The Deathless Soul in Plato’s Phaedo In his dialogue, the Phaedo, Plato offers justification for the immortality of the soul. Plato does this through an argument many have referred to as the “final argument.” I will explicitly make sure that the arguments are clearly expressed and explained. First, I will discuss some of the key features of the previous three arguments in the Phaedo. Secondly, the previous three arguments will lead into the ontological presuppositions that Plato relies on for the validity of his final argument. In each case, Plato’s goal was to give an explanation of the immortality of the soul; and I believe he did just that. Plato introduced these first three argument through Socrates: (1) the Cyclical Argument, (2) the
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Socrates believed that the soul shared many similarities to the Forms, and many differences with particulars. The soul bears an infinity to the invisible, the immortal, and the indissoluble, while the body exhibits an affinity to the visible, the mortal, and the dissoluble. Socrates states just that in Phaedo 80B: Consider then…that the soul is most like the divine, deathless, intelligible, uniform, indissoluble, [and] always the same as itself. On the other hand, the body is “human, mortal, multiform, unintelligible, soluble, and never consistently the same”, as Socrates said (Phaedo 80B). Thus, the soul is immortal based upon the similarities it shares with the Forms. To put the icing on the cake, Plato ultimately reveals the final argument for the deathless soul. This argument can be found in Phaedo 105C-107A. I will first expose the numerous premises’ offered in the final argument; which will sum up the argument that the soul is deathless. Then I will offer my testimony to the validity of this …show more content…
For instance, Beauty in us will never admit the Ugliness. Additionally, things that always bring along the Forms will never admit there opposites as well. (Phaedo 105D). For instance, “fire” brings along the Form “hot”, “snow” brings along the Form “cold”, so “fire” will never admit to be “cold” without ceasing to be “fire”, and “snow” will never admit to be “hot” without ceasing to be “snow”. Similarly, the body contains the soul which always bring along the Form of Life (Phaedo 105C-D). The opposite of Life is Death (Phaedo 105D); which in other terms are opposite Forms. Just like the uneven will not admit the form of even, and the unjust will not admit the form of just, and the unmusical will not admit the form of musical, the soul will never admit death, and what never admits death is therefore deathless (Phaedo 105E). So, the soul always brings along the Deathless, just like “fire” brings along the Form “hot”. In comparison, the Deathless is then indestructible. What always brings along indestructible Forms is itself indestructible. Thus, the souls is ultimately indestructible or
Socrates believed that the soul shared many similarities to the Forms, and many differences with particulars. The soul bears an infinity to the invisible, the immortal, and the indissoluble, while the body exhibits an affinity to the visible, the mortal, and the dissoluble. Socrates states just that in Phaedo 80B: Consider then…that the soul is most like the divine, deathless, intelligible, uniform, indissoluble, [and] always the same as itself. On the other hand, the body is “human, mortal, multiform, unintelligible, soluble, and never consistently the same”, as Socrates said (Phaedo 80B). Thus, the soul is immortal based upon the similarities it shares with the Forms. To put the icing on the cake, Plato ultimately reveals the final argument for the deathless soul. This argument can be found in Phaedo 105C-107A. I will first expose the numerous premises’ offered in the final argument; which will sum up the argument that the soul is deathless. Then I will offer my testimony to the validity of this …show more content…
For instance, Beauty in us will never admit the Ugliness. Additionally, things that always bring along the Forms will never admit there opposites as well. (Phaedo 105D). For instance, “fire” brings along the Form “hot”, “snow” brings along the Form “cold”, so “fire” will never admit to be “cold” without ceasing to be “fire”, and “snow” will never admit to be “hot” without ceasing to be “snow”. Similarly, the body contains the soul which always bring along the Form of Life (Phaedo 105C-D). The opposite of Life is Death (Phaedo 105D); which in other terms are opposite Forms. Just like the uneven will not admit the form of even, and the unjust will not admit the form of just, and the unmusical will not admit the form of musical, the soul will never admit death, and what never admits death is therefore deathless (Phaedo 105E). So, the soul always brings along the Deathless, just like “fire” brings along the Form “hot”. In comparison, the Deathless is then indestructible. What always brings along indestructible Forms is itself indestructible. Thus, the souls is ultimately indestructible or