Socratic Hope in Plato’s Apology

Abstract At the end of Plato’s Apology , Socrates urges his friends to be hopeful about death (40c5-6, 41c8-9). Scholars have puzzled over the aim and coherence of this passage. I argue that, for Socrates, hope undermines the fear of death that militates against virtue and reinforces his friends’ motivation to risk their lives for the sake of virtue. I show further, and in contrast to recent interpretations, that Socrates’ exhortation to hope remains consistent with his epistemic modesty about death’s value (29a7-b5). My interpretation not only renders Socrates’ claims about death consistent, but also (and more importantly) it illuminates his distinctive psychology of hope: hope provides a powerful yet epistemically modest motivation for virtuous action in the face of danger and death. I argue that this hope may be more central to Socrates’ ethical project than previously supposed.