Death & The Philosopher
Raymond Tallis on philosophical attitudes to non-being.
If Socrates is thanking someone for curing him of the disease of life, than how much courage does it take to end it? On the contrary, if one sees life as a disease in search of a cure, then at the very moment one comes to that conclusion why not end it all then and there.
Really, in one respect, Socrates is no different from the rest of us. There are either enough fulfillments and satisfactions in ones life to warrant continuing on with it or the pain and the suffering becomes so great that it is preferable to end it…even at the cost of having to abandon all the pleasures.
On the other hand, Socrates death also becomes entangled in politics. Those in power put him in a position where his death eventually becomes a philosophical issue for many. Was his a wise choice or not?
And then the part that revolves around God or “the gods” and religion.
From History.Com
“Although he never outright rejected the standard Athenian view of religion, Socrates’ beliefs were nonconformist. He often referred to God rather than the gods, and reported being guided by an inner divine voice.”
So, okay, what were his views on immortality and salvation? To the extent that anyone believes that both are in fact a part of their own future, death can only be that much more bearable. Perhaps even something to look forward to. It’s not for nothing that suicide is frowned upon by most denominations. After all, if they advertise paradise for all of eternity, why not get there as quickly as possible.
This of course is presented as a “noble death”. Or a “death with dignity”. One’s integrity remains intact. Even in the midst of a dysfunctional body, the spirit prevails. But, according to Timothy S Yoder from Marquette University, “Hume challenges some of the arguments for the existence of God, but repeatedly in his writings, he affirms God’s existence and speculates about God’s nature.”
No chronic diarrhea in Heaven one imagines.
Still, the bottom line I suspect is that the individual reactions to death of philosophers known and unknown will be all over the board. Just as with the rest of us. There are simply too many different “situations” that we can find ourselves in to ever suppose that a “philosophy of death” won’t be especially embedded in dasein.