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Allison McCabe
Basic Philosophical Questions
UCOR-132-18
30 September 2014
Jay Lampert
Body and Soul, Death and Philosophy.
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In this passage Socrates is conversing with Cebes, Simmias and Criton about the idea of
death. Cebes starts out by saying that it seems unreasonable that philosophers are willing to die.
Socrates is trying to prove that philosophers are more willing to die than someone who is fearful
of death. He states that philosophers are seekers of wisdom, and through death they will obtain
the full amount of wisdom. The meaning of death, his conclusion, is when your soul and
physical body separate. Which is a true statement, supported by many religions. When your
soul is no longer in your physical body it goes to a greater place. A place where you may be
aware of things you did not know before. Which could be seen as wisdom. Someone who is
fearful of dying then is afraid of knowing. Is afraid of wisdom. Socrates believes that when he
dies he will go to a good master. A good master rather than a bad master. His conclusion, again,
is that philosophers indeed are not fearful of death. And maybe ideally, no one should be fearful
of death is they live a good life.
Socrates’ first argument leading to his conclusion is that when he does die he will be
going to something good. When Socrates states, “…be assured that I hope I shall find myself in
the company of good men, although I would not maintain it for certain; but that I shall pass over
to the gods who are very good masters, be assured that if I would maintain for certain anything
else of the kind, I would with certainty maintain this.”(555), he means by good men that
wherever your soul goes when you die that the other souls or gods will be good. Will be pleasant
and knowledgeable like philosophers. He believes this over everything. Death is just Socrates
moving from the physical world to a world of philosophers.
Then Socrates argues that philosophers are practicing death their whole lives. He states,
“The fact is, those who tackle philosophy aright are simply and solely practising dying,
practising death… yet when death comes they should object to what they had been so long
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earnestly practising.” (556). Socrates is saying that a philosopher’s end to the physical life is
only the beginning in a sense. Philosophers are preparing their whole lives for ‘death’. Socrates
goes on to say that death again, is the separation between the soul and the body. “Do you think it
the part of a philosopher to be earnestly concerned with what are called pleasures, such as
these—eating and drinking…?” (557), Socrates explains that philosophers are not concerned
with physical pleasures. And because death is the separation between your physical being and
the soul, philosophers would embrace death. Socrates knows this because he himself is a
philosopher and knows that he is not concerned with physical things. An example would be if
someone was a spokes-person for a makeup company and they were not concerned with their
physical appearance. Just as a philosopher is not concerned with physical pleasures. And
because a philosopher is not concerned with physical pleasure, Socrates says, that they can intern
focus on the soul. “…But he is getting pretty close to death if he does not care about pleasures
which he has by means of the body.” (557), therefore because a philosopher is separating his
physical pleasures and focusing on the soul he is now closer to death. He now welcomes death.
Moving along, Socrates then poses the question of truth and knowing. Socrates debates
the idea that if having truth is really possible when you are in the physical body. Because of all
the physical bodily senses. Socrates says, “Then, when does the soul get ahold of the truth? For
whenever the soul tries to examine anything in company with the body, it is plain that it is
deceived by it.” (558). Humans bodily senses get in the way of truth. Socrates goes on to say
that things like: good and beauty and justice, were all not known through the bodily senses.
They were known separated from the body and connected with the soul. However I disagree
with Socrates on that point. Because you can see beauty with your eyes or witness justice being
done with your eyes. Your eyes are part of your bodily senses. Socrates would probably
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respond to that by asking, what is the act of justice? You cannot see justice itself, only good
things being done. But is that justice itself? Also beauty, what defines beauty? Is one thing
beautiful or many things.
The truth, according to Socrates and philosophers, can never be obtained because of the
body. The soul is, “Mixed up with so great an evil, we shall never attain sufficiently what we
desire.” (559). The body is then a distraction from truth. And because the body and soul are not
separated until death, no one fully knows truth until death. Philosophers are then seeking truth,
in preparing themselves for death. He uses the example of war. Another example would be the
desire to be successful. The desire to be successful causes jealously and self-centeredness which
by human nature occur. This desire does not allow us to know truth. But once we die and are
separated from these physical desires, we may know truth.
Lovers of wisdom believe in the freedom and separation of the soul from the body.
Therefore, Socrates says, “It would be absurd for a man preparing himself in this life to be as
near as possible to death, so to live, and then when death came, to object?” (561). Because to
love wisdom is to be content and alright with death. So if you live your life seeking wisdom and
you come to death and are fearful you did not live your life actually seeking wisdom. Like a
philosopher. Your body was in the way of your soul seeking. He states that a true philosopher
and one who does not fear death will rejoice when a loved one dies. Others, when a loved one
dies, go down to the grave and are looking for the ones they used to desire. They are sad and
fearful of death. But a true philosopher will rejoice and look forward to when they die and can
attain wisdom. Because that is what they have been preparing for their whole lives. Not in a
negative way or depressing way. But a way in which it is exciting to one day be able to have this
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wisdom. And to go through life not focused on physical things, because one day it will not
matter.
Socrates last point is this, “This is hardly an honest deal in virtue—to trade pleasure for
pleasure, and pain for pain, and fear for fear, and even greater for less, as if they were current
coin; no, the only honest currency, for which all these must be traded, is wisdom, and all things
are in truth to be brought with this and sold for this.” (562). Everything depends on wisdom.
Always seeking wisdom. And if you follow the path to wisdom through your whole life
hopefully you will end up with God, and with wisdom. You cannot trade bad things or lesser
things for greatness. For example you cannot trade one cookie for the exact same cookie.
Because you would not have wisdom and be wise. Everything depends on wisdom and seeking
wisdom. Which is why philosophers look upon death without fear.
The first argument was that when you die you are going to something good. This led to
the second argument, of philosophers practising death their whole lives, because with the idea of
going to something good you look forward to that. You are not fearful of that, which makes you
more aware of what you do in your life. You are not afraid to prepare for that time. This second
argument led to the third argument, the idea of truth and the physical body. Because you are not
fearful and are able to prepare and live a life looking forward to wisdom, a philosopher knows
that you cannot know truth if you are not connected with your soul. Your physical body and its
needs are in the way. It will always be in the way unless you look past that and focus on wisdom
up ahead. The flow from argument to argument are intertwined by the underlying idea of being
alright with death. Because you know that wisdom is at the end of it. Not being fearful of death,
in Socrates mind, is the key to obtaining wisdom.
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Works Cited
Plato, W. H. D. Rouse, E. H. Warmington, and Philip G. Rouse. Great Dialogues of Plato. New
York: Signet Classic, 1999. 554-63. Print.