The Phaedo Essay, Research Paper

Doctrine 106

Steve Anthony

In & # 8220 ; The Phaedo, & # 8221 ; Plato explains his theory of signifiers and thoughts refering the mortality of the psyche. We find that the psyche and organic structure are separate and that the psyche lives after decease and had lived earlier. This leads us to the thought of signifiers and how we get the cognition of these before birth. The lone clip the psyche is separate from the organic structure is in decease. Since the psyche can merely obtain cognition of signifiers when it is off from the organic structure, we understand that after decease is the lone clip when the psyche can get this information. The intellect loses these thoughts of signifiers when it is born unto a physical organic structure. Although forgotten, the psyche still holds this cognition and what is known as acquisition is really remembering, or recollecting, the cognition we lose at birth.

These signifiers give us thoughts of how we should associate objects to one another. For illustration, we know that a certain coloring material is ruddy eventhough it & # 8217 ; s non a & # 8220 ; pure & # 8221 ; red. When we see a ruddy chair we recollect the signifier of ruddy from our past cognition of the psyche. These signifiers are abstract thoughts that hold true throughout each psyche and are something that the physical organic structure can ne’er cognize. Since we merely have an thought of these signifiers, we can ne’er see a true signifier with our senses. Our senses give us an apprehension of the physical universe at any given minute, but the physical universe is invariably altering, so our senses can ne’er allow us see the universe as it genuinely & # 8220 ; is. & # 8221 ; Our senses can merely allow us see how the universe & # 8220 ; was & # 8221 ; at a peculiar minute. The psyche acts as a & # 8220 ; container, & # 8221 ; for this cognition and keeps it through each bodily life.

One statement against these thoughts is that the psyche would no

t be strong plenty to last the devastation of the organic structure. This can non be true because the psyche straight controls the gestures of

the organic structure ; for the psyche can will the organic structure in any manner it chooses and may oppose the organic structure at any point. The attunement theory explains that the psyche can non be destroyed by decease. It compares the

psyche and the organic structure to a twine instrument, i.e. a lyre, and when the lyre is destroyed, so is the harmoniousness, as with the organic structure. The harmoniousness of an instrument is a composite thing, which the psyche is non. Complexs can non preexist their constituents. When the lyre is destroyed, so is the harmoniousness ; nevertheless, the psyche can non be destroyed for it is non a composite thing such as harmoniousness, which means the psyche is able to preexist its constituent ( the organic structure ) . Another statement is that the organic structure may merely be a garment for the psyche. The garment will have on out finally and the seamster that made this garment will besides run out at some point. Proposing that the organic structure is a garment and the psyche is a seamster, it may be the instance that although the psyche may be after decease, it may non be boundlessly, and finally run out. Since the psyche can oppose the organic structure, the psyche chooses to acknowledge decease. If the psyche admits decease, so the psyche may die. If the psyche does non acknowledge decease, the psyche is undying, and if the psyche is undying so the psyche is indestructible.

Our psyches know the construct of the signifiers, and are the same throughout all psyches. Since we can non alter the construct of these signifiers without making confusion, all psyches must hold gotten this shared cognition when the psyche was separate from the organic structure, i.e. decease and before life. From this we understand that signifiers exist and as we learn we recollect these signifiers throughout our bodily life.