ipl-logo

Analyzing Phaedo Socrates Immortality Of The Soul

1221 Words5 Pages

Paul Kalman
Philosophy 1000 Section 6
Dr. Altamirano
5 December 2014
“Immortality of the Soul” Throughout this I paper I will attempt to give creditability on my stance regarding Plato’s view of the soul. In Phaedo Socrates presents the idea to society that the soul is immortal and that philosophers like him should look forward to death. I personally agree with his conclusion on the immortality of the soul. However, I do not fully support all of his reasons that he suggests for this claim. Socrates evaluates four major arguments throughout the text that support his belief that the soul must me immortal (Five Dialogues, 2002). The first argument that Socrates acknowledges is that everything in this life comes to existence from its opposites. …show more content…

If every object or event in this universe that produces a sound would always produce that sound at the exact same level of decibels as all other sounds. Then the idea of loud and quiet would not exist because there would be nothing to compare it to. Everything that exists in this world is relative to one another. However, Plato and I are not alone with the argument of opposites. Albert Einstein also supports this claim. He explains that heat is derived from the absence of cold and cold is derived from the absence of heat. “According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat.”-Albert Einstein. Therefore the soul must never die because life and death is a never-ending process (Five Dialogues, …show more content…

Socrates demonstrates the difference between visible, mortal and non-visible, immortal substances. He explains that the soul resembles the immortal and non-visible state and the body resembles the visible and mortal state. The philosopher suggests that the body is dependent on the soul but the soul is not dependent on the body, as stated earlier. That when the soul(immortal substance) detaches itself from the body(mortal substance) the result is death and the body then becomes a corpse and no longer houses the soul and the body vanishes but the soul lives on. Which advocates his view on the immortality of the soul (Five Dialogues 2002, Immortality Arguments in Plato's

Show More
Related
414 Words | 2 Pages

Serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 victims between 1978 and 1991 before he was apprehended by law enforcement. On the night of July 22, 1991, a patrolling police officer came upon a partially clothed man stumbling down the road (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2016). That young man turned out to be the key to stop Jeffrey Dahmer’s killing spree after he reported that Jeffrey had threatened him with knife. Upon further investigation, officers discovered several body parts belonging to multiple victims throughout this apartment. During the investigation, remains of 11 victims and tools found in the apartment were sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) forensic laboratory specialists (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2016).

Read More
745 Words | 3 Pages

In response to the long-standing philosophical question of immorality, many philosophers have posited the soul criterion, which asserts the soul constitutes personal identity and survives physical death. In The Myth of the Soul, Clarence Darrow rejects the existence of the soul in his case against the notion of immortality and an afterlife. His primary argument against the soul criterion is that no good explanation exists for how a soul enters a body, or when its beginning might occur. (Darrow 43) After first explicating Darrow 's view, I will present what I believe is its greatest shortcoming, an inconsistent use of the term soul, and argue that this weakness impacts the overall strength of his argument.

Read More
960 Words | 4 Pages

Socrates notes that evils which attacks the soul, cowardice and the like, clearly do not destroy it. Injustice, for instance, never kills souls by itself, though the unjust man may be killed in body by others. We must forsake the study of the soul in the prison of the body and use philosophy to truly study it. Socrates returns to the theme of justice to determine how the unjust and the just will be in relation to the gods. They will love the just and hate the unjust.

Read More
1225 Words | 5 Pages

In Plato’s dialogue Phaedo, he explains the soul and comes to the conclusion that the soul is immortal. Through describing the last hours of Socrates life before his execution, he lays out three arguments in support of the idea that while the body may cease to exist the soul cannot perish. In this paper, I will explicate Socrates three arguments for the immortality of the soul and their objections. Then I will argue on the presupposition of the Law of Conservation of Mass, that the universe, entailing the soul, must be cyclical. The Law of Conservation of Mass

Read More
411 Words | 2 Pages

However, the number three cannot ever be even for it holds a natural form of oddity that cannot be changed, the same is found with immortality. A soul cannot admit to death, which is the opposite of its essence immortality just as the number three cannot admit to being even. Leading to Plato’s conclusion of how a soul then must have to retreat, connecting back to Socrates believing death is best characterized by the soul separating from

Read More
607 Words | 3 Pages

In this quote, he is alluding that similar to the claims of just from unjust or the swifter from the slower, indeed life come from death and death from life, like a cycle. However, a question arises as to whether Socrates is talking about the soul or the body itself, causing the argument to fall short. It could be expected that he is not referring to the soul because the main purpose of the argument is to explain how the soul continues to exist when the person dies, “to believe that the soul still exist after a man has died and that it still possesses some capability and intelligence” (Plato 106).

Read More
564 Words | 3 Pages

He also believes that it is not difficult to refrain from death, but it is difficult to stay away from evil since it surrounds us all. Doing something evil and sinful will torment one’s soul forever, even after death. Socrates believes

Read More
169 Words | 1 Pages

I believe when Socrates mentions the soul or “psyche,” he means the soul is an ongoing entity that exists in a body; yet, the body is swayed by the opinions of other people. Socrates was a lover of wisdom and asked questions about the soul that was continuously seeking what the soul desired, not the body. The desire may have been answers, meaning, happiness, knowledge, or wisdom. The soul seeks knowledge for itself and reasons away from feelings and pains that the body feels. Socrates states, “The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.”

Read More
1013 Words | 5 Pages

Socrates in the dialogue Alcibiades written by Plato provides an argument as to why the self is the soul rather than the body. In this dialogue Alcibiades and Socrates get into a discussion on how to cultivate the self which they both mutually agree is the soul, and how to make the soul better by properly taking care of it. One way Socrates describes the relationship between the soul and the body is by analogy of user and instrument, the former being the entity which has the power to affect the latter. In this paper I will explain Socrates’ arguments on why the self is the soul and I will comment on what it means to cultivate it.

Read More
1191 Words | 5 Pages

Socrates states that a good philosopher should not fear death, but rather embrace it and look forward to it. This is also where he comes out with the four claims of the separation of the soul and the body. With this point Socrates is trying to explain to Cebes, Simmias, and the others in the room that the soul is everlasting and outlives every body that it is ever in. They agree that the soul is long lasting but does not live forever. This is the end for Socrates as him and Crito head to the bath chamber and return to say goodbye to his three sons and the women of the household.

Read More
524 Words | 3 Pages

Socrates’ original argument was not valid or sound. The premises were corrected but the argument needed another premise to make the conclusion true. Adding premise two takes away any confusion there was to what immortality meant. Since Socrates’ spent almost the entire book creating a just person and a just city the information about what is good and bad for a soul makes sense. It also makes sense that those things cannot destroy the soul because injustice and other vices could only lead the body to make poor choices and possibly get sick or die from those poor choices.

Read More
1005 Words | 5 Pages

Plato’s view on death According to Plato, Socrates didn’t fear death. He stopped fearing death when God ordered him to live the life of a philosopher. “No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of all evils.” He says that this is just as bad as thinking that you’re wise, when you’re actually not.

Read More
683 Words | 3 Pages

Socrates says he is certain that the soul is immortal and looks forward to the enlightenment achieved after death. Socrates then provides four theories in an attempt to prove the existence of an eternal soul: the Argument from Opposites, the Theory of Recollection, Argument from Affinity, and the Argument from Forms. Socrates theories are logical and wise but do not prove the existence of a soul. His first theory is the Argument from

Read More
1152 Words | 5 Pages

It never changes and yet causes the essential nature of things we perceive in the world. These two perceptions are what Plato describes as the divided line or the journey of self discovery. This progression of the spirit, that can never be reached, becomes the ideal. Plato’s discussions include the involvement of the soul. It is clear, that the main reason for dealing with the soul is to achieve this state

Read More
1015 Words | 5 Pages

To advance this position, I will provide evidence, that will support my way of thinking, from Socrates’ arguments for the soul 's immortality: The Cyclical Argument, The Theory of Recollection Argument, The Affinity Argument, and The Argument from Form

Read More

More about Analyzing Phaedo Socrates Immortality Of The Soul

Related Topics

Open Document