Past Acts of Autonomy & Final Moments of Oedipus and Socrates (Essay Sample)

How the Past Acts of Autonomy Determined the Final Moments of Oedipus and Socrates
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How the Past Acts of Autonomy Determined the Final Moments of Oedipus and Socrates
Oedipus
Oedipus’s life from the onset was dictated by the fate attached to him by the gods. The superficial choices that he made overall could not help him escape killing his father and having sex with his mother. His free will was actually too limited for him to make effective choices and make a success of his life. Apparently It made no distinction on how much he knew or didn’t, or how clever, strong, well-born or courageous he was. Above all, such gifts gave him a false sense of control as he went on to do what he had to do and should never have done.
The first, past act of autonomy that was able to shape his last moment was the incessant desire for knowledge, for example the quest to know about his destiny and parentage. This desire forces him to seek the services of an oracle, the oracle discloses to him that "you will kill your father and marry your mother!" (Sophocles, 1991,p.100). This great revelation forces him to run away from Corinth, in exercise of his autonomy. On the face of it, it would have been easier and perhaps better for Oedipus to skirt away from his fate had he never had any interest in knowledge and his potential limitations socially.
Oedipus had this excessive self-confidence, hubris and a trait of acting without fully considering the possible repercussions. He is able to impose his will on powerful individuals. This leads to a confrontation with Laius at the crossroads. "Step aside for your betters" Laius declared (Sophocles, 1991, p 189). A clash of social status takes place, Laius being the king Thebes and Oedipus brought up as a king’s son in Corinth. With his stature and physical strength, Oedipus chooses to confront the man and kills him, not knowing that Laius was his father. The act draws him closer to his fate.
Oedipus had the capability of seeing the interests of all people as his own and risked not only his standing in the society but also his life in efforts intended to ensure the citizens’ well-being. Instead of accepting his lot passively, he took robust and consequential action to eradicate obstacles and solve problems. On his way to Thebes, he finds travelers being prevented to enter Thebes unless they were able to unravel the riddles that were posed by the Sphinx. The sphinx had caused a blockage, which exposed the people to possible starvation. With zeal and determination, Oedipus chooses to answer the riddle notwithstanding the dangers of failing to give the right answer. Luckily, he produces the right answer and as a result the citizens of Thebes award him with dead king’s wife, Jocasta.
The ancient Greeks used the word tyrannos differently than the contemporary use of "tyrant”. "Tyrannos" in the Greek context referred to individuals who succeeded by using their brains, influence and force. Oedipus Tyrannos was someone able to use his brains, influence, and brains to get what he desired. He decides to wander away from home; he does. He wants to unravel the Sphinx’s riddle, ascend to the throne, and have offsprings; he does. He wants to find out the truth and salvage his city from the plague (Goldhill 1986); he does. He wants to punish himself for all the mistakes he has done, how blindly he has acted; he does.
Oedipus could not discover that Jocasta and Laius were his biological parents, but one might have ordinarily expected any person, with such warnings specifically behind him not to be so quick and violent as to trigger a quarrel about priority at a crossroads into numerous murder; including the killing of an old man, suffice to be his father; not to perceive the oracle apparently cheated that he can get married to a woman old enough to be his mother; and also choosing not to inquire of what had occurred to the king whose throne he had taken.
Socrates
In his defense on the charges of impiety, Socrates reveals to the jurors about the appearance of a deceased friend in the cloud who had once visited the oracle at Delphi and was told that Socrates was the wisest man on earth. Like Oedipus, he departs to wander, purposively to show that the oracle is wrong. He employs an Oedipean rebellion against the gods and just as Oedipus cannot outrun his destiny; it appears like a fatal mistake for Socrates to question the authenticity of the oracle.
Upon that revelation, Socrates in exercise of his autonomy chooses to question the eminent and most noble men of Athens; and seemingly, showcases how unknowledgeable they were about the very topics in which they purported to be experts. In doing so, hubristically he fortifies his own reputation for wisdom while disparaging the others. This makes him a role model for the young Athenians who imitate his ways. Socrates and th...