Socrates' Voluntary Death - An Essential Voice Against the Pathologisation of Suicide

The article focuses on the death of the Greek philosopher Socrates from the 5^th century BCE as a significant inspiration for contemporary discourse on suicide (an essential voice against the pathologisation of suicide). It aims to highlight how an individual and their socio-cultural environment interact when dealing with the problem of death.

The psychobiographical approach used a single-case analysis as the starting point for theoretical discussion on suicide. The essential feature of the presented study is an interpretive-descriptive approach.

An analysis reveals Socrates' motivations in the context of ancient Greek culture, particularly regarding the concept of honour-shame, which played an important role in the organisation of social and mental life in the Mediterranean world. However, the honour-shame dimension is not limited to ancient Greek culture; it is closely related to the universal concept of 'social status'. Honour-shame and social status can identify and explain the motivational processes behind the suicidal decision.

The example of Socrates (who chooses death to avoid shame and preserve his honour) allows us to receive an alternative perspective on suicide, especially concerning the right to suicide and the problem of its medicalisation and pathologisation. In this light, we should also ask for an alternative design of preventive programs and legal assessments of suicide.