Life and Death and Philosophy

The question of immortality is an ancient one and is key in philosophy and religion. Man lives a span of years and then dies, and probably from the very beginning of the human race men and women have wondered if there is something beyond death. Philosophers have attempted to prove that immortality does or does not exist, with varying results. Plato addresses the issue with a series of "proofs" that in the final analysis are based very much on a preconception that immortality is a reality and that arguments must be devised to show this. Plato sees the idea of the immortality of the soul as one that has to be accepted by reasoning man. In the Phaedo, Socrates, representing Plato's position, believes in the eternal life

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philosopher. Socrates has a better grasp of reality than the others only because he realizes he does not have a true grasp of reality. His knowledge is more valuable because he knows that there is much he does not know: The awakening to one's ignorance is the pre-condition for the Socratic alternative, for what he calls a "second voyage" in contrast to the other two taken together. This second voyage, Socrates says, is analogous to the way of those who look at the image of the sun in water. This second voyage is the voyage of pure reason, a more reliable means of ascertaining truth than through the senses. Socrates' first argument is precisely the description of death as a kind of dying in which the true philosopher is released from the body through death. The body is seen as an onerous thing which is put up with by the soul until the soul can be freed. Throughout life, the body is seen as a source of endless trouble because of its requirements to be fed, clothed, rested, and so on, all of which distract from the human quest for truth, the quest undertaken by the soul. The body is also liable to diseases which further undercut the ability of the soul to seek the truth. While this is offered as the first proof, it i
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Approximate Word count = 3021
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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