Comparing Epictetus And Plato's View On Death

Death is mysterious. Nobody is certain about what happens when one dies. Different religions teach us about death but they do not agree. Philosophers have racked their brains for thousands of years, trying to answer the question ‘what happens when one dies?’. Epictetus and Plato were two of those philosophers. For the subjects purposes, it is important to remember that Epictetus adopted a mind over matter type of attitude. He describes how one can control certain events but not others, and maintains that one’s attitude is most important. Plato’s view on death is slightly more complicated, as his books Phaedo and The Apology both describe conversations with Socrates and his view on death. However, Plato’s own opinion peaks through enough to understand what he thinks. By exploring both opinions, one can develop a preference for the former or latter, or combine the two and philosophize about death and form an own theory. As mentioned, Epictetus writes that “there are things which are within our power, and there are things which are beyond our power”. He seems to want his readers to realize that there are things that one simply cannot control, and that death is one of those. He

One can conclude then that Plato wrote down what he heard after, possibly providing his own opinion. Socrates says that “men are in some sort of prison, and that one ought not to release oneself from it or run away”. We know that Socrates was Plato’s teacher, so while we cannot be entirely certain that their views on death concur, it is possible that they do. From both Phaedo and The Apology, one can conclude that Socrates does not fear death. He says that death either means one is non-existent, or that death is a “marvellous gain”. Therefore, if this is one of the last things Socrates’ taught, and Plato was present, one could speculate whether or not Plato agrees with