Socrates’ Approach to Thanatos

The problem of Socrates’ death has not been solved. Those ancients who were his contemporaries and successors found its circumstances so puzzling that they were inspired to produce a considerable body of literature (much of which is unhappily lost) in order to explain the paradoxes involved in it (Sokratikoi logoi). From both the ancient and the modern points of view, the most remarkable feature of Socrates’ death is that it was unnecessary. Even after his condemnation in court, his execution could have been avoided by maneuvres which required no particular adroitness, and which his friends would have been capable of accomplishing with ease. For a man, who, unlike Jesus1 with whom he has been compared, did not consider that he was of divine origin or nature or regard himself as a sacrifice on behalf of sinful humanity, Socrates’ approach to death was remarkably willing. It is the intention of this essay to examine this approach to thanatos within the context of psychoanalytical theory.

In pursuing this theme, we shall rely upon Plato as the principal source of information. Attempts to explain Socrates’ psychological nature in terms of his family background, like the interpretation contained in H. Gomperz's interesting monograph,2 are hampered by the paucity and general unreliability of the material concerning Socrates’ family and personal development. It would be rash to discount such sources altogether, for some of them come from reliable authors and may well be based upon a genuine tradition; but in comparison with Plato's dialogues, they are tenuous, and unlike these, do not represent the result of actual and prolonged contact3 between two of the world's most remarkable personalities.