One of the main themes of Plato’s Phaedo is the idea of the good life. But what is the good life? According to Plato what is most central to the good life is not the consequence of maximized bodily pleasures, rather it is the kind of life that best serves the nature of the soul. Discovering the nature of the soul can only be discovered through the practice of philosophy.

In the Phaedo it is implicit that Plato held the view that knowledge of the divine is inherent to every man. The soul experiences direct contact with eternal realities prior to birth, and these realities are the true nature of things. There is a problem however: the postnatal human condition of bodily imprisonment causes the soul to forget the true nature of things, including the true idea of justice

In short, philosophical illumination can be thought of as a reawakening to forgotten knowledge, a re-establishment of the soul’s contact with divine truth. In this way we can look at it as a redemptive act, where the human being comes closest to the true nature of the good. Hence, Socrates’ firm belief that philosophy plays a central role in the good life.

All is not lost however, for this divine reason still resides within us. The goal of philosophy is to free the soul from this deluded condition; it is the task of the philosopher to “recollect” the transcendent Ideas. Plato gives the example of the Idea of the equal being inherent within the human condition prior to birth (72E-78B). This Idea being something that must be recollected from a higher archetypal Idea of the equal, the concept of equal cannot be acqu

Some topics in this essay:
According Plato, Ideas Plato, Hence Socrates’, Plato’s Phaedo, idea equal, true nature, true idea, free bodily distraction, human condition, free bodily, equal ness, direct contact, bodily distraction, nature soul, prior birth,