Philosophy short term assignment solution on: Socrates argument in Phaedo

Ques 1: What is Socrates’ argument in the Phaedo for the conclusion that a philosopher ought to desire and seek death?  Why does he believe that the premises of his argument are true?

Ans.  Socrates has given the argument of ‘ownership’. He says that man is not the actual and sole owner of himself but just a property of Gods ( (Kelly, 2008). This is why he should not commit suicide.

         Though a philosopher always seeks to focus on soul and its experiences, wants to remain aloof from the body; committing suicide is prohibited. It’s is true that soul and body are separate and the body creates hurdles in attaining the truth. Still, man should make efforts to get rid of this body-soul association, not the body itself.      

2.         Briefly explain the different views on the nature of the soul suggested in the Phaedo by Simmias, Cebes, and Socrates.

Ans.   In Philosophy; ‘nature of soul’ is one of the prime topics of discussion and Phaedo presents the views of renowned thinkers on it.

          Simmias, the Greek philosopher, considers it as the harmonia(tune) of different parts of body. If body perishes, the soul also destroys. So, for Simmias, soul is dependent on the body and can survive only if the body is there. It doesn’t have existence without body( (Russell, 2004).

          Socrates has sharply criticized the analogy of Simmias and presented different arguments to show that it is eternal and not perishable.

          Cebes also believes in the existence of soul before birth, but doesn’t consider it as ‘immortal’. In contrast to Simmias, Cebes believes that soul can exist after the death of the body but this doesn’t show its eternality or immortality.

3.         How does Socrates justify, in response to Cebes, his claim that the soul is not only more durable than the body, but is actually eternal?

Ans.  Socrates advocated the eternality of soul on the basis of cyclical argument or opposites argument.

          He says that ‘ larger’ and ‘smaller’ are opposites and the process describing this phenomenon is ‘decreasing’. So, it’s like ‘larger’, ‘decreasing’ and ‘smaller’. Similar are the nature of ‘sleep’ ‘awake’, ‘better’ and’ worse’ , ‘life’ and ‘death’ etc.

          Socrates said that ‘living’ and ‘dying’ are opposites, the process is like: “life”,”dying”,”death”. As soul imparts life, it can’t die. Because life and death are opposites, so are the soul and body. Body can perish but soul can’t.

4.         Explain Anselm’s argument (in Proslogion chapter 2) for the existence of God (i.e. the Ontological argument).

 Ans.   In the book Proslogian, Anselm has used “reductio ad absurdum” approach to explain God’s existence.

           In this approach, opposite is assumed and later its absurdity is shown. For example, Anslem has assumed that God doesn’t exist in reality and has proved the invalidity of this statement which results in showing that God does exist (angelfire, 2012).

          The set of arguments to prove the existence are as follows:

          1. By definition, God is the greatest possible being.

          2. There is the possibility of his existence in reality.

          3. Suppose there is something that exists not in reality but in the mind only. Then, that thing might have been greater. For example, an imaginary mountain may be greater than the mountain existing in reality.

           4. Assume God doesn’t exist in real. He is only in the mind.

           5. A greater possible being exists in reality( implied from 2,3).

           6. Some being greater than God is possible.

         Statements 6 and 1 are contradictory. This means that the assumption was wrong. God exists in reality as well.

5.         Explain Aquinas’s teleological argument (the fifth way) from the Third Article of Summa Theological 1 q.2.

           ‘Telos’, a Greek word, signifies ‘purpose’. Aquinas says that the God exists as an intelligent designer of this universe. He has made it with a ‘Telos'(purpose) to fulfill ( (Y.Masih, 1999).

          The things we see, experience in this cosmos show a certain design. As these things don’t have any knowledge by themselves, fulfillment of any purpose in not possible without the direction of a superior and intelligent designer. It implies the existence of a ‘being’ as the director and designer of the things. That intelligent and superior designer, Aquinas says, is none other than the God.

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