge connection to Phaedo in its thesis statements: it is that I shall come to
gods who are very good masters (Phaedo, 63c) and other people do not realize that
the one aim of those who practice philosophy in the proper manner is to practice for
dying and death (Phaedo, 64a). These statements, as well as his suggestion of death as a
good thing during the trial, suggest that death is actually a climax, rather than the terrible
end that everyone thinks it is. The mention of the gods as masters reveals Socrates hope
that the afterlife is actually better than the earthly life. His assertion of the purpose of
philosophy is clearly backed up by his entire trial, in that he does not give into running
from death or from practicing philosophy. During Socrates discussion of the immortal
soul, Simmias formulates an objection using the lyre analogy that says the harmony of
the soul is destroyed upon destruction of the physical instrument. Socrates defeats this
argument by stating that if the harmony was the soul, then it must exist before the lyre
did. I believe that in addition to this, he could have also made a suggestion that since the
soul is not a harmony, that soul is actually a someone who plays the lyre. This would
be more appropriate because in this scenario, the soul is a being and the harmony is the
result of that beings actions. Socrates does in fact present his views in the Apology that
the actions during ones life affect the purity of the soul, thus increasing the plausibility
of this new lyre analogy.
During his trial, Socrates, in addition to disproving the rumors about him not
believing in gods, goes one step further by proving how he is a just and pious man
because he has been stationed by his commander (the gods) and remain[ed] steadfast
in danger, taking no account at all of death or of anything else (Apology, 28d).
Basically, he considers his life and actions as good because he has remained steadfast in
philosophy, which he attempts to prove as virtuous. Contrary to what his accusers
believe, Socrates claims himself as a public benefactor who neglected all [his] own
affairsbut always to have minded your business, by visiting each of you in privateto
persuade you to care about virtue (Apology, 30b). By showing his good actions,
Socrates is trying to make a connection to larger ideas, namely, justice and piety, which
ultimately and logically point towards an afterlife. If there was no afterlife, the pursuance
of justice would really have no meaning. Socrates directly connects to these ideas when
he confronts the jury: a juror doesnt sit in order to grant justice as a favor, but to
decide where justice liesHence dont expect me, men of Athens, to act toward you in
ways I consider to be neither noble, nor just, nor pious (Apology, 35c-35d). Socrates
presents a similar idea in his prison cell, that every pleasure or pain provides, as it were,
another nail to rivet the soul to the body and to weld them together. It makes the soul
corporeal, so that it believes that truth is what the body says it is (Phaedo, 83d).
Ironically, this statement gives a very good description of his accusers. His accusers
gathered rumors about Socrates until they believed in their hearts that they were true.
They then exploited this by seeking to kill Socrates. This pleasure then added more nails
between their bodies and their souls.