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Suicide in Plato's Philosophy Anna Christensen Washington University in St Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations Arts & Sciences Spring 5-15-2017 Better Off eD ad: Suicide in Plato's Philosophy Anna Christensen Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Christensen, Anna, "Better Off eD ad: Suicide in Plato's Philosophy" (2017). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1095. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/1095 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Arts & Sciences at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS Department of Philosophy Dissertation Examination Committee: Eric Brown, Chair Emily Austin Anne Margaret Baxley Robert Lamberton Kit Wellman Better Off Dead: Suicide in Plato’s Philosophy by Anna Christensen A dissertation presented to The Graduate School of Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2017 St. Louis, Missouri © 2017, Anna Christensen Table of Contents List of Illustrations ......................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. v List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... viii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ix Preface............................................................................................................................................. x Note to Readers ........................................................................................................................... xvii Chapter 1: As the God Leads: The Ethics of Platonic Suicide ....................................................... 2 1.1 The Question ......................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 The Phaedo’s Religious Prohibition ..................................................................................... 4 1.3 The Laws’ Legal Prohibition ................................................................................................. 8 1.4 The Consistent Grounds for Prohibiting Suicide ................................................................ 11 1.4.1 Objection 1 ................................................................................................................... 17 1.4.2 Objection 2 ................................................................................................................... 20 1.5 The Consistent Exceptions .................................................................................................. 22 1.6 Socrates’ Suicide ................................................................................................................. 25 1.7 Response to Objections ....................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 2: The Wisest Death: Wisdom and Suicide in Platonic Ethics ....................................... 34 2.1 The Question ....................................................................................................................... 34 2.2 Eudaimonia ......................................................................................................................... 35 2.3 Is Plato’s Account Too Permissive?.................................................................................... 38 2.3.1 Objection 1 ................................................................................................................... 44 2.3.2 Objection 2 ................................................................................................................... 46 2.3.3 Objection 3 ................................................................................................................... 46 2.4 Is Plato’s Account Too Exclusive? ..................................................................................... 47 2.4.1 A First Stab ................................................................................................................... 49 2.4.2 Another Response ......................................................................................................... 52 2.5 How Socrates’ Suicide Was Wise ....................................................................................... 56 ii 2.5.1 The Phaedo’s Response ................................................................................................ 59 2.5.2 The Crito’s Response ................................................................................................... 61 2.6 Final Thoughts..................................................................................................................... 64 Chapter 3: The Suicidal Philosopher: Plato’s Socrates................................................................. 65 3.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 65 3.2 The Question of Responsibility ........................................................................................... 67 3.2.1 The Argument for the City’s Responsibility ................................................................ 74 3.2.2 Previous Arguments for Socrates’ Responsibility ........................................................ 77 3.2.3 The Platonic Argument for Socrates’ Responsibility ................................................... 79 3.2.4 The Argument for Joint Responsibility ....................................................................... 84 3.2.5 Objection: The Jailer .................................................................................................... 86 3.3 The Question of Intention ................................................................................................... 88 Works Cited .................................................................................................................................. 95 iii List of Illustrations Illustration 1: The Death of Socrates .............................................................................................. x iv List of Tables Table 1: Agential Responsibility .................................................................................................. 74 v List of Abbreviations I have tried to follow established conventions for abbreviating works of ancient authors. I list them below. Platonic Texts: Ap. Apology Ax. Axiochus Charm. Charmides Crat. Cratylus Crit. Crito Euthyd. Euthydemus Euthyp. Euthyphro Grg. Gorgias Lch. Laches Lg. Laws Men. Meno Phd. Phaedo Phdr. Phaedrus Prt. Protagoras Rep. Republic Pol. Statesman Sym. Symposium Theat. Theatetus Tim. Timaeus Other Ancient Texts: Ar. Pol. Aristotle, Politics Cic. Lg. Cicero, Laws Civ. Dei Augustine, City of God Contr. Ctesip. Aeschines, Contra Ctesippus Contr. Era. Lysias, Contra Eratosthenes D.L. Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers DRN Lucretius, On the Nature of Things E.E. Aristotle, Eudemian Ethics E.N. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics vi Ep. Seneca, Moral Letters Ep. Men. Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus Il. Homer, Iliad KD Epicurus, Principle Doctrines M. Sextus Empiricus, Adversus Mathematicos Mem. Xenophon, Memorabilia SVF Stoic Fragments Tro. Euripides, Trojan Women Xen. Ap. Xenophon, Apology vii Acknowledgements I could never have completed this dissertation without many people’s help. First, I thank my advisor, Eric Brown, for continuing to drive me forward. I also thank him, along with Emily Austin, Anne Margaret Baxley, Robert Lamberton, and Kit Wellman for their willingness to serve on my committee and for their support as I have written and revised this dissertation. I am also grateful to Anya Plutynski as Director of Graduate Studies, and to Ron Mallon as Chair of the Washington University Philosophy Department, as well as to Washington University in St. Louis for providing the resources and funding necessary to complete my degree. I also owe a debt to my undergraduate advisor, Randy Jensen, without whose Ancient Greek Philosophy class I never would have been lured away from the music department’s dark cave and into the light of philosophy. If Plato’s Socrates is right, and philosophy is the true art form, then I have him to thank for helping me see that. I must also mention several friends and colleagues. In particular, I thank Nich Baima, Jason Gardner, Christiane Merritt, Caroline Stone, Nathanael Tagg, Ian Tully, and Don Wacome. They have been invaluable in helping me through this process, from reading drafts and providing criticism to even (at one time) stealing my car keys when I was a flight risk. Finally, I thank my parents for supporting me ever
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