Phaedo

In the sections 64-67 of “Phaedo” by Plato from Athens provides argues why a person that has practiced philosophy should be pleased and hopeful when approaching death. The arguments are presented through a dialogue between Socrates and two characters (Cebes and Simmias) while imprisoned, as the three await for the recently ingested poison to take full effect. Plato provides support to the main argument through five points: first, a definition of death; second, matters that concern philosophers;…

In Phaedo, Socrates claims, in his second argument, that learning is essentially the art of recollecting things we knew before we were born. He goes on to give a definition of recollection, that states that true knowledge is found in the eternal forms that exists outside of perceptible reality. Socrates insists that the process of recollection works in a way that if you see a “lyre” or an article of clothing of a beloved, you will immediately be reminded of whose lyre or clothing it belongs to.…

There were four arguments and a myth given in the Phaedo in an attempt to prove the immortality of the soul. The first argument is that things come from their opposites. In this argument small things come from larger, weaker from the stronger and faster from the slower. “Then if something smaller comes to be, it will come from something larger before, which became smaller? That is so, he said. And the weaker comes to be from the stronger, and the swifter from the slower?” (71a) He goes on to…

In Phaedo, Plato describes the last day of Socrates, who is waiting to be executed by the Athenian’s court. It is a very tragic moment, but there is no visible sense of grief or despair. Reader finds Socrates in the prison cell surrounded by his friends and disciples. Men are having discussion on the nature of soul and its destiny after the death. It this conversation Socrates expresses his thoughts about the soul being trapped in the human body like in the prison, and his anticipation of the…

proposed by Socrates in the Phaedo, to prove the immortality of the soul. I will discuss the criticisms of the first to demonstrate its fallibility as an account for the soul’s immortality. The weaknesses of the second argument will also be mentioned. In evaluating which of the arguments better proves the soul’s immortality, the responses to the criticisms of the Recollection theory will indicate why it holds as the prominent argument over the Cyclical. In the Phaedo, Socrates’ first argument…

There are many arguments put forth in Plato’s Phaedo concerning the nature of the soul and life before and after death. Socrates, in his final holding cell, explains to his friends and colleagues the reasoning behind his calm disposition upon his impending doom. Socrates believes that through practicing philosophy, he has already practiced the act of dying, or being separated from his bodily woes and pleasures. Through his argument from affinity, Socrates believes that not only will his soul not…

The dialogue “Phaedo” takes place during the time that Socrates was to be executed after being falsely convicted. Before his death, Socrates explored many theories regarding the body and the soul with his pupil Plato. Plato presents four different arguments to prove the immortality of the soul, that all though the human body perishes after death; the soul still exists. Firstly, he explains the Theory of the Opposite Forms that something came to be living only after having first been dead. Then…

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…

of what happens when and after we die is surrounded by ambiguities and uncertainty because no mode of logic or wisdom could possibly extend to such a question. Nonetheless, in Plato’s Phaedo, the character Socrates comes to grips with his death by exploring what death is and why he isn’t afraid to face it. Phaedo begins from Phaedo’s perspective as he tells his fellow philosophers his (and several other companions’) trip to visit Socrates in his cell before his execution. While one would…

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…