Plato s Phaedo The Soul And The Body - 1409 Words

Saila Sanders PHIL 011 Altshuler 25 September 2014 Plato’s Phaedo: The Soul and the Body In the Phaedo, Socrates proposes that the soul is immortal. Despite being a seemingly counterintuitive understanding, Socrates offers arguments for the soul’s immortality and expresses his view between the soul, or mind, and the body. Socrates practices reasoning to establish his philosophy on the concept of the soul and all that it necessitates. He rationalizes four theories of the immortality of the soul. The four arguments he establishes are; the opposites argument, also referred to as the cyclical argument, this theory indicates that there is a continuous cycle of life and death, and tries to explain that all forms obtained are eternal and fixed. The second argument is the theory of recollection; this concept suggests that all learning entails remembering knowledge that was already known. The third theory is the argument from affinity; this argument demonstrates that the soul most resembles all of that which is indistinguishable and everlasting and the body echoes that which is perceptible and finite. And though the body may be understood to exist after demise in the form of a corpse by reason of the body’s impermanence, the soul being divine in sequence will outlast the body. The concluding argument is the argument from form of life, this final argument describes that all things participate in the forms. The argument entails that the soul participates in the form of life, soShow MoreRelatedPlato s Apology And The Apology1591 Words   |  7 PagesIn this paper I will discuss how Plato s Apology and Phaedo have difference ideas of what it means to be a philosopher. I will explain how in the Apology, the philosopher is wise in how he/she understand that they are wise because they know that they don t know, and in Phadeo the philosopher knowledgable and are concern in gaining more knowledge. In Plato s Apology we learn about Socrates life and who he really is. In platos Apology a philosopher is a wise person because he understands thatRead MorePlato s Phaedo For The Immortality Of The Soul1701 Words   |  7 PagesPlato s final argument in Phaedo for the immortality of the soul is one of the most interesting topics of all time. The argument of whether the soul exists has been debated for years and even today. It goes hand to hand with the application of the theory of forms to the question of the soul s immortality, as Plato constantly reminds us, the theory of forms is the most certain of all his theories. The Phaedo is Plato’s attempt to convince us of the immortality of the soul by using several main argumentsRead MoreThe Utility Of Myth : Plato s Metaphysics1624 Words   |  7 PagesMetaphysics ï » ¿Plato speaking from the mouth of Socrates in Phaedo, tells us, â€Å"people are likely not to be aware that those who pursue philosophy aright study nothing but dying and being dead.† (61a) As a philosopher Plato sought to offer not only descriptions of the world him around, but prescriptions as well. The above quote when understood metaphorically, for him, shows the aim of philosophy, and goal of the philosopher is and should be to scratch at the surface of our faculties. To do this, Plato believesRead MoreSummary : Immortality Of The Soul 1542 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Soul Phaedo, also known to ancient readers as On the Soul, is one of greatest dialogues of Plato’s period. Phaedo centers itself around the death of Socrates. Throug Plato, Socrates lived on generations after his time. Phaedo begins with Socrates addressing his death and stating a true philosopher should look forward to death. He asserts that the soul is immortal and the philosopher spends his life training and detaching itself from the needs of the body. This topic, of â€Å"an immortal soul†, hasRead MoreEssay about Phaedo by Plato942 Words   |  4 Pages Phaedo is an account written by Plato of the last conversation of Socrates’ before he will be put to death by the state of Athens by drinking hemlock. The dialog itself seems to recount Plato’s psychological, Metaphysical, and epistemological beliefs rather than an accurate portrayal of Socrates’ last conversation . The dialog addresses three main arguments for recollection including the argument o f opposites, the argument of recollection, and the argument of affinity. Plato’s arguments in theRead MoreThe Body And The Soul1153 Words   |  5 PagesAn Analysis of the Distinctions of the Body and the Soul in the Philosophy of Socrates This philosophical study will define the distinctions of the body and the soul as defined in the philosophy of Socrates. In the Phaedo, Socrates defines the important distinction between the †visible† body and the â€Å"invisible† substance of the soul. Socrates defines the temporal and changing nature of the visible body, which is impermanent. In contrast to this view, the soul is a higher form of incomposite energyRead MoreThe Immortality of the Soul in Platos Phaedo2878 Words   |  12 PagesDao Le Prof. Mark Cronin HU 102 - HD April 2, 2012 The Immortality of the Soul in Plato’s Phaedo Among Plato’s dialogues, which serve to honor the realm of philosophy in general and Socrates’s life in particular, the Phaedo dramatically and poignantly portrays the death scene of Socrates. The Phaedo evokes such tragic sentiments of pity and fear while at the same time glorifies Socrates as the martyr for the truth. He dies because of human’s injustice yet faces his own death with extraordinaryRead MorePlato s Theory Of Recollection1687 Words   |  7 Pageslife. The body is accepted to be mortal and needs to experience the physical demise however the spirit is not crushed simultaneously. Plato tries to make clear of the contention by looking at cold and fire. The second argument is otherwise called the theory of recollection, this hypothesis tries to clarify that human have some knowledge that is non exact sample of this knowledge is the knowledge during childbirth. This is utilized to show or suggest that possibly at one time that the soul existed beforeR ead MoreThe Death Of Socrates By Plato1188 Words   |  5 PagesPhaedo is an account of events before and after the death of Socrates as written by Plato in the form of dialogue. This dialogue is an expression of various arguments and beliefs on the theme of mortality. Phaedo was one of the men present to witness the death of Socrates, and before the execution, they had engaged in conversations with which Socrates expressed his ideas on death, the soul, and the belief in the existence of an afterlife. Plato’s philosophical idealism is expressed in Phaedo in someRead MoreWhy I Am A Platonist2304 Words   |  10 PagesPHIL 310A 001 Michael Griffin November 26th, 2014 Levi Shiach 41026121 Why I Am A Platonist The term Platonism is used ambiguously throughout philosophical discourse. Under some renderings, it refers to the philosophy of Plato. However, the term platonism is more widely used in contemporary philosophy to describe the metaphysical view that abstract objects (that is, those that are non-spatial and non-temporal) exist (Piyong 206). Almost universally, the distinction between these two understandings