Do you think that Socrates drank the hemlock out of self love? That many suicides are a result of too much...?

Question

...love of self (self meaning both body and philosophy or outlook on life). Socrates was criticized for his teaching of his philosophy and ordered to kill himself. Did he do so because he loved his philosophy so much he could not bear life with out it; that he could not consider he might be wrong in some way?

Answer 1

No, no, and no. I think if he loved himself more than anything else, he would have tried to save his own life and continue speaking his philosophy. Why and how would he have to bear life without his philosophy if he had lived? I think he figured that standing by his principles, and dying by hemlock as demanded by his sentence was more dignified than kowtowing, and dying pretty soon anyway of old age. I think he may have been trying to serve as an example of a brave man standing up to threats and false accusations even at the cost of his own life.

Answer 2

To the best of my knowledge, some where in his late sixties, Socrates is found guilty of crime; first, for not worshiping the gods whom the city worships, but introducing new divinities of his own; secondly, for corrupting the youth. The penalty due is death.
He could have denied his beliefs, however, to do so would incur the guilt of irreligious: disobedience to the mandate of the gods.
He choose hemlock, being the lesser of two evils...... he would not be coerced into admitting that his whole life was nothing but a lie....... for without truth and honor, what good was it to him?
I would have done the same.

Answer 3

At age 71, he wanted to go out ON TOP!

If he had gone into exile, perhaps Plato never would have written so much about him. Plato was still a young and impressionable 28 years old...

Even after he was found guilty of Blasphemy, the Greek tribunal did give Socrates an uncharacteristic option of formulating his own sentence. What his reply was, insulted the court even more...

Answer 4

I think I will take him at his word. When ask directly why he was drinking the hemlock before the ascribed time, his answer was "I want to see what is on the other side".
I don't think his death could be view within the context of suicide. How did you draw that conclusion
Your thinking about suicide is also erroneous. When ones perception of life is that they are threaten, and helpless, and hopeless to change. If they choose not to fight for change but to run. Then suicide ideation will manifest, and may be acted on.

Answer 5

Both body and philosophy is self love? That kind of self has no externality and therefor is incapable for connection to reality. Its a stupid question because ego is essential for knowing human worth as a positive value. The question is of the superego, and, as I have said before, superego destroys everything else.

Socrates did not want to diminish respect for the law in running from it.

Answer 6

have you checked out just how old socrates was when he drank that stuff?

going into exile would have meant a major shift in living conditions for socrates: it could easily have killed him anyway.

socrates had no fear of death (his lack of fear was the first thing that most people noticed about him). he found it easy to accept death as the cost of remaining true to his deepest convictions.

of course 'courage' and 'honesty' are difficult concepts for those who don't have them.

Answer 7

Greek females weren't allowed to learn the Greek language. Copycats?

Answer 8

Suicide is not caused by self love. It is caused by self loathing. He could not live without his philosophy.

Answer 9

To love wisom is not to love one's self. Your definitions are too ambiguous for the question to have any real meaning. To call integrity self-love is to try to discredit by reduction.

Answer 10

He was given the choice of death or exile, so he definitely died for personal reasons.