The execution of Socrates is an occasion in the Phaedo
for a discussion of the nature of the soul with reference to the Forms
In the Republic Plato characterizes the soul differently
Argument for Existence of Forms
Similar objects exist & can be known to
be similar
e.g. Leo & Leona the lions
There must exist something, the Form
of BEING-A-LION, that makes them
similar & which is known when similarity is recognized
Forms continue exist even if the objects
that they “inform” stop existing
Even if Leo dies, Leona remains a lion
similar to other lions
So, Forms do not depend for their
existence on sensible/physical objects
Rather, sensible/physical objects
depend for their existence on forms
Forms are eternal & unchanging since
Forms exist eternally in a “separate
realm”; they do not exist “in” sensible/physical objects
Forms known innately by a priori reason,
not a posteriori sensation
Forms are (like)
Exemplars or Perfect Models Expressed by good definitions
Forms are the natural targets or objects of
the rational faculty = the soul
Knowledge is the activity for which the
rational faculty is designed
Knowing the forms is the aim of the
rational faculty
Knowing the forms constitutes
happiness for the rational faculty = the
Hierarchy of Being & Value Governs the
Universe
Forms are more real than physical or
sensible objects
Forms are eternal
Forms determine the physical
Forms are better than physical objects
since they are more real than physical objects & the true objectives of the
Form of the Good = the supreme form
highest in both value and being
“informs” all things
Notice:
apparently, there is no form of the Bad apparently, all things are good
how then can we correctly judge
The Metaphor of the Cave
note
cave is prison; not “home” degrees of reality
illusory sensation
dependence of all things on the sun those who remain in the cave
disparage the knowledge of the enlighted
I = my soul
My soul is different from my body
My soul is immaterial &
imperceptible
My soul includes my cognitive (and
maybe my affective) capacities
Soul is the seat of knowledge; body
Soul has innate knowledge of the
unchanging principles that govern all aspects of the universe = Forms
Soul is immortal; body is mortal
Soul is naturally determined to pursue what
is good and valuable
The body can draw the soul away from the
good towards what is not good
Your essence is what is necessary for
your existence
To discover your essence: try a thought
experiment?
Is my capacity for cognition essential to me?
Is my body essential to me?
Compare computers and programs
distinguish hardware and software
distinguish algorithm and program
Are you related to your body in the way
Argument from Recollection
In sensation we know only the particular:
e.g. in sensing two approximately equal sticks, we
sense the particular sticks but not Equality-in-general (i.e. the Form of equality)
Sensing the equal sticks may make us think of or
enable our understanding of Equality-in-general
The only way that sensing could enable
This knowledge of the fully general/universal
must therefore exist in us innately before the possibility of sensation, i.e. before birth
Hence, we must exist before the birth of the
body
If we exist before the birth of the body, then
we can exist without our bodies
Since we are identified with our souls, our
souls exist before and independently of our bodies
Hence, death of the body does not imply
Notice that the Phaedo’s argument from
recollection is similar to the proposal in the
Meno that recognition (i.e. classification or categorization) is really the matching of an innately known form against a perceptual experience
In the Meno Socrates uses the situation of the
Slave Boy to illustrate the existence of innate knowledge of the forms.
The uneducated slave has never learned geometry Yet, as revealed by the slave’s correct replies to
What is simple cannot be decomposed or
otherwise destroyed and is therefore immortal
The soul is simple because
the soul is non-sensible and, hence, simple
the soul is that which has knowledge of
what is simple and indestructible (i.e. forms);
so, it is likely similar to the simple and
indestructible
so, the soul is likely simple
The soul, as simple, is indestructible and,
By definition, the soul is alive (just as by
definition, the number 3 is odd)
What is true by definition is necessarily
true
Hence, it is necessarily true that the soul
is alive
Hence, it is impossible that the soul not
live
In the Phaedo the soul is represented as
Simple, without internal parts, and, hence, immortal
In the Republic the soul is represented as
Exhibiting internal conflict between three parts
Reason
Spirit (emotion) Appetite (desire)
A tripartite soul must be complex rather than simple and
hence decomposable, destructible and mortal
Eg: Dementia as decomposition/destruction
