According to Socratic philosophy, a person is born with full knowledge of everything that they need to know. The experiences they go through only serve as a revelation of what they already knew. This therefore implies that there is nothing new on the face of the earth and that man is born with the knowledge of their life and events that follow. Relating this to assisted suicide, which has been a topic of debate of whether it is right or not, we realize that a person is endowed with the power to make and implement decisions (Gorsuch, 2009). The Socratic method of reasoning implies that when a person reaches a point in life when they believe that their time is over and that they need to rest, they should be allowed to do so. This is because the decision is already embodied within them and than no laws will help to change their thinking. Standing against such a decision is making the life of the person even more meaningless as they have already sensed that their time to live is over.
Assisted suicide implies that a person has already made that decision to die but requires help to carry out the act. They will hence seek people like doctors who have the ability to ensure they die the kind of death they want. There is no doubt that most people wonder how and when they will die. However, when a person goes through a certain moment of desperation and feels that they are experiencing more pain and suffering than they would had they died, they realize the need of making such a decision promptly (Brickhouse, 2000). With such knowledge within a person’s mind, it will be useless for anybody to deny them the opportunity since they cannot empathize with their situation. The knowledge of the fact that their lives will be more miserable and tortures if they were to live another day prompts them make the decision. With such knowledge therefore, Socrates would advice doctors and the likes and have the ability to assist such people to do so without much question.
Reference list
Brickhouse, T. (2000). The philosophy of Socrates. Michigan: Westview Press.
Gorsuch, N. (2009). The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. New York: Princeton
University Press.
