How Socrates Shows That the Soul Is Immortal - Assignment Example

s the assignment was due Phil 201 2. Explain how Socrates, in response to the common fear that the soul is destroyed when the human being dies (42), shows that the soul is immortal. Phaedo, one of the greatest dialogues written by Plato, explores the various arguments of Socrates regarding death. The important argument of Socrates about death is that, there is an afterlife for every human being and so the soul of the human will continue to exist, even after the death in an immortal state. So, Socrates counter argues the perspective, that soul is destroyed when the human being dies, by presenting four arguments to prove the immortality of the soul. The first argument which shows that the soul is immortal is the Opposites Argument or the “Cyclical argument”. Through this argument, Socrates explains that as the soul initiates or carries forward the life, it will not cease to exist. As the human physical body can malfunction and eventually perish, it will have an imperishable opposite entity. And it is the soul which can be considered as that imperishable immortal entity. The second argument put forward by Socrates in Phaedo in favour of immortality is the “Theory of Recollection”. Through this theory, Socrates argues that humans before birth or even at the time of birth possess some non-empirical knowledge. This perspective implies that soul was residing in some form before birth in an immortal state, and after birth it is carried continuously without any end. The third argument is the affinity argument. It explains that human body is visible and mortal, and so there will be a direct opposite, which will be invisible and immortal and that entity is the soul. The final argument of Plato, which supports that soul is immortal, is “Form of Life”. Socrates argues that Forms are the initiating factors of all things in the world, and soul because of its immortality participates in the “Form of Life”, representing that the soul would remain immortal. 2. Compare and contrast the life of leisure with the life of idle pre-occupation Seneca penned the moral essay titled, De Brevitate Vitae, translated as "On the Shortness of Life", to his friend Paulinus. Through this essay, the philosopher brings up many clear-cut concepts regarding the nature of time. Speaking about the life of leisure, Seneca opines that, humans’ uncontrollably wastes a part of their lives in search of meaningless pursuits. In the essay, Seneca points out, that our nature provides us humans, many man hours to do several really important things. And it is duty of the humans to plan and allot those leisure time appropriately and effectively, to achieve the expected level of success. “Just as when ample and princely wealth falls to a bad owner it is squandered in a moment, but wealth falls to a bad owner it is squandered in a moment but wealth however modest, if entrusted to a good custodian, increases with use, so our lifetime extends amply if you manage it properly” (Seneca). Seneca also stresses that the life of leisure should be optimally used by studying philosophy. But, the same life of leisure would self-destruct, if the life of idle pre-occupation takes over or becomes a prominent feature in one’s life. That is, idle pre-occupation is worse than attempting unsuccessful ventures, as during the life of idle pre-occupation, humans will just exist without making any worthwhile attempts. This life of idle pre-occupation will have repercussions not only in the short term but also in long term, even distressing the individuals in their death beds. “… it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity we are forced at last by deaths final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing” (Seneca). So, the main point of view of Seneca is that, humans should avoid life of idle pre-occupation and in the life of leisure, they should live an optimal life, focusing on to spend time beneficially. . 1. Compare and contrast how Plato and Seneca counsel their readers about preparing to die. Phaedo, the fifth and the last of the greatest dialogues written by Plato, is about the final days of Socrates and his eventual death. It discusses the different aspects of human death from preparing to die, to life after death. Preparing to die is one of complicated aspects, Plato discusses in his work, Phaedo, through the words or arguments of Socrates. According to Socrates, a person will be prepared to die or receive death, when he/she expected that death would arrive, throughout their lives. In that case, the human will accept death and will even greet it on its arrival. The other reason, why the person who is going to die, should prepare to die, is because it will give the opportunity for the person to experience the separation of physical body and mental mind. Actually, the separation of body and soul as part of the preparation to die is the philosophers ideal moment. This is because at that moment of death only, the two integral parts of human, the body and the soul will separate. The other reason why Plato counsels his readers about preparing to die is because at the time of eventual death only, the soul will actually gain the truest form of knowledge. "He who has got rid, as far as he can, of eyes and ears and, so to speak, of the whole body, these being in his opinion distracting elements when they associate with the soul hinder her from acquiring truth and knowledge--who, if not he, is likely to attain to the knowledge of true being?" (Plato). Seneca, one of the gifted Roman philosophers, was the author of many plays and philosophical essays, which dealt with different aspects of human life. Among the several philosophical essays, the one that tackled the shortness of life is considered one of his famous works. Titled "On the Shortness of Life", it had an influential effect for many centuries and is considered a treasure of valuable philosophical thoughts particularly the concepts relating to death. According to Seneca, every human should be prepared to face death, and this view borders on the same thought process or views of Plato. But, at the same time, the author discusses the difficulties that are associated while preparing to die. That is, Seneca opines that preparing for death is a slow process and all have to go through that process. “One must take all ones life to learn how to live, and, what will perhaps make you wonder more, one must take all ones life to learn how to die” (Seneca). So, Seneca’s philosophical concepts or theories clearly emphasizes that the humans should take or face their own mortality and thereby prepare for death. Even though, humans are given the choice to take their own life, suicide does not come under it. They have to face other forms of threat to their life from various persons, with physical problems and mental torture. So, in that process, humans should prepare themselves and be ready when the moment comes. Both the philosophers, Plato and Seneca through their works have provided a good analysis about the aspect of death, with particular emphasis on how to prepare for death. Works cited Seneca. On the Shortness of Life. Translated by Charles Desmond Nuttall Costa. Penguin (Non-Classics). 2005 Plato. Phaedo. Translated by Eva Brann, Peter Kalkavage and Eric Salem. Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company.1998. Read More