Socrates Argument Analysis

Socrates brings the soul into question when he beings his exploration into the eternal nature of the soul and to whether the soul is divine in nature. Through his exploration we see him form three series of questions that shows not only the divine nature of the soul, but, in fact shows the soul as a from that has a unique place within our existence as it beings life to our bodies. The very foundation of soul is tantamount to what is being explored throughout the entirety of the dialogue. I propose that the soul is indeed a form and Socrates works through the three arguments to establish that the soul is not only divine it is eternal thus a form. Using his framework arguments I will demonstrate that Socrates actually defines the soul as

This argument is fundamental as it lays the unique nature of the soul and brings us the path to which we can identify how the soul relates to the forms and why it has to be divine in its nature. The concept of the birth as discussed within the confines of the Phaedo is one in which we see how the soul comes to our physical being. We saw in the argument how the soul must exist prior to birth, but, equally important is the idea that the soul brings not only life with it but also intelligence. We see that there are differences in the existences as Socrates points out there are two kinds of existences: (a) the visible world that we perceive with our senses, which is human, mortal, composite, unintelligible, and always changing, and (b) the invisible world of Forms that we can access solely with our minds, which is divine, deathless, intelligible, non-composite, and always the same (78c-79a, 80b). Section (a) shows that our mortal existance were we have all the senses present yet it is never constant. This confuses us and in our pursuit of knowledge as it adds a layer of confusing inputs that makes learning hard and in turn confounds our natural desire at time to learn. The next section shows that we also have the invisible world where the Forms reside which are by nature divine, constant, and never changing. This is the realm where true knowledge is to be had and is devoid of the

Both concepts are needed to ensure that the soul can perform its role within the human each are dependent on the other but each is a unique role within the final stage of life which is death. Death as the Phaedo claims is where the soul has two paths, it is either dissolved in the wind like smoke or is eternal and has a destination in which it heads. If the soul is divine and eternal the first of the paths then is quite simply impossible as it would negate the definition of divine and eternal. We see this referenced in (102d-103a) Nothing can become its opposite while still being itself: it either flees away or is destroyed at the approach of its opposite. (For example, “tallness” cannot become “shortness” while still being “hot”). This explains how the soul by the very act of bringing life into a body rejects death and will flee from the body once death approaches. Exploring further we see that if something ceases to be either the base or a part of it ceases then the whole ceases to be what it was at the beginning. This is true not only of opposites, but in a similar way of things that contain opposites. (For example, “fire” and “snow” are not themselves opposites, but “fire” always brings “hot” with it, and “snow” always brings “cold” with it. So “fire” will not become “cold” without ceasing to be