On The Soul And The Idea In Plato’s Phaedo

The theme of the Phaedo is generally thought to be the immortality of the soul,but in fact,the proof of the immortality of the soul is carried out within the framework of idealism.The soul and the idea are the two main themes in the Phaedo: on the one hand,the argument for the immortality of the soul needs the framework of idealism;On the other hand,the explanation and understanding of the idea can not be separated from the support of the concept of soul.As the two pillars of Plato’s philosophy,the view of soul and the theory of idealism play a very important role.The Phaedo is as much a dialogue about the immortality of the soul as it is about the presentation and elucidation of ideas.Choosing Phaedo to study the relationship between the soul and the idea is of great significance for us to understand the two core concepts(soul and idea)in Platonic philosophy from the origin.This paper argues that there are at least three different concepts of soul in the Phaedo,which play a very important role in the argument of the immortality of soul.In many cases,Socrates uses the relationship between ideas and different concepts of the soul to emphasize their consistency from different angles,in order to convince himself and his audience of the immortality of the soul.However,the inherent contradictions between different concepts of soul make the argument of the immortality of soul fall into a dilemma.Different concepts of the soul have different connotations,but the connotations of the idea are consistent,because the existence of the idea is stable and unchanging.Therefore,as long as the connotation of the idea is clearly stated,we can use it as a reference system for subsequent research.The relationship between soul and idea can be discussed by comparing different soul concepts with idea from different angles.Therefore,this paper mainly discusses from the following three chapters.The first chapter is the introduction,which mainly introduces the latest research progress of Phaedo at home and abroad,and compares the viewpoints of this paper with the existing research results.The second chapter discusses the formation background of the idea,the development context of the idea in the Phaedo,the nature of the idea and the methods of understanding the idea.This paper holds that the pure object of thought is put forward in the theory of purification,which is the earliest introduction to the idea.In the Phaedo,there are three ways to know the idea.One is to get close to the idea by purifying the soul,so as to get to know the idea.The second is to know the idea through the theory of recollection,that is,to "recall" the knowledge of the idea which the soul originally possesses by using the reminder of perceptual things;The third is to go back to the Idea by false means,that is,by putting forward more fundamental assumptions and making the premises go up and up until there are no premises,so as to reach the Idea.The third chapter explores the different concepts of the soul that lie behind the Phaedo.One is the concept of the soul as a cognitive principle,which is independent of the body and has cognitive function,and the cognitive function is magnified as the only function.The second is the concept of soul as the principle of life.This soul is the carrier of life and the soul of all life,including plants and animals.The third is the concept of the soul as the true self,which is the counterpart of the mortal,and it mainly appears in the myths and legends at the end of the dialogue.The fourth chapter discusses the relationship between soul and idea from four aspects.First,the argument for the immortality of the soul introduces the Idea,which in explaining the relationship between the soul and the Idea makes different concepts of the soul intrinsically defined,and the contradiction between different concepts of the soul makes the argument for the immortality of the soul bogged down.Secondly,for human cognition,the soul and the idea are interdependent and inseparable,because the interpretation of the existence,nature,function and state of the soul cannot be separated from the idea.Similarly,the interpretation of the connotation of the idea such as goodness,beauty and justice cannot be separated from the soul.Third,soul and ideas in both the consistent place in nature,where there are conflicting,soul and idea consistent place is emphasized by Socrates in the conversation,but the soul of the concept of oneness and the concept of oneness,the soul of the life characteristic and the movement of inanimate character and soul character and concept of static characteristics,and so on is the conflict between soul and ideas;Fourthly,by means of the creation myth of Timaeus,we know that the materials of the soul are The existence,the sameness and the difference of intermediation.The existence of intermediation makes the soul both decayed and immortal.The similarity and difference of intermediation make the soul have the function of distinguishing and judging,which is the source of the soul’s cognitive ability.We may arrive at an order of rank or sacredness: first the idea,then the gods,then the soul,and finally the visible.