Phaedo is an account written by Plato of the last conversation of Socrates’ before he will be put to death by the state of Athens by drinking hemlock. The dialog itself seems to recount Plato’s psychological, Metaphysical, and epistemological beliefs rather than an accurate portrayal of Socrates’ last conversation . The dialog addresses three main arguments for recollection including the argument of opposites, the argument of recollection, and the argument of affinity. Plato’s arguments in the Phaedo
Phaedo by Plato The main theme behind the "Phaedo" is Socrates' readiness and willingness to die, because of his belief of immortality. Socrates believed that when his body ceased to exist anymore, that his soul would leave and join that of the forms, where he would be eternally. Socrates believed so strongly in this, that not only did he not fear his death, he welcomed it. He believed that only when the soul separated from the body, is a person able to be truly enlightened and gain all knowledge
Socrates a classical Greek philosopher and character of Plato’s book Phaedo, defines a philosopher as one who has the greatest desire of acquiring knowledge and does not fear death or the separation of the body from the soul but should welcome it. Even in his last days Socrates was in pursuit of knowledge, he presents theories to strengthen his argument that the soul is immortal. His attempts to argue his point can’t necessarily be considered as convincing evidence to support the existence of an
Plato's final argument in Phaedo for the immortality of the soul is one of the most interesting topics of all time. It goes hand to hand with the application of the theory of forms to the question of the soul's immortality, as Plato constantly reminds us, the theory of forms is the most certain of all his theories. The Phaedo is Plato’s attempt to convince us of the immortality of the soul by using several main arguments. These include the argument of forms and the law of opposites. In the final
there is a forms and it plays a vital role in Phaedo 's final arguments for immortality therefore forms are important. PART I: Explanation of forms in Phaedo 's final arguments for immortality Phaedo is one of Plato’s classical dialogues which takes place between Socrates and his friends in the prison on his last day of life in 399 B.C. Phaedo is a conversation which mainly focuses on afterlife and soul or rather immortality of the soul. Plato 's Phaedo refers to this term commonly as “the final argument”
philosophers; the ones who choose to lurk deeper in the veiled mysteries of metaphysics. According to Plato, his Theory of Forms states perfection only lives in the realm of thought. There only exists one of every ideal and the rest is just a copy. This one creation is called a form, the most flawless representation of an idea. In the physical world everything is a copy of these forms and all copies are imperfect. Plato believed in two worlds; the intelligible world and the illusionistic world. The intelligible
gave the modern world the Socratic Method, among others. He challenged many Athenian values while reaffirming others. Unfortunately, all that is left of his teachings are those that were written down by his students, most notably by Plato. Through Plato’s Apology and Phaedo, Socrates’s argumentative and dialogue styles reaffirm the Athenian value of participatory culture while refuting the value of relative glorification of the human body in effective and ineffective ways. In Apology, Socrates utilizes
Given what Socrates states in the Phaedo through his arguments about the afterlife and the definition of death, I argue, that he would he say, that we are alive when we are no longer in our body. This paper will argue that an individual is not only alive after death, but that we are most alive when we are not in the body, through an outline of premises picked from the book Phaedo, in The Last Days of Socrates by Plato. Socrates defines death as the separation of body and the soul through his dialogue
The Soul and Plato In his work The Republic, Plato often refers to the terms just and justice. What could being just have to do with the soul? Or more importantly what is a just soul? Plato argues for something to be just, it need to be in harmony. Site just to make him happy For us, to find our justice, we must ‘do our own work.’ Insert Quote Here Plato states that a man needs to focus on his inner self and not that of others hence the term ‘our own work’. Justice itself is a virtue that is to be
In this paper, I will investigate the basic characteristics and properties of Plato’s “recollection” in Meno. In my opinion, Plato uses “recollection” to refute this argument, “whether people know or do not know, discovering is unnecessary.” He believes there is a state between “do not know” and “know”, he calls it “forget”. Therefore, when people are learning or discovering, they are just recollecting things they already forget. In general, when people are learning, they achieve a state of understanding
Plato is one of the most important people in the history of Philosophy. Throughout his life, he had made many contributions to the world of philosophy, but the most important contribution that he is most known for is his theory of the Ideas or Forms. Throughout his many works such as the Phaedo and Symposium, he presented his theory of Ideas by using both mythos and logos in his argument for support. In the Phaedo, Plato introduced the theory of Ideas which centered on the problem of immortality
Recollection in Plato's Phaedo and Meno As the earliest philosopher from whom we have written texts, Plato is often misrepresented as merely reproducing Socratic rhetoric. In Meno, one of the first Platonic dialogues, Plato offers his own unique philosophical theory, infused with his mentor's brilliant sophistry. Amidst discussing whether or not virtue can be taught, Meno poses a difficult paradox: How can one be virtuous, or seek virtue, when one cannot know what it is? "How will you aim
of Nagel, Greek philosopher Plato, in his work the Phaedo, uses the Theory of Forms to reason why souls must exist, however he lacks strength in explaining the cycle of birth and death for the soul, and more importantly how the soul popped into existence. In the sixth and fifth centuries of Greek culture, many people, called Sophists, started to think philosophically about language and speech. They were
Aubree Tuschka Dr. Ward Western Civ. May 1, 2014 Book Précis The author Plato, translated by Hugh Tredennick presents in “The last days of Socrates”, (469-399 BC) a string of four dialogues called Eathyphro, The Apology, Crito, and Phaedo that depicts Socrates trial, death and conscripts the philosophers final days. His own opinion and corruption of the youth, gave Plato the chance to portray and expand his own philosophy and arguments of the accountability of peoples actions and how it effects
worship of polytheistic Olympians, a religion that often tended more towards the rational and philosophic than the longstanding Jewish piety. In the spirit of such a division appear the two works in consideration, the rather secular Phaedo from the Greek luminary Plato and its counterpart among the sacred pages of the Old Testament, Ecclesiastes. Though the ages of each cannot definitely determined, most scholarly assumptions place their birth within a century and a half of one another. The Greek
In this paper I’ll discuss Plato’s theory of recollection in a close reading of the Phaedo. The theory of recollection (ToR) accepts the following premises: 1. We come into being with knowledge. 2. We must’ve learned this knowledge before birth. 3. Therefore, the soul is immortal (Phaedo 73a). In the forthcoming paragraphs, I’ll clarify exactly what we recollect and what constitutes as a cognitive act as being an act of recollection. Additionally, I’ll present two different interpretations, K and
What alternative does Aristotle offer to Plato’s claim that learning is recollection? Where would Aristotle locate the mistake in Plato’s argument in The Phaedo? In his dialogues The Phaedo and Meno, Plato, through the form of Socrates, puts forth the idea that all learning is recollection. In The Phaedo, to prove that the soul is immortal, Socrates asserts the view that all learning is recollection and we simply need to be reminded of facts that our immortal souls are aware of. In Meno, Socrates
and society in the long run. Coupled with our consumerist culture, where our happiness and satisfaction often depend on the sheer quantity of things we own, our money-loving souls will never achieve their highest potential as Plato describes it. In Republic and Phaedo, Plato puts forth several theories regarding a balanced soul ruled by reason and how it benefits society as a whole however they directly conflict with the “greed is good” mentality that drives modern capitalism and consumerism. This
Plato has roused many readers with the work of a great philosopher by the name of Socrates. Through Plato, Socrates lived on generations after his time. A topic of Socrates that many will continue to discuss is the idea of “an immortal soul”. Although there are various works and dialogues about this topic it is found to be best explained in The Phaedo. It is fair to say that the mind may wonder when one dies what exactly happens to the beloved soul, the giver of life often thought of as the very
Plato is one of the most famous Greek philosophers who has many published works that contributes to the field of ethics. In many of his philosophical debates, Plato claims that the soul never perishes after death and only the body dies. One of Plato 's famous works that argues for the immortality of the soul is the Socratic dialogue, The Phaedo. In this dialogue, Phaedo is telling the story of Socrates ' death, who appears as the main character in the dialogue. Socrates was executed by drinking poison