Socrates and Taoism - Case Study Example

Socrates and Taoism Introduction Philosophy is a wider than the sea and more complex than anything humanly derivable. Great understanding is broad and unhurried, little understanding is cramped and busy. (28). It is no surprise that are different beliefs, different theories and individuals involved in it, some having beliefs conflicting that of others. The theory of immortality, afterlife and the soul are often the subjects that are most debated and viewed from different angles. Socrates had a theory on the immortality of the soul and divided his argument into four clear parts. Taoism, one of the most popular beliefs among the Chinese has a different view on the subject. This paper analyses the philosophical theory suggested by Socrates and offers a criticism in view of Toaism. Socrates’ theory Socrates based his theory on the immortality of the soul. He explained that a house ceases to exist when the bricks are taken away from each other. But the soul has no parts, and so we know of nothing which in the normal course of things would cause it to cease to exist, barring divine intervention. So it is reasonable to suppose that it is naturally immortal. (filthylucre.com). Socrates offers four arguments for the souls immortality. The Cyclical Argument: According to the cyclical argument, all forms are eternal. They do not change and the soul always brings life and cannot be destroyed. The soul being the life giving element, it cannot in itself be destroyed or cease to exist. The soul is necessarily imperishable. The theory suggests that the body and the soul are mere opposites; the human body being mortal would mean that the soul would have to immortal. This theory is explained with the example of fire and cold. It is stated that if the cold was imperishable, when placed in proximity, the fire will have to withdraw intact as does the soul during death. This theory of the soul given by Socrates is similar to the theory of magnets, the poles and the attraction that exists between them. The Theory of Recollection: According to this theory the human mind is born with certain empirical knowledge, some learning that has been achieved before encountering any experience and is said to have been brought from the previous form that the soul has taken, which would mean that the soul existed before birth. Socrates explains that the soul actually is aware of all knowledge because of which the soul actually has the knowledge of all things present and that it may not be entirely revealed to the humanly existence. The Affinity Argument: Unlike the first two arguments, the Affinity argument tells us something about the nature of the soul. (calpoly.edu). This argument explains there are two kinds of forms. The first kind of form is the invisible, immortal, and incorporeal things. The second form consists of visible, mortal, and corporeal things. The soul is seen to belong to the first category, and does not belong to the same classification of the human body. The body falls into the second group of forms, which means that the body has a different cycle than that of the soul. The body dies, decays and perishes, but this is not the case with the soul. The soul will continue to live even after the body has ceased to exist and will never cease to exist no matter how many bodies it has passed through. “he uses knowledge to get at his mind, and uses his mind to get at the constant mind” (65) The Argument from Form of Life: This argument takes into consideration the fact that all physical forms in the world are connected to an incorporeal entity or a non physical form which provides the existence of the corporeal form. For instance, we may take the example of the number five, this number falls under the incorporeal entity of odd numbers. The incorporeal and static entities are seen to be present always and do not fade away. Similarly, the soul is the incorporeal entity that participates in the form of life, which means that the other static entities are those that are responsible for the events in and around the universe. The nature of the soul is to continually exist and never perish. This would mean that the soul would never really die, even if it undergoes deaths in many corporeal forms. Taoism in contrast to Socrates’ philosophical theory Taoism started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a religious faith. (relegioustolerance.org). We see that it is quite different from many other philosophies. The four arguments provided by Socrates as the theory of the immortality of the soul, we see that it may be criticized with the beliefs of Taoism, some similarities having been noted and many other differences seen. According to Socrates, the soul is the ultimate undying form that never ceases to exist and that it continues to live on after death, the body having perished but the soul continuing its existence. This aspect, according to Taoism is seen to be quite different. Taoism follows the belief of Chi. Chi is believed to be the ultimate undying form, unlike Socrates, does not talk of the soul, but of all matter present in the world, including that of physical and nonliving things. The energy to exist as a matter is seen to be derived from Chi and it is believed that Chi is the only form that is responsible for the existence of all things and matter on the whole. The second argument made by Socrates can also be differentiated from the theories suggested by Taoism. Chi is only believed to be a form of energy and does not carry attributes of memory or knowledge. Unlike the theory of recollectivity suggested by Socrates, the Chi that exists in the body does not carry knowledge from previous experience, although Chi is also believed to have always existed, never perishable. There is no mention of a separate entity called soul in the beliefs of Taoism. Knowledge is believed to be an entity that belongs in the human world, not a part of the Chi or energy that forms all matter The third argument of Socrates’ immortal soul theory is that the soul and the body are like magnets and that when the body dies, the soul continues to life on, existing in other forms. “Life and death are great affairs, and yet they are no change” (64). This is basically an explanation of what would otherwise be called as an afterlife. However, this is not followed of believed in Taoism. Taoism believes that life and death are two sides of a coin or Yin and Yang. They believe that death is not something that needs to be feared as it is just another phase of living, only unknown to those who are in the phase of life. As a person dies, they move into another phase and continue to live on, according to Taoism belief. Unlike the theory suggested by Socrates, the soul is not seen to take another form or that the soul becomes a seperat4e entity. The fourth and final argument made by Socrates is that all forms are related an incorporeal entity and that they depend on the invisible entity for their existence. This theory is applied for the human body and the soul, stating that the soul is the incorporeal entity that is responsible for all activities and happenings in the real or corporeal world; responsible for all actions and that the body is only the physical entity. However, in the beliefs of Taoism, we see that there is mention of the soul. The Taoism belief suggests that Chi is the ultimate form of energy which does not have anything specific to do with the soul but is inevitably a part of all physical entities. It is believed that Chi is not an entity that contains knowledge but is a pure form of power or energy and can be manipulated, modified and altered to attain longevity of life. According to Socrates, the human body will perish and the soul leaves the body when such an event occurs. His theory does suggests that the soul lives on after the body perishes and not that the body perishes when the soul leaves. In Taoism, life is seen to revolve around the presence of Chi and that when the amount of Chi present in the body is not sufficient or right, then the body tends to fall ill and undergo health problems. When there is a healthy amount of Chi present in the body, the body will be thoroughly healthy and perfect, never undergoing any problems. It is believed by them that following particular space arrangements, placing of certain colours in certain angles can have a considerably positive effect on the Chi that is present inside the body, giving longer life and even affecting other aspects of life. It is believed that the Chi, which in the case of Socrates would be the soul, can be manipulated as a form of energy or an entity of power. Socrates’ theory does not suggest anything similar to this theory and does not believe that the soul is something that can be manipulated or that anything can have an effect on it. Further, Socrates believes that the soul is what manages the body, whereas in Taoism, the body can be used to manage the Chi by means of breathing practices, acupuncture or other practices. This is perhaps the major contrast between the two philosophical theories. Another important difference between Taoism and the immortal soul theory by Socrates is that Socrates does not believe that there can be a control over the soul or that the soul can be manipulated and made to stay longer. In fact, the theory does not even agree that the soul is what decides the death of the human body, but rather believes that it is the other way around, the death of the body releasing the soul. In Taoism, it is believed that the Chi can be manipulated and that immortality can be attained by practices that will prolong the existence and improve the health of Chi or that the increased amount of Chi present in the body can make immortality attainable. Further, they do not believe that the Chi leaves when a person dies, unlike the belief of Socrates that the soul becomes free or enters another physical form after that human body perishes. Taoism suggests that death is not something that must be shown resistance to and that death will only lead a person into a different phase of living and that it does not mean they do not continue to live after death. Further, the ultimate reality in Taoism is the Tao, or Way. (religionfacts.com). According to Taoism, immortality is the ultimate goal or aim in life, while Socrates does not believe that immortality is possible. There are some major differences in the way that Socrates conceives life and death and the way that Taoism suggests it is. There are eight immortals that are believed to exist in the universe by followers of Taoism, while Socrates sticks to the theory that the body dies and the soul departs. Conclusion When we study the two philosophical theories we see that there are several similarities and several other differences among the two. While comparing Socrates’ theory of the immortal soul to the theories of Taoism, we see that there lies a similarity in the belief that there is an undying incorporeal entity that is responsible for the living human body. It is accepted by both philosophical theories that the human body contains something more than what is visible, more than what can be seen, which is beyond the physical factors present. The differences between the two lie in the belief of immortality. Socrates believes that the soul is immortal, while Taoism suggests that Chi, which is the form that is the power of existence lies in everyone and everything and that it can be manipulated to an extent as to give eternal life or bring immortality. Unlike the Taoism belief, there is no mention of the human body ever having a control over the soul or that it can be prolonged or managed. Another difference is that Taoism suggests that there is no splitting of the body and the Chi on death, and that they continue to live in another dimension or phase even after death. In conclusion, we may say that the two theories have a number of differences and very few commonalities. Reference capoly.edu. The Affinity argument. Retrieved April 20, 2010 from http://www.calpoly.edu/~jlynch/PHAEDO4.html religionfacts.com. Taoism. Retrieved April 20, 2010 from http://www.religionfacts.com/taoism/beliefs/tao.htm religioustolerance.org. Taoism. Retrieved April 20, 2010 from http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism.htm filthylucre.com. Phaedo arguments for immortality of the soul. Retrieved April 20, 2010 from http://www.filthylucre.com/phaedo-arguments-immortality Read More