Socrates was a victim of his own ideas
A warning tale for all rationality bros
The Politics Behind The Socrates Trial
Socrates was sentenced to DEATH this week, 2422 years ago. Why did Ancient Athens kill its wisest man? How did this become history's most famous case of poisoning? The death of Socrates is a mystery because it could've EASILY been avoided. Let's dig in.
The common assumption that Socrates was a free speech martyr is incorrect. Socrates had contempt for free speech. The trial of Socrates was actually elite in-fighting. But the death of Socrates was not state-sponsored murder as much as suicide by proxy.
In 399 BC, Anytus, a politician, charged Socrates with corrupting the young and disrespecting the Gods. Anytus fled Athens mere years ago when Critias, a STUDENT of Socrates, made himself tyrant of Athens. Democracy returned but Anytus didn't exactly have love for Socrates.
Socrates was also associating with - teaching? corrupting? - the son of Anytus. Now imagine you are Anytus - there is this guy whose students tend to destroy Athenian democracy or conspire with enemies (Alcibiades, also Socrates' student). Now your son is hanging out with him.
So Socrates is charged - but death is by no means pre-destined.
Socrates could've skipped town.
He could've used a free speech defense (Ancient Athens scholar I.F. Stone wrote it would've worked).
Could've suggested a plausible alternative to death.
But he chose hemlock. Why?
Was Socrates “Asking For It?”
It is extraordinary to see how Socrates antagonized his jury. When it was time to suggest alternatives to the death penalty, he suggested that he be crowned a hero. He demanded feasts reserved for foreign dignitaries and Olympic winners. And his arrogance didn't end there.
Next, Socrates said he should be fined "1 mina" - a laughably small sum. This shocked Plato and others, who begged him to raise the amount to "30 mina." He did, but the jury had had enough. More people voted for the death penalty than those who initially voted to convict him...
Socrates had one final chance to escape from jail, one night before his death. He turned it down. Crito, a Socrates loyalist, blamed him for being suicidal. And then Socrates, a lifelong devotee of reason, started giving strange justifications for his actions.
First Socrates said he was duty-bound to do what Athens asked him to - after a LIFETIME of nonconformity. Then he said death would free his soul from bodily shackles and make him perceive the truth as is. Then he said he didn't want to experience the infirmities of old age.
But perhaps Socrates was just a victim of the Socratic Method?
Never go full retard logic
Socrates left people feeling dejected and confused with his incessant questioning.
Meno, a student, called him a "flat torpedo sea-fish" that numbs anyone upon contact.
Did this numbness finally reach Socrates?
In Hippia Major, Hippias tells Socrates: “I cannot agree with you."
Socrates' response: "Nor I with myself, Hippias. I go astray, up and down, and never hold the same opinion."
Socrates tried drilling down to absolute truth.
But his fanaticism made sure he was left with nothing but a void.
Even Cicero, a fan of Socrates, said that he was "purely negative" and refrained from "pronouncing any positive judgement."
Much of life, however, is premised on faith.
Action demands commitment.
To wait around for ultimate proof means to wait around forever.
Socrates put knowledge at the center of life, mocked people for not having sound reasons for their actions, and held instinct inferior to logic.
What did this complete devotion to rationality add up to?
To nihilism.
And the following last words:
"Crito, life is a disease."
If you enjoyed this newsletter, check out:
Against Knowledge: A Reading List
It’s a collection of dissident insights on why knowledge as we know it deserves not worship but a critical look.
Inside you will find:
Napoleon on why logic loses wars
Evola on the meaning of real knowledge
Nietzsche’s psychoanalysis of Socrates
And more.
Thank you for your time!
Jash (the oldbooksguy.)
If I was grading this essay as a paper, it would get a D. You clearly either didn't read Crito, or if you did, you absorbed nothing. To even argue Socrates's willing acceptance of his death sentence is nihilism is profoundly wrong. Please read Phaedo following Crito to understand how his death is imbued with the totality of philosophy itself.
I take issue with the conclusion you reach with Socrates, pardon, the republic and the other works have been years since last gleaned, though a romanticist in philosophy & one whom deeply appreciated the teachings of spaa, would see a different conclusion then mere nihilism from the likes of Socrates.