Immortality

Plato’s collection of dialogue on the account of immortality of the soul depicts a conversation between Socrates and his disciple, Cebes, on the understanding of proof as to why in fact, the soul is immortal above the physicality of the body. Socrates rationalizes his philosophical theory though means of example and reasoning. Although his theory provides thorough justification there is no tangible proof to support his ideas. Earlier in the reading Simmias, another disciple of Socrates…

When attempting to solve the problem concerning the immortality of the soul, both Plato and Hume must rely on analogy. Plato, being a rationalist, argues that the soul is immortal and is comparable to a form, for it is invisible and incomposite, unlike material objects. Hume, on the other hand, believes that the soul is mortal and compares souls to perishable objects such as bodies. Although neither analogy can offer any validity, Hume 's argument for the mortality of the soul is far more…

In John Perry’s A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality, Perry discusses both the possibility of immortality (the ability to survive after death) and the question of personal identity. In the process, he proposes three theories as to what could account for personal identity: soul theory, memory theory, and body theory. First, however, it is necessary to discuss what the question of personal identity is. Personal identity refers to a human being’s numerical identity over time. Thus, the…

Socrates’ arguments for the pre-existence and immortality of the soul include enough evidence and explanation that validates his reasoning. The arguments instituted by Socrates on death and the continuation of the soul give validation to the belief that death is not the end and we ought not fear it. In Plato’s Apology, Crito, and Phaedo there is constant discussion over the afterlife and how to handle impending death. Socrates was sentenced to die by the public court for corrupting the youth,…

before researching this particular story, I have had several Masonic Immortal Brothers tell me that they intend live 30,000 and 40,000 years. At first I was taken back by such a statement; not anymore. As I stated in my previous blog post, Does Immortality Really Exist?, "The way I have come to understand one’s longevity is that of choice. If a person can live to 100, why does he or she have t0 die at all. In other words, one can live as long as he or she…

choice in her own death, she shows respect to death. She gives him the authority that she feels he deserves. In the first stanza, Death shows up to carry the speaker out for a ride in “The Carriage held by just [them]/And Immortality, (3-4), showing that death promises immortality. The second stanza shows death being portrayed as a kind gentleman caller. He shows up on time then “drove the carriage with respect that he had a lady companion in by his side. He also took his time knowing “he always…

grain, and a setting sun to represent her mortality and the symbolism of the daylight fading, representing the woman’s transition into the next world, and additionally unveiling the message of constant conflict between the realms of mortality and immortality at the end of one’s life. Dickinson begins the spiritual poem by introducing us to the female speaker, who is engulfed in her own mortality, the “kindly,” suitor-like…

so I roam the steppe” (138). Gilgamesh realizes that if even his companion, the person he sees as an equal is not immune to death, neither is he. Gilgamesh searches for the only person to receive immortality, Utanpishtim. Gilgamesh then asks him “How did you join the ranks of the gods and find immortality?” (143). Observing death and seeing how it prevents one to become immortalized is exactly what pushes Gilgamesh to pursue eternal life. Being immortal functions normally in this text, it is…

Plato’s Phaedo is set in the city of Philius where a follower of Socrates, named Phaedo, meets Echecrates, a thinker. Echecrates was very interested in Socrates’s final hours before he died and Phaedo was the best person to tell the story since he was present on Socrates’s last day. In Phaedo, there are two separate degrees of narration: Phaedo is telling Echecrates the story of Socrates and Socrates’s final philosophical discussion prior to his death. The reason for Socrates’s death was that…

epic is the journey of a warrior, Gilgamesh, filled with great hubris, as he searches for the key to immortality. Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk but is seen more like a overpowering tyrant than a kind leader to his people. The gods send a wild man, Enkidu, as a buffer to Gilgamesh’s hubris. When Enkidu dies he is overwhelmed with the fear of death, and sets on a journey to find the key to immortality. In the end of Gilgamesh’s perilous journey, Gilgamesh realizes that he was not made to be…