In this paper I will offer an analysis and evaluation of the Argument of Recollection (73a-76e) in Plato’s Phaedo, by which learning is just recollecting what your soul previously knew before its incarnation in the body. I will first provide the literary context of the Argument of Recollection. Secondly, I will offer a formulation of Plato’s argument. I will then contend that one of the key premise of the argument, namely, that you must have knowledge of Equality before birth to see that equal things
Is our soul truly immortal? In Plato’s Phaedo, Socrates states that the soul is immortal, as he provides 4 basic arguments. These arguments include: The Argument of Opposites, the Theory of Recollection, The Argument of Affinity [also known as the Argument of Scattering] and the Theory of Forms. The Theory of Recollection provides a strong argument that our souls are truly immortal. Based on the Theory of Recollection, I believe that our souls are truly immortal and they can also survive death.
in Athens, Greece. Numerous members of Plato’s family were involved in
Explain and assess the part anamnesis plays in Plato’s argument for the immortality of the soul. Plato’s theory of the soul includes a few fundamental claims, that in his opinion directly result from one another. His first claim is that what we call learning is actually remembering. Therefore we must have already known all that we learn. This means we must have gained this knowledge sometimes before birth. That proves that the soul must be immortal. He attempts to prove this theory in Meno where
eternal object, Hume’s analogy is more compelling. Plato offers multiple arguments on the immortality of the soul: the argument from opposites, the argument from recollection and the argument from affinity and his final argument. Hume presents his arguments as metaphysical, moral and physical. Each one of their arguments has their shortcomings, but because Hume’s arguments do not stand on the basis of the souls existence, his arguments, although not necessarily true, are more convincing.
paper will look at Plato’s four arguments for the immortality of the soul as the Phaedo and Meno, and the epistemological considerations that support his view and personal insights, which have developed it. In the dialogue, the Phaedo, Plato gives the account of the soul being immortal. Four arguments about the immortality of the soul were included. The first argument is the Argument from Opposites, the second is the argument for the Theory of Recollection, the third is the Argument from Affinity and
In Plato’s writings, he offers the Theory of Forms and a refutation of the Theory called the Third Man Argument. In this paper, I will state the Theory of Forms along with details about the nature of Forms and the Third Man Argument in order to demonstrate that the argument does not strongly refute the theory because the self-exemplification and the non-identity assumptions can be satisfied simultaneously. In Plato’s Theory of Forms, he describes Forms as being eternal, infinite, and unchanging entities
Plato argues in his Phaedo that “for us learning is no other than recollection” (Phaedo 22). Plato is hypothesizing that human beings do not obtain knowledge through learning in the common sense of the word, rather we simply “recollect” knowledge that was hidden in the mind. In short, learning is a form of remembering what was forgotten. Plato utilizes two seemingly basic premises to derive his conclusion that learning is indeed a type of remembering which, as a result, proves that knowledge learnt
everyone pursues in life. In Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle not only states that happiness is the chief good, but that “it is something final and self-sufficient, and is the end of an action” (331). This essentially summarizes Aristotle’s entire argument and conception of happiness, along with my own belief; one can only achieve happiness through good actions, and happiness is a definitive and final
George December 11, 2014 Plato’s Apology of Socrates Plato’s Apology is the recollection of Socrates' trial presented before the Athenian Council, in which he is charged with not accepting the gods recognized by the state, introducing ethics in human behavior, and corrupting the youth of Athens. Athens is a democracy, a city in which there is many people who govern politics; therefore it is expected to be as corrupted as the population is. Socrates brings forward the argument that most people go against