Teddy Larkin

PHIL 100
Fall 2012
Nemli

Socrates: The Philosophical Martyr

American novelist Chuck Palahniuk once wrote in his novel Survivor: The only
difference between a suicide and a martyrdom really is press coverage. Socrates, in the
Apology, refused to use pity to convince the jury to be lenient towards him. Instead
Socrates did not modify his demeanor for the trial but in turn attempted to defend himself
by holding a continued dialogue within the context of the court. While many of those
familiar with the Apology may believe Socrates committed suicide, in actuality Socrates
did not commit suicide, should be perceived as a philosophical martyr, and perceived his
death as a learning opportunity for all the Athenians oblivious to the beauty of thought.
Suicide, from the root sui- (self) and -cide (killing) is defined by the MerriamWebster dictionary as an act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and
intentionally especially by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind. The
Additionally Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a martyr as a person who sacrifices
something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of principle. Martyrdom is
not reflective of any form of suicide. The two actions are completely different at every
level. The acts themselves, the intentions, and the circumstances are all radically diverse.
A martyr loves something so much that he/she is willing to give up everything for it, even
their life. A suicidal individual must love nothing in life enough to live for and initiates

self-destruction. The purpose of suicide is to cause the death of an individual, while the
purpose of martyrdom is to preserve something in which an individual is willing to give
everything for. Socrates did not commit suicide because his intention when drinking the
hemlock was not to bring about his death, but rather to stay true to his moral beliefs by
respecting the decision of an honorable court.
There is no evidence suggesting that Socrates would have been compelled to
commit suicide if the Athenians hadnt falsely condemned him. According to Plato,
suicide is an act of cowardice or laziness undertaken by individuals too delicate to
manage life's vicissitudes. Plato, however, recognized a few exceptions to this principle.
The most relevant exception to Socrates case is when the self-killing is done by judicial
order.
Socrates death as a result of a legislative execution completely alters the analysis
of his intentions. Socrates took the hemlock because this was the mandated method of
execution for those sentenced by the courts in Athens. He was necessitated to assist in his
own death. Drinking the hemlock was a sentence forced upon him, not an act of his free
will. His only choice was the manner his death: dignified or undignified. The court
ordered Socrates to take the hemlock as the mandated method of execution. Socrates had
no choice in determining whether or not he wanted to drink the hemlock, as the
Athenians would have killed Socrates even if he had refused to take it. The state acted
through Socrates and therefore the court caused Socrates to perform coerced selfdestruction.

Another sign that Socrates did not desire to die can be seen through the three
punishments Socrates proposed as alternatives to death. The first penalty proposed by
Socrates is a comical suggestion in that since he has: urged the Athenians to practice
virtue and care for their soul more than their body (36b-c), he must make a just
assessment of what he deserves, and decided: I assess it at this: free meals in the
Prytaneum (Apology 36d-37a). Socrates then started to take a more realistic approach to
his case and suggested: If I had any money, I would assess the penalty at the amount I
could pay, for that would not hurt me, but I have none, perhaps I could pay you one mina
of silver (Apology 38b). One mina is equivalent to the standard daily wage of a laborer
so it is a respectable amount. After his second recommendation the gravity of his
situation appeared to sink in as Socrates went even further to say: Plato here and Crito
and Critoboulus and Apollodorus bid me put the penalty at thirty minae, and they will
stand surety for the money (Apology 38b). He may have started his penalty
recommendations as a joke, sarcastically mocking the court, but by his last
recommendation Socrates appeared to be on the verge of begging for them help him.
Socrates proposes the second two punishments since he had no aspirations to die, knew
he could not defy his moral code in order to avoid death, and was trying to find a morally
acceptable alternative.
Socrates was so steadfast in his principles that he couldnt contradict them to save
his own life. During Socrates imprisonment, his friend, Crito, organized for his escape,
but Socrates wouldnt allow it. Since a genuine court performed his trial, he believed it
was morally correct to obey their verdict. Plato writes: I would rather die having spoken
in my manner, than speak in your manner and live. For neither in war nor yet in law

ought any man use every way of escaping death. The difficulty, my friends, is not in
avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness; for that runs deeper than death
(Apology 38-39). Socrates cared more about being a moral and just individual than he did
about his own life. Socrates refused to contradict himself or alter his monologues in order
to conform to the Athenian standards.
Socrates was not troubled by death, but he made it clear that he was not an
advocate of suicide. Socrates even states: I too, believe that the gods are our guardians,
and that we are a possession of theirs. And if one of your possessions, an ox or an ass, for
example took the liberty of putting himself out of the way when you had given no
intimation of your wish that he should die, would you not be angry with him, and would
you not punish him if you could? ...Then there may be reason in saying that a man should
wait, and not take his own life until god summons him.(Phaedo 62b). Socrates explicitly
explains that as humans we have no right to harm ourselves, the gods gave us our bodies
and we do not have the right to destroy them. Socrates viewed us all as servants of the
gods. Socrates discussed his personal role under the gods: Be sure that this is what the
god orders me to do, and I think there is no greater blessing for the city than my service
to the god. For I go around doing nothing but persuading both young and old among you
not to care for your body or your wealth in preference to or as strongly as for the best
possible state of your soulWealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence
brings about wealth and all other public and private blessings for men (Apology 29e30b). Socrates understood thats his god-given mission was to allocate to Athens his
understanding of how we should live our lives.

Socrates is criticized for not trying to escape or avoid death after his verdict
extremely detrimental to Athens by prematurely ending his philosophical career. Socrates
did not desire to die and no matter if he had fled his persecutors he would not have been
able to fulfill his god-given mission of educating his beloved Athens. Socrates compares
himself to a gadfly: as if Athens is a great and noble horse, and he tries to rouse and
awake them from being sluggish or unreflective by means of persuasion and reproach
(Apology 30). Socrates also calls himself a gift to Athens because: it does not seem like
human nature for me to have neglected all my own affairs and to have tolerated this
neglect now for so many years while I was always concerned with you, approaching each
of you like a father or an elder brother to persuade you to care for virtue (Apology 31ab). Socrates cared deeply about the well being of the city of Athens and could not fathom
going anywhere else as he was so closely attached to it.
Socrates warns that by killing him, the court would cause more damage to Athens
than to him and that younger and harsher critics, whom Socrates had been containing, to
emerge and distribute his teachings anyways. Even if he had fled prison, which goes
against his moral values since he honored the verdict of the court, he would be forced to
leave Athens, his word would be discredited everywhere and he would be out of favor
with the gods. Socrates believed that his exile would harm Athens more than killing him
would, as it would not spark the same change in Athens his death would cause. Socrates
was willing to die in order that he might be able to affect Athens in the way he deems
will have the most favorable results.

One method of determining Socrates true intentions in taking the hemlock

involves analyzing a failed attempt. A suicidal person is one whose success is completely
dependent on whether or not they die. If Socrates true motive was solely to kill himself
then he would have considered drinking hemlock and surviving as a failure. Alternatively
if Socrates motive was not a suicidal one and he survived after drinking the hemlock, he
would not have viewed his survival as a failure, but would have remained true to himself
Socrates did not commit suicide, should be perceived as a philosophical martyr,
and perceived his death as a learning opportunity for all the Athenians oblivious to the
beauty of thought. Socrates selfless actions mirrored the definition of a martyr:
sacrificing something of great value, his life, for the sake of principle. Through the
arguments posed previously, the definition of suicide, and the definition of martyr one
can say that martyrdom is never a form of suicide and Socrates resembles a philosophical
martyr. Therefore one can use the associative property and conclude that since Socrates is
a philosophical martyr, he could not have committed suicide.