They decided to jump to their death verses been burned alive and suffer a slow and painful death. Author Norman Cousin made great points on supporting his argument. The Dusens didn’t want to suffer a slow and painful death. Therefore, they decided on a self-inflicted death instead. Just maybe it should be a human right.
To begin, he tells them that he is not afraid of death. He says that emotions follow from knowledge, and since he has no knowledge of what death is, he has no feelings or emotions about death. Socrates only has emotions if they are first authorized by reason, so it is illogical for him to be afraid of death when he knows nothing about it. "To fear death, gentleman, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know" (Apology, 32). Socrates asserts that there is "good hope that death is a blessing" (Apology, 41).
In "Death and Justice: How Capital Punishment Affirms Life", readers view the opinions toward the death penalty in today's world. Koch reviews a variety of excuses to abolish the death penalty, and in his mind all of them should be disregarded. He argues the importance of the death penalty, as well as, argues excuses of the death penalty opponents. He argues the ethics and politics towards the importance and support of the death penalty. He tries to appeal to the readers’ emotion whenever he can.
He believes that even though we die, we can and should leave a positive mark. This is a very optimistic view of death. The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls, on the other hand, is more about accepting death than making the best of it. There is nothing on the poem at all about trying to make the best of death. He keeps repeating the line “the tide rises, the tide falls” (1, 5, 10, 15) as if we can’t change anything.
Likewise, Antony’s motivation is his loyalty to Caesar; he does not stop until he avenges Caesar’s death. Unfortunately, Cassius is self-absorbed; his world simply revolves around himself. Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar presents different vies of honor primarily through three main characters; Brutus is the most honorable due to his patriotism, Antony follows behind considering his loyalty, and Cassius is least honorable by cause of his self-centeredness. Brutus is the most honorable man, for he continues to act upon his beliefs and his motivations are pure; he wants to make Rome a better place. Brutus never gives in to ideas others force upon him.
Nagel, however, emphasized the value of life, even if the “bad elements” in life outweighed the good ones. While Socrates saw death as an opportunity for greater satisfaction after life, or at least a sleep that would be better than the bad things in life, Nagel viewed death as the end of opportunities to enjoy life. Socrates called death a “blessing,” claiming that it was either something good or nothing, and he explained that compared to bad things people experience in life, nothing is actually a good thing. On the one hand, he said, “If (death) is a complete lack of perception…then death would be a great advantage. If one had to pick out that night during which a man slept soundly and did not dream…(he) would find them easy to count compared to the other days and nights.” This idea of a “dreamless sleep,” as Socrates called it, is somewhat difficult to understand, but by comparing it to the bad days people have during the course of life, he made the case that an eternity spent in nothingness would feel more like a single night, instead of the daily grind and restless sleeps that come with living.
To be able survive the pass of the times and even contribute to society thought the memories of other, Socrates –and any other that may accomplish this, I should say- have to be an outstanding human being. And according to Plato’s accounting of the happening, this innocent man was offer the chance to survive his unfair conviction escaping from prison, and keep giving his doctrine to the others, but refuse to do so. Which brings us to the logical questioning: why not? Why innocent men positively choose to honor an unfair trail and to die in consequence? Why to accept to leave his live in such of unnatural way?
(van den Haag) The argument of retribution is also based in the religious idea of “an eye for an eye” or “a life for a life”. Kant and other supporters of the death penalty believe that the punishment should fit the crime so therefore the only acceptable punishment for murder is death. (3 Philosophos) J. Budziszewski, PhD, a professor of Government and Philosophy, pointed out: Society is justly ordered when each person receives what is due to him. Crime disturbs this just order, for the criminal takes from people their lives, peace, liberties, and worldly goods in order to give himself benefits. Deserved punishment protects society morally by restoring this just order, making the wrongdoer pay a price equivalent to the harm he has done.
One could argue that Socrates can't assume that an endless sleep is like a pleasurable sleep, because it is in fact not the sleep itself that brings us pleasure, but rather the awakening from sleep that leaves us satisfied and refreshed. So if the best part of a deep sleep is waking up to feel refreshed, then maybe an endless sleep isn't so appealing (Jackman 2006 (2)). Aside from the possibility of death being an endless sleep, Socrates suggests an alternate possibility, that death involves some form of afterlife. He argues that if this is the case, death cannot be a bad thing, because you'd get to meat great people like Homer and Orpheus, and would have the opportunity to talk with them and ask questions. He
Before assigning value to life it should be considered what that person did in their lifetime not just their job, or their major achievements, but how they affected other people in either a positive or negative way. This is why suicide is such a selfish act. In Hamlet’s famous speech he states, “No traveler returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than to fly to others that we know not of” (Shakespeare 33)? In other words Hamlet believes that it might be better to live through the trials of life than journey into the unknown. Suicide is a permanent solution to temporary problems and when successful leaves behind a mass of grieving people.