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Was Socrates Life Worth Living Analysis

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The Phaedo proposes thought provoking questions that one should ask themselves. There are four questions posed, either explicitly or implicitly, throughout the book: what happens when you die? What constitutes a good life? What does philosophical inquiry look like? And lastly, “Was Socrates’ life worth living?” The last Question is implied implicitly as the book advances and develops into a further question that provokes readers to ask if they have lived a life with living. This is the complex thesis of the book; did Socrates or have I lived a good life. This question can only be asked when one is confronted by death, and thus by his or her limits. This is because the ultimate limit is mortality and the confines of the body where the soul …show more content…

It does make one question what happens to the soul after one dies. While Socrates is the main protagonist, the other characters make valid arguments that provoke thoughts. This is a crucial element to the third question: What does philosophical inquiry look like? While it was never asked explicitly in the Phaedo; the question is key and resonates throughout the dialogue. It was Socrates’ goal to get his friends to practice the art of philosophical inquiry. Subsequently it invokes readers to question what they think, and in doing so, practice philosophical inquiry. This makes the reader question and transform their thoughts and push the bounds of their preconceived thoughts of what the soul is. Not only does the Phaedo drive readers to question what this soul is, it also makes you question what happens when you die but also challenges you to ask yourself; If you have lived a good life. The Phaedo states that the best for humanity is foremost to have never been born, and secondly if you are alive, the second best is to “dies, as quickly as possible.” This phenomena has Socratic irony in the sense that that what is best for current humanity is not achievable since we are mortal and currently living. Our mortality is our greatest limit. This poises the question that, since there is no way of achieving this divine wisdom and being alive, then are we trapped by this limitation? Furthermore are we trapped by

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