Questioning the Immortality of the Soul Collin O’Gorman September 27‚ 2012 Philosophy 1001: Human Nature Section 104 During anyone’s last hours on Earth‚ they would probably want to spend time with loved ones and reflect on everything that has happened in their life. However‚ Socrates had different intentions; he instead wanted to spend the little time he had left to philosophize one last time with his friends. The topic of discussion was the soul and Socrates’ goal was to prove to everyone
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In his work titled Phaedo‚ Plato portrays his master Socrates in his final day before execution. Many philosophers gather with him and a dialogue arises‚ by which Plato conveys one of the most fundamental theories unfolding the after life. During this conversation Socrates exposes his believe of the immortality of the soul‚ arguing that he indeed is eager to die‚ claiming that death just represents the separation of soul and body. According to him‚ philosophers prepare throughout their lives for
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Summary of phaedo In the remote Peloponnesian township of Phlius‚ Echecrates encounters Phaedo of Elis‚ one of the men present during Socrates’ final hours. Eager to hear the story from a first-hand source‚ Echecrates presses Phaedo to tell what happened. A number of Socrates’ friends were gathered in his cell‚ including his old friend Crito and two Pythagorean philosophers‚ Simmias and Cebes. The account begins with Socrates proposing that though suicide is wrong‚ a true philosopher should look
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In the dialogue‚ The Phaedo‚ Plato gives an account of the final moments of Socrates. Several arguments are presented and discussed. These arguments regard the immortality of the soul and reincarnation. In this essay I will present a brief summary of the dialogue‚ explain one of the arguments presented in it‚ and finally show why the argument fails to prove the notion of reincarnation. The Phaedo is a Socratic dialogue written by the philosopher Plato. The dialogue gives an account of the final hours
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Plato‚ the author of Phaedo as stated by A.A. Long in The Cambridge Companion to Early Greek Philosophy‚ writes Phaedo in hopes of educating his students. This Socratic Dialogue is set in Ancient Greece around the time of Socrates’s death or 399 BC. Plato desires to give his students a better understanding of Socrates’s thoughts on beauty. Socrates claims to believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He simply states that once we define beauty‚ beautiful things will appear beautiful. With
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In the Phaedo‚ Socrates does not fear death because he believes that his soul is immortal and will be sent to heaven after his death. It is worth noticing here that he pre-assumes that the soul exists‚ so his central argument is not about whether the soul exists‚ but whether it is immortal. One of his arguments is that the soul is invincible‚ and invincible things can’t be destroyed‚ so the soul is immortal. I shall explain more fully this argument in the next paragraph. Then I shall offer my objection
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The Phaedo is a story that is set on the last day of Socrates ’ life. The dialogue examines whether the human soul is immortal or not. Socrates does not fear death‚ but he looks it straight in the eye and thinks this is what a philosopher practices for. Socrates believes that the soul is immortal‚ and therefore‚ outlasts the body. Socrates defends his argument by trying to establish that things come to be from their opposite. In his argument‚ he implies that all things that can change are eternal
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George Waszczuk 9/25/2000 Wed: 6:30-9:30pm Phaedo Summary Socrates stands now before his disciples telling them he is not afraid of dying because he says death is what the true philosopher waits for all his life. The philosopher must have lived a good life‚ and when death is presented upon him‚ he should take the opportunity. Socrates formed a conclusion that: "That the real philosopher has reason to be of good cheer when he is about to die‚ and after death he may hope to obtain the greatest
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Critical Analysis of “Phaedo” by Plato Much of the Phaedo by Plato is composed of arguments for the nature of the physical world and how it relates to the after life‚ for example‚ the way our senses perceive the world and how indulging in those senses has negative consequences in our after lives. These arguments find basis in scientific analysis of the time as well as the mythos of the his age. One of the key talking points within the story is the theory of forms. The aforementioned theory
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Socrates and Phaedo‚ Phaedo attempts to compares the human body to a lyre and the soul to the lyre’s harmony. Socrates‚ however‚ argues that this an inaccurate comparison. He explains that a harmony can be more and more fully harmonized or less and less fully harmonized‚ to which Phaedo confirms. Socrates then claims that a soul cannot be neither more nor less of a soul than another‚ a fact which Phaedo also confirms. Consequently‚ if the harmony of a lyre were to represent the human soul‚ then the
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