“What Kind of Death?”: On the Phaedo’s double topic

Abstract

Abstract: The Socratic instruction (64b) to clarify “what kind of death” a philosopher would deserve suggests two different notions of “death” in the Phaedo: physical demise and philosophy. This double meaning makes it possible for the Platonic Socrates to address a dual audience with a dual purpose: His interlocutors will receive consolation, while the perceptive reader will focus on practicing philosophy on the basis of the hypothesis of Forms. Socrates’ final words can also be illuminated as a vindication of his adherence to logos: the cock to Asclepius has to be offered as a sign of gratitude for healing misology.