Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Platos Account Of The Soul - 2636 Words

PLATOS’ ACCOUNT OF THE IMMORTAILITY OF THE SOUL AND THE THEORY OF THE FORMS IN THE PHAEDO Luke Stock PHIL 2006 X0 Professor Anna Wilks November 21, 2014 Word count: Plato gives an account of the relationship between his conception of the soul and the theory of the forms in the Socratic dialogue Phaedo. He rejects the established view that the soul is contingent on the body and is extinguished upon death and offers four defences for the notion of the immortality of the soul. From the observation that all things come to be from their opposites Socrates establishes that life follows death and that the soul must have existed before death. He then proposes that learning is actually a process of recollecting what we previously had knowledge of, this knowledge must have been possessed before birth, but then forgotten, again implying that the soul must have existed before birth. Socrates then draws a distinction draws between that which is immaterial, imperceptible and immortal and that which is material, perceptible and immortal. He argues that the body is like the former while the soul is of the second category, with each possessing the features of the things they bear affinity to, and thus the soul must be immortal and survive death. His final argument posits the causal nature of the Forms in relation to those things which participate in them. Socrates argues that the soul, through its very definition, participates in the Form of Life and thus must neverShow MoreRelatedPlato Education Reform Essay1574 Words   |  7 PagesPlato contends that â€Å"education is the craft concerned with..turning around and with how the soul can most easily and effectively be made to do it† (Plato 190). In this paper, I will propose Plato’s reform for the American education system through analyzing his account of education, the nature and different kinds of education using the allegory of the cave, its correlation to kallipolis, the nature of the soul, and his metaphysical theory of forms. I shall argue that Plato would propose the AmericanRead MorePlatos Tripartite Soul - Discussion and Evaluation1238 Words   |  5 PagesP haedrus, Plato describes what has become known as the Tripartite Soul which describes the human soul as having three parts corresponding to the three classes of society in a just city. Individual justice consists in maintaining these three parts in the correct power relationships, which reason ruling, spirit aiding reason, and appetite obeying. In ‘A Study of Human Nature’ Plato tries to explain his Tripartite theory by ways of a parable, a vivid illustration which describes the soul as havingRead MoreJustice Is The Legal Or Philosophical Theory Of Justice1503 Words   |  7 PagesJustice is the art which gives to each man what is good for his soul. Discuss. â€Å"Justice is the art which gives to each man what is good for his soul† and that is simply to say that justice is identical with, or inseparable with philosophy. (Cahn, Political Philosophy, 1-136) Justice is an order and duty of the parts of the soul; it is to the soul as medicine preserves the health of the body. In its current and cardinal definition is a just behavior or treatment; a concern for justice, peace, andRead MorePlato: Immortality of the Soul1505 Words   |  7 PagesPHAEDO: IMMORTALITY OF SOUL In the dialogue Phaedo Plato discusses the immortality of the soul. He presents four different arguments to prove the fact that although the body of the human perishes after death; the soul still exists and remains eternal. Firstly, he explains the Argument from Opposites that is about the forms and their existence in opposite forms. His second argument is Theory of Recollection which assumes that each and every information that one has in his/her mind is related toRead More Comparison of Platos The Last Days of Socrates and Hesses Siddhartha1699 Words   |  7 Pagesthe dichotomous relationship of the soul and the body is integral to grasping the similarities and differences between the classical Greek and Indian paths because the way in which these concepts are understood defines the very nature of truth.    Socrates, the main character in The Last Days of Socrates, and Siddhartha, the central figure in Siddhartha, are both portrayed as learned men searching for truth. The author of The Last Days of Socrates, Plato, conceived the document as a representationRead MoreConceptions of the Soul Essay1161 Words   |  5 PagesPlato (in Phaedo) and Aristotle (in De Anima) present two fundamentally different conceptions of the soul. Through an analysis of their frameworks and genre, and whether their methods are plausible, it can be concluded that Aristotles formulation of the soul is more compelling than that of Plato. According to Plato, the body and the soul are separate entities. The soul is capable of existing before life of the body and after death of the body and it is constant, unchanging and non-physicalRead MoreEssay on Plato on Justice988 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferent one when compared to what we and even the philosophers of his own time are accustomed to. Plato would say justice is the act of carrying out one’s duties as he is fitted with. Moreover, if one’s duties require one to lie or commit something else that is not traditionally viewed along with justice; that too is considered just by Plato’s accounts in ‘The Republic.’ I believe Plato’s account of justice, and his likely defense against objections are both clear and logical, thus I will endeavorRead MoreThe Utility Of Myth : Plato s Metaphysics1624 Words   |  7 PagesMetaphysics ï » ¿Plato speaking from the mouth of Socrates in Phaedo, tells us, â€Å"people are likely not to be aware that those who pursue philosophy aright study nothing but dying and being dead.† (61a) As a philosopher Plato sought to offer not only descriptions of the world him around, but prescriptions as well. The above quote when understood metaphorically, for him, shows the aim of philosophy, and goal of the philosopher is and should be to scratch at the surface of our faculties. To do this, Plato believesRead MoreThe Nature Of Justice In Platos Myth Of Er1418 Words   |  6 Pagesimagining an ideal city-state, Plato introduces the Myth of Er which tells of what happens to a soul after death. In the myth, a man named Er is chosen to bring the story of the dead back to the living. The Myth of Er is Plato’s last attempt to convince others of the profits of justice and lend legitimacy of his previous claims. It gives Republic a purpose by describing the concrete consequenc es of an unjust life. This paper will show that while the Myth of Er is useful to Plato in that it motivates peopleRead MoreThe Tripartite Theory Of The Soul1196 Words   |  5 Pagesof the Soul Plato’s theory of tripartite soul focuses on the nature of human psyche. In the Republic, Plato (using the character â€Å"Socrates† as his mouthpiece) introduces this theory and claims that the soul contains three constituent elements: the appetitive, the rational, and the spirited parts. These three separate elements of the soul are organized in a hierarchy with reason being the superior of the two and spirit being the most inferior (Republic 439d and 441a-b). In a just soul, Plato claims

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.