Book contents
- Plato’s Phaedo
- Plato’s Phaedo
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Characters
- 2 The Phaedo as an Alternative to Tragedy and Socrates as a Poet
- 3 Defense of the Desire to Be Dead
- 4 Cebes’ Challenge and the Cyclical Argument
- 5 The Recollecting Argument
- 6 The Kinship Argument
- 7 The Return to the Defense
- 8 Misology and the Soul as a harmonia
- 9 Socrates’ Autobiography
- 10 Cebes’ Objection and the Final Argument
- 11 The Cosmos and the Afterlife
- 12 The Death Scene
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- Index
Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 February 2023
- Plato’s Phaedo
- Plato’s Phaedo
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Characters
- 2 The Phaedo as an Alternative to Tragedy and Socrates as a Poet
- 3 Defense of the Desire to Be Dead
- 4 Cebes’ Challenge and the Cyclical Argument
- 5 The Recollecting Argument
- 6 The Kinship Argument
- 7 The Return to the Defense
- 8 Misology and the Soul as a harmonia
- 9 Socrates’ Autobiography
- 10 Cebes’ Objection and the Final Argument
- 11 The Cosmos and the Afterlife
- 12 The Death Scene
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- Index
Summary
This chapter introduces the book’s approach and its main theses, ending with an overview of the Phaedo. I argue that the dialogue has an unfolding structure, in which claims made early are often explained only at later stages. I briefly lay out the distinct stages of Socrates’ accounts of the forms, of the soul, and of ethics. These are not three independent topics; instead, his ethical account is grounded in his account of the soul, which is in turn grounded in his account of the forms. Another important thread running through the dialogue is how Socrates responds to Simmias’ and Cebes’ fears by trying to help them acquire the right sort of rational confidence in their views. I also discuss how Socrates appropriates and transforms ideas from his religious, scientific, and literary context in articulating and defending his philosophical theories.
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- Information
- Plato's PhaedoForms, Death, and the Philosophical Life, pp. 1 - 11Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023