Question 5

Towards the end of the Apology, Socrates argues that since death is either nothingness to us, or like an eternal, dreamless sleep, then it is in fact

A. A blessing

B. A curse

C. Neither a blessing nor a curse

D. something known only to the god

A blessing

Explanation:

Socrates claimed that neither death nor the death penalty is evil. Death should not be afraid of, because we know nothing about it. Socrates confirms the fact that death should not be taken as evil by the following dilemma: death is either eternal peace, or resettlement in another world; neither one nor the other can be called evil; therefore, death should not be regarded as evil. For Socrates, death is the transition of the soul to the underworld, the "recovery" of the soul from an inauthentic earthly life.