Preview

What Is a Soul?

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1730 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Is a Soul?
What is a soul? Is it part of our body? Does it even hold any significant importance? These are all great questions that nobody can be quite sure about. Through this essay, I’m going to dissect the powerful theories on the soul from Plato’s Phaedo and offer insight on how the soul may hold the ultimate key to happiness. In Plato’s Phaedo, Plato speaks on his theories on the existence of the soul through the voice of Socrates. In this dialogue, Socrates has been sentenced to death and talks to two fellow philosophers. On Socrate's last day on earth, instead of being sad, as one would expect, he is actually in a very happy mood. Why is that? It's because Socrates believes in the existence of the soul and its immortality. He believes the soul will survive past his death. Aside from that, Socrates is also excited and pleased with himself because he's so sure that when he dies he's going to go to a realm populated by gods and philosophical souls. Basically, he is certain he will reach heaven. To understand why Socrates believes that he will go to this heavenly realm it's important to also understand his arguments on the existence of the soul. According to Socrates, soul and body have two separate functions. The body takes care of bodily sensations that include desires, wanting, cravings, emotions and feelings. Those are all bodily passions. What the soul does is take care of all the thinking. The soul is rational. The soul thinks about concepts and ideas. It thinks on pure concepts like that of beauty, or goodness, or health. The problem is that as our soul actively attempts to rationalize these concepts, the desires and cravings our body imposes distracts from that. The lusting after sex, food, money gets in the way of the important philosophical thinking that the soul does. [1] Socrates firmly believes that once death comes, the separation of body and soul occur. According to Socrates, a good philosopher attempts to separate his mind from his body
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    How Does Socrates Prove The Soul's Immortality
    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Does Socrates Prove The Soul's Immortality

    Plato’s “Phaedo” is a dialogue between Socrates and his friends, Cebes and Simmias. These two men have asked Socrates to prove to them that the soul survives after death due to its immortality. Socrates gives them several arguments, which ultimately lead to his conclusion that proves the soul’s immortality and furthermore its perishability. Socrates proves that soul lives despite the body’s death by showing that if an entity has a certain characteristic, it will not accept the characteristic that is the opposite to its own. Socrates believes that the soul and the body are two entirely different things; the body is created to disappear after death and the soul is created to exist forever after death.…

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Phi/105 Socrates Research Paper
    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Phi/105 Socrates Research Paper

    Socrates who was he? “Socrates was a Greek philosopher. Socrates was born c. 470/469 B.C., in Athens”. (Wiki) In Phaedo, I understand that Socrates he has arguments that demonstrate that the soul is immortal. “If we live on after bodily death, there is no reason to fear it.” (Phaedo) However, these ideas are attributed to Socrates in Phaedo. Of course we have no way of knowing if he feared death or not. He appeared not to fear death but who knows. You hear people say all the time, "I have no fear of death"--I've even thought that to myself-- but there's no way they or myself can know that until the last few minutes of life. I think that virtually everyone will fear death at…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Final Paper PHL Kloke
    • 1583 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Final Paper PHL Kloke

    These larger questions of the soul and the mind and their existence beyond human death has been debated and explored throughout time. Yet, we lack hard evidence to support the idea of the existence of the soul and its continued ‘life’ beyond the death of the body. Individuals have not returned from the grave to transmit this knowledge in any manner that can be tested, studied, and deemed true. What a soul is and why we have it is unique to the human experience. The Abrahamic traditions defines the soul as the “I” that lives within our body and acts through it. The soul is what makes each individual unique according to theologian Thomas Aquinas. Noted philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, all argued that the psyche or, the soul, was the “crown of the logical facilities”. Yet the mind is responsible for processing our human experiences and storing them as learned experiences that shape and mold our continued existence.…

    • 1583 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Socrates Quote Analysis
    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Socrates Quote Analysis

    This quote is significant because it exemplifies the way Socrates uses HIS method. Socrates uses metaphors in order to humbly enlighten his audience. At times Socrates structure of explanation is perceived to be complex and or difficult to interpret. To simplify what he is attempting to get across usually takes a thorough examination. Socrates is from ancient times and his methodology still suits fit to modern day. Analyzing the context of his circumstances before death alone goes to show the depth of understanding one needs to comprehend his ideology and beliefs. This quote also provides us with the notion of not being selfish and to avoid pretentious. When one thinks about death or the chance of dying when they’re in a predicament because…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Justice In Plato's The Republic
    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Justice In Plato's The Republic

    After all this, Socrates goes on to the story about a man returning from the afterlife and describing it. At the end of the story, he says that because he and his companions have established that the soul is immortal, and because this story speaks about the immortality of the soul, it is even more important for people to be just and seek good and true knowledge in their life. This, in turn, will bring them much happiness in both this life and the…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Socrates 'Phaedrus Non-Lover'
    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Socrates 'Phaedrus Non-Lover'

    In order for this to be, Socrates must go into depth about the soul, because that is where we are affected by madness and find our happiness. This is the connecting link that leads one explanation of love as madness to a discussion of the soul. The main idea focuses on the soul being the driving force that leads a person here on earth and in the afterlife. It is always in motion and as a self-mover has no beginning, it cannot be destroyed. According to Socrates, the soul is immortal, divine, and infinite. It is the soul that presides over all aspects of life. The proof is in Socrates' own definition of the soul that goes beyond all living and non-living things in both the human life and the afterlife. I believe that Socrates uses very direct, obvious dialogue about the nature of the soul to be as perfectly clear as possible about the main idea of the text. The soul is something that is unbreakable, immortal, and generates all human action. Socrates outlines how the soul is the basis for all that he speaks about; the essential lesson which all his speeches are based…

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Socrates Argument Analysis
    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Socrates Argument Analysis

    Socrates prefaces his argument with by justifying the suggestion that philosophers, who live their lives rejecting their bodies, are in fact better off dead. Therefore philosophers…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Socrates and the Afterlife
    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Socrates and the Afterlife

    Socrates was a man of very distinct descriptions. He believed that we all would meet in a place in the afterlife. We would follow a guide down our chosen path according to the life we lived. Socrates didn’t have a fear of death or the path he would travel in the afterlife. He had a very detailed idea of how the terrain would be. He envisioned in exquisite detail of the beauty of the afterlife. He spoke of the path that people would take based on the type of person they were and the acts they committed. He is a man that doesn’t have a fear for death. He is a man that believes that there is life after death.…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    When Did Socrates Put On Trial Essay
    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When Did Socrates Put On Trial Essay

    After being convicted of his ‘crimes’, he is given an opportunity from his friends to escape, but he refuses. The main reason is that the people will know that they convicted an innocent man because they were annoyed with Socrates. When he is dead he will go to the underworld and be able to talk to far more interesting people. Also the people of Athens would only get a break from Socrates. When they die he’ll be there to greet them, and they can’t run away from him where they’re…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Platos Apology
    • 540 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Platos Apology

    Even though Socrates is proven guilty he has no regrets. He believes he did nothing wrong and is happy to share his knowledge with people. Socrates says, “is not to avoid death but to avoid unrighteousness.”(168-169) In this he is saying he is not upset about dying and he did the right in life. Again he shows this is true when he says, “I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner of life.”(163) He’s saying again he did the right thing and rather die than not have shared his knowledge and be a wise man. Socrates makes it clear he did the right thing in life, at least what he thinks the right thing is. He wants to help people in his life and succeeded in doing so, so he is not afraid of death. He is smart and wise and wants to keep teaching his knowledge. He states this when he says “ You will not easily find another like me, and therefore I advise you to spare me.”(110-111) Socrates makes it clear teaching his believes was obviously not a crime and has no regrets of doing so.…

    • 540 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Short essay discusses why Socrates did not fear death.
    • 602 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Short essay discusses why Socrates did not fear death.

    Socrates has valid reasons to not fear death. He says, "Whether life or death is better is known to God, and God only" (CPQ 28). Since God has not told Socrates which is better, he decides that what the Athenians believe will suffice. When Crito suggests that Socrates escape and avoid death, Socrates asks Crito if the Athenians hold to living well, honourably and justly. Crito replies that they do and Socrates explains it is not just for him to escape prison and he must carry out his just agreements so he does not hurt the Athenian people. He wants to set an example and he cares far more for living an honourable life as part of the community, than setting a bad example and doing the citizens an injustice by not abiding by their laws. Socrates' personal reasons for not fearing death are reasonable and moral. Only a person who abides to the laws of the community with such dedication could be so fearless in the face of death. Socrates does not even worry about the world losing a great mind when he is dead. He only has concerns for the overall well-being of Athens. Socrates is a very honourable man in sacrificing his life to better serve his city and it is enough to say that in being honourable and knowing that he is doing the right thing, he has no reason to fear death.…

    • 602 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fear And Trembling By Socrates: A Knight Of Resignation
    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Fear And Trembling By Socrates: A Knight Of Resignation

    Conversely, Socrates centers his life around the idea of the forms, placing them at the core of his being but, realizes that he will never actually obtain the forms. Accordingly, Socrates doesn’t fear death because he doesn’t know it, and knows that he never will know it in his current life. Unlike Abraham who was not afraid to sacrifice his son because he was focused on the fact that God would make everything work out in the end, Socrates would not be afraid for other reasons. Socrates would not be hesitant to sacrifice his son because he is aware of the fact that he doesn’t know what will come after death. He proclaims in The Apology by Plato that he isn’t afraid to be put to death because no one has ever proven what comes after life. For this reason Socrates again better exemplifies the ideals of a knight of infinite resignation than those of the knight of…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Socrates Was A Mind-Body Dualist Analysis
    • 134 Words
    • 1 Page

    Socrates Was A Mind-Body Dualist Analysis

    Socrates believed that the mind has an irrational part, which is controlled by emotions, and this is drawn to the body. Once the mind and body merge, the mind is limited by what we are able to perceive with our senses. The rational part of our mind mostly remains beyond our conscious knowledge, however Socrates believed that it's the job of philosophers to connect to the rational mind in order to become a whole person. Once this is achieved, a rational person will see things for what they really…

    • 134 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Is a Life Worth Living?
    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What Is a Life Worth Living?

    In Crito, the documentation of the debate between Crito and Socrates regarding whether or not Socrates should flee and live in exile or remain and be executed, Socrates details and explains why he feels that life is not worth living if you live a corrupted soul. Having been sentenced to death for his pursuit of a just and fulfilled life, Socrates chooses that death is the favorable option over fleeing; citing that fleeing is an unjust action and that a life that is unjust is not a life worth living. Socrates views…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Soul & Self
    • 1397 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Soul & Self

    There have been many ideas and ways of thinking about the soul and the self in our history. The development of theories of the self and personal identity dates all the way back to the ancient Greeks to present day. Philosophers and scientists have developed huge intellectual trends, controversies, and ideas that shape the way we think of ourselves today. The theories of the soul and self date back to ancient Greek times where ideas of Plato, Aristotle, and the materialistic atomists first started talking about the soul and the self, which lead to future theories. Throughout the theories there is a lack of factual statements due to the removal of science. Although history has worked its way up to what we know now, without the scientific aspect of it we would be lost. Many theories of the soul and the self cannot be proven and therefore we cannot know if they are true. Science is one of the only forms of studying ourselves and finding out new ideas and concepts by creating new laws of nature. The eras called, The rise of Science, and the Science of Human nature have the highest importance for individuals, and society.…

    • 1397 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics