The question of immortality is an ancient one and

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. Ashley Montagu writes: "Man, we reasonably assume, is the only living creature who entertains the idea of immortality" (Montagu 1). Much of religion is concerned with the notion of the afterlife, and many philosophers have considered the nature of the soul and the question of whether it precedes or outlasts the body. Many ancient peoples showed their belief in immortality through burial customs that sent the departed individual to the afterlife with many of his or her possessions, presumably so they could be used there as well. Plato offered his view that the soul and body were not one and that the soul existed before the body and would continue to exist once the body was gone. Much of his "evidence" is simply philosophical speculation and does not prove the falsity of the more logical conclusion, that what we call the soul is part of the body and cannot exist outside of it. Plato considered the issue in the Republic, but he also addressed it in other dialogues which help illuminate what he says in the Republic on this issue.

In the Phaedo, Socrates, representing Plato's position, believes in the eternal life of the soul and guides the discussion in the direction of accepting this idea, offering as he does so several proofs f

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th unthinking impulse. Socrates first demonstrates that there are different impulses and motives apparent in human behavior and deriving from the human mind. Socrates argues that there cannot be two opposite properties existing in anything at the same time, and nothing can do two different things at the same time. When it appears that a thing is doing two things at once, it is more proper to say that part of it is doing one thing and part of it is doing another. The fact that the human mind can do two things at once means that it has parts, with one part doing one thing and another part doing another thing. Socrates identifies the different faculties by showing that different things are happening at the same time: Clearly one and the same thing cannot act or be affected in opposite ways at the same time in the same part of its and in relation to the same object; so if we find these contradictions, we shall know that we are dealing with more than one faculty (Lee 220). The human mind can have different actions and different motivations at the same time. There may be a mental conflict as one part of the mind pushes us one way and another part pushes us in a different direction. In this way, Socrates leads the listener

Category: Philosophy - T