Before delving deeply into the discussion of death and wisdom, the Phaedo starts with a preliminary discussion on suicide. When Socrates says that a “worthy” philosopher must look favorably toward the prospect of death (p. 120 c), the discussion turns to the moral question of suicide. The logic is: if death is better than life, such as in the case of a philosopher (reasons discussed in the following paragraphs), why not end life and expedite a superior existence. Socrates, however, explains that suicide is unholy and shouldn’t be carried out on the grounds that the self is a possession of the gods (p.121b). To commit suicide is to destroy what belongs to the gods. Consequently, Socrates claims, we must wait for the Gods to send some necessary event, such as the one in which he is, to bring death about (p.122 c).
As mentioned, the relationship between death and wisdom are at the heart of the first part of the Phaedo. Now that Socrates’ execution is imminent, with the aid of his friends, he examines how death will benefit his quest for truth and wisdom. At this point, several key premises are worth noting: first, there must be an afterlife. Second, the soul alone (free from the body (p.124 c)) will gain admission to the afterlife. Lastly, wisdom lies in the realm of the soul, as appose to the tangible mind – the brain.
Socrates explains that the body is a hindrance to wisdom. Therefore, in life the truth essentially cannot be unearthed. Through the senses, he argues, we are misled from the truth. For example, there is neither certainty nor accuracy in sight, hearing, feeling and so forth (p.126 c).
Socrates welcomes death as the culmination of his lifelong philosophical pursuit for wisdom (p.124 a) because in mortality wisdom in all its purity could be found (p.129 b). In this sense some say that a “philosopher has one foot in the grave.” Socrates, however, objects to the premise held by those who claim such a notion. These people, he asserts, assume that avoiding pleasures such as food, drink, and sex has no higher purpose. For the philosopher, on the other hand, this undertaking is most essential to “freeing and separating” the soul from the body, to the degree possible, for the purpose of preparing for the afterlife. (p.129 a).
Next, Socrates claims that the soul can reason (p.126 c). But here I wonder, how this is so? Isn’t reasoning a deductive process that first requires a collection of data and then a weighing of the evidence in order to prove or disprove a hypothesis? If that’s the case, then how does the soul collect evidence when it lacks senses (“data collectors”)? Following our class discussion on Friday, I can think how this juncture in the Phaedo might lead to Socrates’ theory of the eidos…
2 comments:
I think that the relationship between death and wisdom was the most important ideas brought up by Socrates in the Phaedo. Socrates begins a discussion with one of his friends about a philosopher facing death, saying that he should not be scared, angry, etc., but look forward to death, as he has been living his whole life for the goal of death. The body restricts a philosopher from really understanding the true forms of things. When that philosopher is dead, he is no longer subject to the gods as his "masters," and can completely comprehend things which he was unable to comprehend while living.
When you speak about Socrates examining how death will guide his search for wisdom and truth, I found it interesting that you followed up by setting the third guideline: wisdom must lie within the soul as opposed to the mind. I believe this to be very accurate because living beings cannot take tangible matter, such as their brain, with them to the afterlife. It's a complex concept to picture using your soul as an outlet of "knowing," but perhaps on Earth we already practice such behavior when we get "gut feeling" or "instincts." Socrates believes that the truth lies within words and people will eventually stumble upon it if they keep questioning enough material and talking through problems to achieve solutions. In this case, truth and wisdom may not be found on Earth if there are not words to express things that people can't describe. These “things” refer to unknown wisdom and truth that humans feel and know through their soul, not their worldly five senses translated into descriptive words.
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