Separation Of Body And Soul In Phaedo By Socrates

Socrates expresses his reasoning on the separation of body and soul. In Phaedo, Socrates is about to be executed and before he dies. He explains his logic to his friends Cebes and Simmias on the Forms and the life of a philosopher, and how they long for death, while arguing how the soul is immortal and how the death is something to look forward to. He also explains how suicide is not a viable option and what people can do to get as close to a good death is to practice dying everyday through distancing yourself away from materialistic objects. In summarization, Socrates relies on logic and reasoning to support his thought on how the soul operates even after death and what one can do to achieve a good end.

According to Plato, the human body

This concept goes back to the idea that one needs a material faculty to interact with a material object. For example, one needs a hand to open a door because as much as one wants to open the door with ones mind, you will not. In contrast, one needs an immaterial organ to connect with an immaterial presence. However, the bodily pleasures blur our vision of Forms or in this case, the immaterial presence. Socrates’ primary concern is for the soul, and for this reason, he would like to be rid of the body insofar as it interferes with the welfare of the soul. It is true that the rest of the world are of the opinion that apart from bodily pleasures life is not worth living, but in this respect they are mistaken. The philosopher knows that the soul is superior to the body and should be its master rather than its slave. As the body desires pleasures of the flesh, so the soul desires wisdom. The pleasures of the body are experienced through the senses, but the acquiring of wisdom comes only through the mind. Truth cannot be known by the senses, and as long as the search for final and absolute truth is accompanied by one's body, he is bound to be deceived. One's existence, must come through thought, and thought works at its best when the mind is not troubled by sights or pleasures. For example, a hungry person won’t be able to focus on math when he is hungry or thinking of food. A person's being must have little as possible to do with the body as it tries to grasp wisdom or knowledge of reality. Therefore, since the body cannot perceive the Forms through eyes, ears or any bodily sense, one must try to perceive through the mind. From this one must conclude that, so long as we are in our bodies and the soul is mixed with evil, our desire for the truth will not be