PHIL 259 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Cebes, Shelly Kagan
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3 questions in the phaedo: should the philosopher fear death, does the soul pre-exist the body, does the soul survive the body, socrates provides a number of arguments to establish the immortality of the soul. Should the philosopher fear death: cebes says a wise man should fear death, that philosphers should be willing and ready to dies, that seems strange, Socrates, if what we said just now is reasonable, that a god is our protector and that we are his possessions. It is not logical that the wisest of men should not resent leaving this service in which they are governed by the best of masters, the gods. (62d: socrates disagrees: a future awaits men after death (63c) Forms: thus, the philosopher will gladly let his soul be separated from his body, practice this separation in life, through the study of philosophy.