Socrates, the father of modern Western philosophy, once said, shortly before his own death that “[Those] who happen to have gotten in touch with philosophy in the right way devote themselves to nothing else but dying and being dead” (Phaedo 64A). In other words, Socrates...
The Cyclical Argument In Plato’s Phaedo, three arguments are made for the immortality of the human soul. The first argument, known as the Cyclical Argument, suggests that the soul passes from the living to the dead and then back from the dead to the living,...
The Soul: The Body’s Mortal Companion In Phaedo, Socrates, Cebes, and Simmias discuss whether the soul of a person is immortal or not. Socrates contends that the soul is eternal due to the idea of recollection, the “opposites” argument, and the idea of affinity. The...
Throughout Phaedo, Socrates uses a priori proofs coupled with logic to support his idea that the soul is immune to death and destruction, and will therefore continue to exist after the death of the body. He uses empirical science sparingly as his arguments deal with...
In Plato’s dialogues “Meno” and “Phaedo,” the concept of recollection plays a significant role in addressing questions about knowledge, learning, and the nature of the soul. While both dialogues involve Socratic discussions on this topic, they differ in their emphasis and approach. This essay aims...
