Socrates on the Soul - Essay Example

While Simmias presents a strong argument, Socrates provides three arguments against this perspective. This essay describes Socrates' arguments and considers that at times they are unconvincing.    

Socrates makes a number of rebuttals to Simmias’ argument. Socrates' first rebuttal considers the nature of attunement. In this regard, Socrates indicates that Simmias’ metaphor is not appropriate because it is possible to tune a lyre to achieve a differing type of harmony. This, however, is not true of the soul, as it is an essence that is unchanging. Socrates’ second rebuttal to Simmias’ argument considers the nature of morality. Socrates notes that while some souls are good and others are bad, a musical instrument does not carry with it such moral elements. While the two men recognize that it is possible for a bad soul to be compared to an instrument that is not in-tune, Socrates still doesn’t believe Simmias’ original metaphor is appropriate. He argues that this is not the case since no souls or ‘more soul’ than any other. Socrates' final rebuttal to Simmia's argument that the soul is a sort of harmony is that while the soul governs the body, with a musical instrument it is the reverse. That is, it is the strings and various components that govern the creation of harmony.   

While Socrates’ arguments about the soul in many instances seem convincing, in other ways they seem to rely on pure speculation. One considers that a core element of Socrates’ perspective on the soul is that it has eternal recollection ("Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy"). This core belief, while well-articulated, does not seem to be based on any empirical truth. Socrates’ rebuttals of Simmias’ argument in many instances are not based on any sort of empirical evidence, but instead, merely contradict an equally baseless argument. For instance, Socrates attempts to refute Simmias’ argument on the grounds that it is the soul that controls the body, while the instrument controls harmony. Socrates states, “One must therefore suppose that a harmony does not direct its components, but is directed by them” (Plato). In this way, it seems that Socrates' statement is simply based on conjecture. It would just as possible to argue that the soul was produced by all portions of the body working together, just like a musical instrument producing harmony.   

In conclusion, this essay has examined Socrates’ rebuttal of Simmias’ argument on the soul as a sort of harmony. In this context of understanding it’s demonstrated that Socrates believes Simmias is wrong based on three primary counter-arguments. While Socrates is successful in rebutting Simmias’ argument, it’s clear that his overarching is not based on empirical evidence and as such is not convincing.