Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Analysis - Essay Example Therefore, his attitude towards death and afterlife was perceived as rather odd and unusual, but the line of development arranged by Socrates for his arguments supporting the idea of death seems rather plausible and – together with the metaphysical theory of forms elaborated by Plato – underlies many ideas of Christianity formed later. Juxtaposition of Socratic and Christian doctrines is possible at least due to the concept of the immortal soul and fleeting nature of earthly life inside the material body. At the end of the dialogue, just before he died, Socrates asked his friend Crito to make an offering – a cock - to Asclepius, and this last request has been interpreted in many ways; yet, the most common understanding on this expression is that death is perceived as a relief and cure for all miseries and maladies of life. As a thesis, I would state that his view of life and death (death being a state free of all earthly concerns) is rather reasonable to certain extent, as Socrates manages to support it with the insight to the ideas of objective reality, reason and immortality of the soul. As the search for truth in the course of dispute and discussion is a hallmark of Socrates’ philosophy, no wonder that he prefers to lead his companions to understanding of the truth giving them points for consideration and constantly asking questions (as if he wasn’t sure and wanted his point of view to be confirmed and approved by his friends). In this dialogue, we see the philosopher gradually unfolding his ideas of death and afterlife in front of his companions and supporting his statements with examples. As the fear of death becomes the main issue of concern, Socrates states that a person should perceive his/her death gladly and have no fear of it. Whereas at the first sight, this idea seems rather puzzling, it makes sense as soon as the concept of immortal soul is applied. Providing a fellow philosopher as an example, Socrates proves that a thinker