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Socrates offers four arguments for the soul's immortality: The Cyclical Argument, or Opposites Argument explains that Forms are eternal and unchanging, and as the soul always brings life, then it must not die, and is necessarily "imperishable". As the body is mortal and is subject to physical death, the soul must be its indestructible opposite.
The full title of the work is Phaedon, or on the Immortality of the Soul, but is also known as Phaedon, or the Death of Socrates. Mendelssohn wrote the book after the death of his friend Thomas Abbt. Abbt had introduced him to Plato's work, the Phaedo, and he decided to bring this work into the contemporary world. The book is dedicated to Abbt. [3]
This quote emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and questioning one's beliefs, actions, and purpose in life. [2] The words were supposedly spoken by Socrates at his trial after he chose death, rather than exile. They represent (in modern terms) the noble choice, that is, the choice of death in the face of an alternative. [3]
Embrace these quotes from one of the founding fathers of Western philosophy.
It is a series of three dialogues, revisiting the Platonic dialogue Phaedo, in which Socrates argues for the immortality of the soul, in preparation for his own death. Many philosophers, including Plotinus, Descartes, and Leibniz, argue that the soul is simple, and that because simples cannot decompose they must be immortal.
Phaedrus warns him that he is younger and stronger, and Socrates should "take his meaning" and "stop playing hard to get". [ Note 6 ] Finally, after Phaedrus swears on the plane tree that he will never recite another speech for Socrates if Socrates refuses, Socrates, covering his head, consents.
Meanwhile, in the recollection and affinity arguments, the connection with life is not explicated or used at all. These two arguments present the soul as a knower (i.e., a mind). This is most clear in the affinity argument, where the soul is said to be immortal by virtue of its affinity with the Forms that we observe in acts of cognition.
Socrates initiates a discussion about a topic with a known expert on the subject, usually in the company of some young men and boys, and by dialogue proves the expert's beliefs and arguments to be contradictory. [80] Socrates initiates the dialogue by asking his interlocutor for a definition of the subject.