Suicide In Plato's Phaedo

Plato’s Phaedo, which is also known as On the Soul, is a dialogue that recalls the events right before the execution of Socrates. Socrates, who was charged for atheism and corrupting the youth, is the protagonist of the philosophical discussion. Socrates never wrote any of his ideas down, but it was his student Plato who wrote many of his philosophies in works. Some of Socrates’s ideas that are considered his most important are in the Phaedo, including his three arguments for the immortality of the soul and his argument against suicide. The topic of death is especially prominent in this text, given the context of the story. As Socrates awaits his execution, the philosopher explores the topic of death in relation to philosophy, specifically …show more content…
Cebes believes that in death, “the wise would resent the dying, whereas the foolish would rejoice at it” (Phaedo, 62e). He reasons this with the understanding that the lives of humans are dedicated to serving the gods, so at death, the wise should be resentful in leaving the service of the gods, and the foolish would be glad to escape from their master (Phaedo, 62e). To reassure Cebes, Socrates then brings up the idea of the afterlife. The philosopher describes the afterlife as a place where the dead are in the company of good men and even better masters, or gods (Phaedo, 63c). Seemingly alluding to the concept of heaven and hell, Socrates claims that he has “good hope that some future awaits men after death, as we have been told for years, a much better future for the good than for the wicked” (Phaedo, …show more content…
Simmias questions the philosopher, who then proceeds to discuss another reason why he thinks philosophers should not fear death. Simmias and Cebes agree with Socrates’s claims that death is the separation of the soul and body (Phaedo, 64c). Philosophers have no concern, and they actually despise bodily pleasures such as food and drink, sex, clothing and other bodily ornaments, (Phaedo, 64d). Instead, philosophers focus on their souls, and “more than other men frees the soul from association with the body as much as possible” (Phaedo, 64e). While searching for reality and the truth, philosophers attempt to distance their souls from the need of the body, especially because the body ‘impedes our search for the truth’ (Phaedo, 66c). Socrates holds the belief that truth/wisdom has the most value in the world, and it can purify the soul from its bodily needs. To further justify this claim, Socrates insists upon the two men that “it really has been shown to us that, if we are ever to have pure knowledge, we must escape from the body and observe things in themselves with the soul by itself” (Phaedo, 66e). So even though there supposedly is the afterlife, philosophers spend