Phaedo

by Plato

Overview

Phaedo, also known to ancient readers as On The Soul, is one of the best-known dialogues of Plato's middle period, along with the Republic and the Symposium. The philosophical subject of the dialogue is the immortality of the soul. It is set in the last hours prior to the death of Socrates, and is Plato's fourth and last dialogue to detail the philosopher's final days, following Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito.

One of the main themes in the Phaedo is the idea that the soul is immortal. In the dialogue, Socrates discusses the nature of the afterlife on his last day before being executed by drinking hemlock. Socrates has been imprisoned and sentenced to death by an Athenian jury for not believing in the gods of the state (though some scholars think it was more for his support of "philosopher kings" as opposed to democracy)^[2] and for corrupting the youth of the city.

By engaging in dialectic with a group of Socrates's friends, including the two Thebans, Cebes, and Simmias, Socrates explores various arguments for the soul's immortality in order to show that there is an afterlife in which the soul will dwell following death and, for couples and good people, be more at one with "every loving thing" and be more powerful than the Greek gods. Phaedo tells the story that following the discussion, he and the others were there to witness the death of Socrates.

The Phaedo was first translated into Latin from Greek by Apuleius but no copy survived, so Henry Aristippus produced a new translation in 1160.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781774419885
Publisher:	Binker North
Publication date:	07/15/2023
Pages:	110
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.23(d)

About the Author

Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. In Athens, Plato founded the Academy, a philosophical school where he taught the philosophical doctrines that would later become known as Platonism. Plato (or Platon) was a pen name derived, apparently, from the nickname given to him by his wrestling coach - allegedly a reference to his physical broadness. According to Alexander of Miletus quoted by Diogenes of Sinope his actual name was Aristocles, son of Ariston, of the deme Collytus (Collytus being a district of Athens).Plato was an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms in philosophy. He raised problems for what later became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy. His most famous contribution is the Theory of forms, which has been interpreted as advancing a solution to what is now known as the problem of universals. He is also the namesake of Platonic love and the Platonic solids.His own most decisive philosophical influences are usually thought to have been, along with Socrates, the pre-Socratics Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although few of his predecessors' works remain extant and much of what we know about these figures today derives from Plato himself.[a]Along with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato is a central figure in the history of philosophy.[b] Unlike the work of nearly all of his contemporaries, Plato's entire body of work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years.[6] Although their popularity has fluctuated, Plato's works have consistently been read and studied. Through Neoplatonism Plato also greatly influenced both Christian and Islamic philosophy (through e.g. Al-Farabi). In modern times, Alfred North Whitehead famously said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.

Table of Contents

	Preface	ix
	List of Abbreviations	x
	Introduction
I	The purpose of the dialogue and its position in the Platonic writings	3
II	Stylometric arguments. The transcendent forms	8
III	The nature of the soul	11
IV	The characters	12
V	The arguments for the immortality of the soul	16
VI	Arguments for immortality in other dialogues	19
	Translation and Commentary
I	57A-59C: Introductory conversation	27
II	59C-62C: Socrates as poet. The wickedness of suicide	32
III	62C-64C: The philosopher's readiness to die	39
IV	64C-67B: The philosopher's detachment from the body	44
V	67B-69E: Moral virtue, genuine and spurious	52
VI	69E-72D: The first argument for immortality. The cycle of opposites	58
VII	72E-77A: A complementary argument. The theory of recollection	66
VIII	77A-78B: Combined results of the two preceding arguments. Socrates as charmer	78
IX	78B-80C: Third argument. The kinship of souls and forms	81
X	80C-82D: The after-life of unpurified souls	87
XI	82D-85B: Socrates describes the philosopher's progress and declares his swan-song to be a song of joy	92
XII	85B-88B: Simmias and Cebes explain their doubts	97
XIII	88C-91C: Interlude. A warning against 'misology'	105
XIV	91C-95A: Refutation of Simmias's theory of soul	112
XV	95A-99D: Socrates as student of natural science	121
XVI	99D-102A: The new method of hypothesis	133
XVII	102A-105B: The exclusion of opposites	147
XVIII	105B-107B: The argument concluded. Soul is both deathless and indestructible	158
XIX	107C-110B: Myth of the after-life	167
XX	110B-112E: The splendour of the true earth. The rivers of the underworld	176
XXI	112E-115A: The myth concluded. Its truth and value	182
XXII	115B-118: The last scene	187
	Additional Notes	191
	The Criticisms of Strato	195
	Index of Names	199

Editorial Reviews

"An excellent philosophical commentary on the Phaedo. Lucidly sets out all the salient problems and controversies."—J.M. Dillon, University of Washington

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