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2 September 2015
PHIL 120
Reading Reaction I
Flaws with Socrates Argument on Death
In Platos Apology, Socrates lists the two possibilities he sees for what happens after
death, and comes to the conclusion that death is a blessing. However, both of his arguments for
why each possibility is a blessing have flaws, and thus his statement that death is a blessing
cannot be proven for certain. I will list the first possibility and its flaws, followed by the second
Socrates states that the first possibility of death is that the dead are in an eternal slumber
and have no perceptions. Because of this, he states that death would be similar to a night without
dreams. He asserts that nights without dreams are more desirable than nights filled with dreams
because upon waking one feels instantly refreshed, and it seems as if the night has passed in an
instant. He carries this assertion to say that all of eternity would seem like the passing of a single
night without dreams, and therefore would be desirable. However, I argue that Socratess
argument does not account for the fact that the reason that nights without dreams are enjoyable
are because of feeling instantly refreshed when waking up, and one does not wake from death. I
would argue that while one sleeps they are not aware of the night passing around them, but are
only aware of it once they wake. Therefore a person would not feel refreshed or be able to
appreciate the time passing while dead, and the time could only be seen as neutral, desirable or
undesirable. In addition, if this possibility is true, dying an untimely death would deprive a
person of possible earthly pleasantries which they have the possibility of experiencing before an
eternity of neutrality. One could argue that a person could also experience unpleasant aspects of
life such as imprisonment or torture if they were to live, and would be better off in a neutral state
of death. However, if a person has the possibility of having a pleasurable experience, even if
only a small one such as hearing birds sing at dawn, it is still an additional experience they
would be unable to appreciate in death. These possible pleasurable experiences would still
benefit a person, and give them a larger total of pleasurable experiences in life, which being alive
Socrates second perceived possibility for death is a relocation of the soul to another
place. He believes in the Roman gods, and says that a person who is just in life will be judged
accordingly and will be given the company of many great men, with whom they can join in
eternal conversation, which Socrates judges to be pleasurable. However, we can come to the
conclusion that his view of the afterlife is unlikely because of modern advancements. Earlier in
his defense, Socrates mentions that he believes the sun and moon to be gods (26e). However, it is
known today through science that the sun and moon are not gods, and instead are gas and rock.
Because aspects of his religion have been proven to be untrue, I argue that Socrates assumption
made about the possible afterlife are not certain as he believed, and are in fact unlikely. If
someone were to prove that Socrates view of afterlife existed, there would still be a flaw in his
argument, because one would have to be certain that they would be judged and sent to a
pleasurable afterlife. People are not perfect beings and make mistakes, and if there are gods we
cannot be certain which behaviors and/or thoughts could be disapproved of, and could lead to an
afterlife that is not pleasurable. One could argue that the gods lay out guidelines for their
followers that can be followed through texts and oracles. If there are gods who lay out their
complete guidelines, and one has lived their entire life according to them with the promise of a
pleasurable afterlife and the god follows through on the promise, then the afterlife will be
pleasurable. However, those conditions would need to be proven for a person to be sure that their
afterlife would be pleasurable, and that death is a blessing. In addition, if one could provide
proof for a similar afterlife in which a just person would be rewarded with pleasurable amenities
and company, his argument would still stand true, even though it is not the same belief system
that he carried.
Finally, Socrates does not account for other possibilities after death such as reincarnation,
or other religious interpretations of the afterlife. One would need to account for these
possibilities as well to make a final judgement on whether death can be a blessing. However with
the flaws I have found in Socrates two possibilities, I can say that death is not a certain blessing
as he describes, rather it is likely that death is either neutral and should be avoided as one could
still gain pleasurable experiences if alive, or the is the possibility of an unpleasant afterlife that