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Phaedo

Phaedo is a dialogue by Plato, probably composed in the 360s BCE, and part of his early Middle Period. It presents the last hours of Socrates in Athens as he faces execution by hemlock, discussing philosophy, death, and the immortality of the soul with his friends. The narrative frame has Phaedo of Elis recounting the events to Echecrates, a philosopher from Phlius, in Socrates’ prison room.

Core content: The central question is the soul's immortality. Socrates argues through a sequence of arguments:

Alongside these proofs, the dialogue discusses the soul–body relationship, the philosopher’s task as preparation for death,

History and reception: Phaedo is one of Plato’s best-known dialogues and a foundational text for discussions

first,
the
Argument
from
Opposites,
which
posits
that
life
and
death
are
cycles;
second,
the
Theory
of
Recollection,
suggesting
that
learning
is
remembrance
of
eternal
truths;
third,
the
Affinity
argument,
which
contrasts
the
soul’s
intelligible,
invisible
nature
with
the
body’s
visible,
perishable
character;
and
fourth,
a
final
argument
that
life
itself
is
a
kind
of
process
belonging
to
the
soul,
implying
death
does
not
destroy
it.
and
the
theory
of
forms.
The
dialogue
also
includes
a
myth
of
the
soul’s
afterlife,
presenting
rewards
and
punishments
for
the
soul’s
conduct
in
life
and
its
purification
before
a
possible
ascent
to
a
realm
of
forms.
of
the
theory
of
mind,
epistemology,
and
metaphysics
in
antiquity.
It
has
influenced
later
philosophical
and
theological
conceptions
of
the
soul,
mortality,
and
the
afterlife,
and
remains
a
frequent
subject
of
study
and
interpretation
in
classical
philosophy.