Analysis Of ' Last Days '

One of the positive effects of such a belief regarding the soul and its existence after the body's physical death is that it can serve as motivation to lead a virtuous life. This fact is readily demonstrated within the speech and actions of Socrates, who attempted to lead a high life of virtue, reasoning, and thinking in order to protect his soul from any sort of debauchery which might affect it in the afterlife. Socrates' conception of the afterlife was somewhat as muddled as Plato's, during The Apology he claimed he knew nothing about it, yet he also asserts that it will either be a restful, lasting slumber or a state in which one has an enjoyable degree of communication with the

Plato claims in his text The Phaedrus that all souls are immortal. He states that “every soul is immortal, for that which is always changing is immortal” (1), and that “since it does not come into being, it also necessarily does not perish” (1). This perfectly illustrates Plato’s claim as

ARGUMENT PAPER I APOLOGY: DEFENSE OF SOCRATES PLATO 40C-41C PHILOSOPHY 2010 20 SEPTEMBER 2011 WALTER A. JENKINS JR Plato once said, “No one knows whether death, which People fear to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good.” Throughout the history of mankind, man has been fascinated

In Phaedo, by Plato, Phaedo recounts an incident with Socrates. The story starts with Socrates opening up saying that Philosophers should not only accept death, but welcome it. After all, although the body will pass, the soul is able to live on because it is immortal. He uses a lot of his intuition to back up his claim, but the main rationale is the Argument of Affinity. He claims that the world is very binary. Things are either incorporeal and invisible, or not. The body is physical, visible and corporeal. Things like the body that are visible are part of the sensible world and do not last. The soul however is not. It is invisible and incorporeal. That is why Socrates believes the soul is immortal. Simmias counters Socrates claim bringing

Why does Plato think that the soul is immortal? Is he right? Discuss with close reference to Phaedo 102a-107b.

Throughout Plato’s Phaedo, Socrates invokes different arguments to portray specific ideas about the immortality of the soul. One of the arguments in which Socrates brings about is the cyclical argument. The cyclical argument, also referred to as the principle of opposites, connects the core ideas of the body and the mind to later prove that the soul is an immortal entity. Forms are ever changing in and of themselves to create the cycle in which Socrates explains the basis of all things. It is through knowledge of the Forms, and the existence of the body and the soul that Socrates enhances the cyclical argument to demonstrate the concepts leading to the immortality of the soul.

Throughout the course of the Phaedo, Socrates argues that the soul is immortal. Because he believes that his soul will live on forever, Socrates claims that he is not afraid to die. Socrates was sentenced to death and due to the fact that he took the poison earlier

An Examination of Socrates' Attitude Towards Death and Dying When presented with a problem or argument Socrates, the philosopher, attacked most issues with a relatively disingenuous attitude. A question or idea would be presented and he would automatically respond with either another question or a new philosophy for his opposite party to ponder. These were the ways of Socrates, an intelligent yet humble man who knew the limits of his knowledge. And through his passion for knowledge and quest for the meaning of life, Socrates often stumbled across the theme of death and dying. Now of course the natural human instinct when presented with the idea of death is to run away from the problem and Socrates examines death from a philosophical point of view and concludes that for good upstanding people death should not be feared. He states, “The fear of death is indeed the pretence of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretence of knowing the unknown” (29a). In other words, death lies in the realm of the unknown, and it is impossible to fear something before one understands it. After receiving the death sentence Socrates does not invite fear into his thoughts, instead he realizes that “those of us who think death is an evil are in error” (40c). And by dismissing fear he is now able to examine death fully, dissecting it in a way that he can understand. The theory of the existence of a soul is something that Socrates begins to ponder. He theorizes that “either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as many say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another” (40d). When discussing death in the Apology Socrates upholds a feeling of optimistic uncertainty. He knows that death is expected to come, and realizes that he cannot understand fully what will transpire once that moment arrives. And in this revelation he turns to the jury and says, “the hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways – I to die, and

Joe Arce 19 Sept 2011 Socrates Vs. Gilgamesh Socrates’ view of death in the Phaedo, Crito, and Apology is complex. His argument tries to prove that philosophers, of all people, are in the best state to die or will be in the best state after life because of the life they lead. Socrates’ views are sharply contrasted in The Epic of Gilgamesh. In fact, he would probably say that Gilgamesh had not lived the proper kind of life and his views of life, and death would lead to an unsettled existence in the afterlife. Socrates’ view of death, from his opinions on the act of dying, the state of the soul after death, and the fear of death, differs from that of The Epic of Gilgamesh to the extent that Socrates would refute every belief about death

In Phaedo Socrates claims that the soul exists somewhere after the body dies. He uses the argument of opposites to make his claim. Socrates believes that for something to “be” it must have been something else before or come from something. He gives Cebes examples of thing that are generated as a result from its opposite. “when anything becomes greater it must inevitably have been smaller and then have become greater.” He uses this example to say that being “greater” is derived from having been “smaller” at some point; and that in between being “greater” and “smaller” there are a lot of variables. After giving several examples to Cebes and Cebes agreeing to most outcomes, Socrates asks Cebes if there is an opposite to living, Cebes responds

Socrates makes the assertion that the soul is an immortal entity that survives through many generations and bodies. He explains that there is the visible and the invisible realms in life. The visible realm is everything that we can see, in which things exist that take forms. In the visible realm, there may be a bundle of equal sized sticks, that take the form of equality. When you see the bundle, you see that it looks equal. But, someone else may not see those sticks as equal, and therefore the visible realm is imperfect. The visible realm is ever changing, and can be perceived differently by all who experience it. The invisible on the other hand, is where the forms exist. A form is the true identity of things, like equality for example. When

In a bid to explain the concept of immortality, Socrates employs the concept of opposites. He gives substantial examples which clearly depict the fact that for any object or property that claims to have been generated, it is attained through the law of opposites. To substantiate his statement, he indicates that if something was big at a given point, it must have been smaller at another given instance. In an explicit explanation, it suffices to indicate that Socrates meant that the current state of a given thing is an opposite of the state that it was at a given particular time. He uses this concept to show that life is a result of death. In this case, the living things are as a result of death which took place and once people undergo death,

In this article by Tal Kopan he writes about how Ben Carson believes we are coming upon the end of days. Although, Carson believes we are coming upon the end of days he believes that we can change our course of direction to avoid this. According to cnn.com, “I think we have a chance to certainly do everything we can to ameliorate the situation. I would always be shooting for peace. I wouldn't just take a fatalist view of things.” Carson stated. This comment was made when he was asked if the end of days could be stopped or if it was prophesied. This article also made references to his controversial comments that were made this week. In which he said he would rather be honest than just saying what people wanted to hear so that he could

He believes he would be going against his beliefs and character if he chose to escape. The last dialogue is Phaedo, a beloved disciple of the great teacher. Socrates shows his belief of the immortality of the soul. This dialogue was the fourth and last detailing the final days of Socrates. Socrates presents four arguments for the immortality of the soul. First, there is the claim that the soul is made up of basic forms. Second, the fact that we are born with certain innate knowledge proves that the knowledge is eternal. Third, people generally agree the soul is different from the body. Fourth, the soul is by definition living and thus can’t die in any meaningful way. At the end of the dialogue, Socrates is executed by poison hemlock. Phaedo was right by his side until his death. Phaedo said that ,” although I was witnessing the death of someone who was my friend, I had no feeling of pity, for the man appeared happy both in manner and words, as he died nobly and without fear ” (p. 212).

Before touching on the arguments of Plato from the theories of Socrates, the belief that the soul is immortal must be explained. The idea of immortality is expressed as conquering death. Therefore, Plato explains that the soul is immortal because through death, the soul is freed from the body. One can conclude that the soul and the body are two different entities that do not necessarily need each other for existence. In Phaedo, it is explained that a dedicated philosopher should look forward to death. The soul should be freed from the body, which can only occur through death. The best way to understand this concept is to follow a true philosopher. This will guide a person into the realization that their ultimate aim in life should be the freeing of the soul from the body because death is the only way for the soul to live on until it is completely pure. The immortality of the soul can be further explained through the four arguments presented in Phaedo: