The Phaedo is perhaps one of the most well-known dialogues written by the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato. This dialogue recounts Socrates’ final hours before his death as told by Phaedo of Elis, one of the philosophers present during that time. Along with him were Crito and two other Pythagorean philosophers, Simmias and Cebes. The main focus of this dialogue is on the subject of immortality and the soul, and whether or not the soul will survive death. Socrates provides four arguments in which he aims to prove that the soul is in fact immortal. One of his arguments that I will discuss is known as the “Argument from Opposites,” which I will prove does not fully succeed in establishing that the soul is immortal.
The basis of the “Argument from Opposites” arises from the …show more content…
It describes the final conversations between Socrates and his close friends before he is put to death. The entire dialogue focuses on the matter of death and what happens to our souls after we die. Socrates presents four arguments to prove the immortality of the soul, one of which is the “Argument from Opposites,” in which he conveys that all things come to be in existence from their opposites. This is Socrates’ first argument that he presents, and although it is supported with great detail, it lacks the support that is necessary to prove that the soul is immortal. Socrates uses an extensive amount of contradictory opposites to support his claim such as sleeping and waking up, and faster and slower, however these do not properly compare to being alive and being dead because they are contrary opposites. Furthermore, one can prove that death is a result of life because it occurs afterwards, but you cannot prove that life is a result of death due to the fact that that one cannot recollect there death when they are alive. Therefore, the “Argument from Opposites” fails to prove the immortality of the
The basis of the “Argument from Opposites” arises from the …show more content…
It describes the final conversations between Socrates and his close friends before he is put to death. The entire dialogue focuses on the matter of death and what happens to our souls after we die. Socrates presents four arguments to prove the immortality of the soul, one of which is the “Argument from Opposites,” in which he conveys that all things come to be in existence from their opposites. This is Socrates’ first argument that he presents, and although it is supported with great detail, it lacks the support that is necessary to prove that the soul is immortal. Socrates uses an extensive amount of contradictory opposites to support his claim such as sleeping and waking up, and faster and slower, however these do not properly compare to being alive and being dead because they are contrary opposites. Furthermore, one can prove that death is a result of life because it occurs afterwards, but you cannot prove that life is a result of death due to the fact that that one cannot recollect there death when they are alive. Therefore, the “Argument from Opposites” fails to prove the immortality of the