Perspectives of the Afterlife
Perspectives of the AfterlifePerspectives of the Afterlife
Socrates, Epicures, and Cicero all viewed death and the afterlife from very different perspectives. This is possibly because of the different eras in which they lived, and their personal pursuits and beliefs. These perspectives, however are not always contradictory, but often mirror each other’s views.
Socrates was of the Hellenic Age. An age in which the Greeks confidently believed that their way of life was superior to all. It was a time of pride in the poleis. Athenians participated in civic functions and rites. Public worship was incorporated into civic festivals as attitudes towards the deities changed (Text 54). Socrates launched a new era in philosophy, teaching that “Virtue is Knowledge.” Sadly, the Athenians of this era perceived, Socrates, as a threat to their way of life. His focus on human problems and his desire to empower individuals to make there own choices led to accusations of impiety and the corruption of the Athenian youth. He was sentenced to death (Text 64).
The Hellenistic Age in which Epicurus lived was more racially mixed and ethically varied than Hellenic Greece (Text 79). However, the sense of belonging that characterized the Hellenic poleis was replaced by a feeling of isolation, loneliness, and even helplessness. The polis was replaced with large Hellenistic Kingdoms, rule by men who elected themselves deities (Text85). Epicurus was the founder of Epicureanism; the belief that pleasure is the highest good. He believed that only atoms and the void existed and that the gods played no active role in human affairs (Text 87). He accused the people of Rome of creating gods in there own image. He taught that a deity is an, “imperishable and blessed being,” and that the pursuit of a pleasant life meant the elimination of false ideas about the gods Text 89).
Cicero was from the Roman civilization, around the Pre-Christian era. The Roman Republic had been formed; this was a republic based on a system of representatives and a separation of powers, unlike Athens direct democracy (Text 106-7). Cicero was a Roman statesman, Roman write, orator, and philosopher. He was a major figure in the last years of the republic, having been the first man who’s family was not Roman aristocracy, to have been elected into consul. He had a very distinguished political career, however, he is best known as Rome’s greatest orator and a man of letters. His writings were so great that the time he lived is often called the Age of Cicero (Text 112). He was considered an authority on the order of Plato and Aristotle. He coined the term, humanitas or humanity, meaning devotion to books, language and art (Readings 98).
In the Dream of Scipio, Cicero gives insight to his views on death and the afterlife. He writes of a heaven in...
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