The Soul and Immortality

Where it surfaces

• Charmides

  The Thracian physician claims that curing the soul is primary, and that the soul's health overflows into the body, hinting at the soul's central role in well-being.

• Phaedrus

  Socrates discusses the living word graven in the soul, which is immortal and the true offspring of the philosopher.

• Ion

  The dialogue's model of divine inspiration as a magnetic chain suggests a transcendent, soul-level connection to the divine.

• Symposium

  Diotima's teaching presents love as a desire for immortality through procreation in beauty, both physical and spiritual, linking love to the eternal nature of the soul.

• On the Ideas of Plato

  References to the recovery of ideas through reminiscence from a former state of existence touch on the soul's immortality.

• Meno

  The theory of recollection implies the soul's pre-existence and immortality, as demonstrated through the slave boy's geometric knowledge.

• Apology

  Socrates prioritizes the improvement of the soul over wealth and reputation, and expresses uncertainty about death, suggesting it may be a good.

• Phaedo

  Socrates argues that the soul is immortal, pre-exists birth, and survives death, using arguments from opposites, recollection, and affinity.

• Phaedo

  Central theme; Socrates argues for the soul's immortality and its journey after death.

• The Myths of Plato

  The chapter extensively discusses myths about the soul's immortality, eternity, and its destiny in a future life, particularly in the Phaedrus, Phaedo, Gorgias, and Republic.

• Book III

  Socrates argues against poetic depictions of a grim afterlife, aiming to instill a rational view of death to support courage.

• Book IX: The Tyrannical Soul and the Superiority of Justice

  The image of the soul as a composite of beast, lion, and man illustrates the internal struggle and the need for the rational part to govern for a virtuous life.

• Book X

  Socrates argues at length that the soul is immortal and imperishable, using the analogy of inherent evil and corruption to show that nothing external can destroy it.

• Timaeus

  Timaeus describes the creation of the world soul and the immortal rational soul in humans.

• Introduction and Analysis

  The chapter discusses the soul's pre-existence, its journey after death, and the doctrine of transmigration as presented in the Timaeus.

• Timaeus I

  Timaeus describes the creation of the immortal soul, its cycles of reincarnation based on moral conduct, and the role of the divine and mortal soul in human life.

• § II

  Implied in the discussion of the inner world of ideas and the conception of a supreme being or principle underlying the universe.

• § III

  The world soul is described as diffused throughout the cosmos, embodying order and intelligence, reflecting the eternal pattern.

• § IV

  The world soul as a compound of the same, the other, and essence, and the stars as habitations of human souls.

• § V

  The chapter details the tripartite nature of the human soul, its immortality, and its analogy to the world soul.

• § VI

  The chapter emphasizes the sympathy between soul and body, and the idea that the body cannot be cured without the soul.

• § VIII

  Discussed in terms of the soul's harmony with the cosmos, its education, and its return to the world below if neglected.

• Timaeus

  Timaeus discusses the creation of the soul, its divine courses, and its journey after death, emphasizing the soul's immortality and the importance of education for its perfection.

• Critias

  The narrative touches on the divine nature of the Atlanteans and their eventual moral decline as the divine element faded.

• Parmenides

  The discussion of Forms and their relation to particulars touches on the nature of reality and the soul's access to true being.

• Introduction and Analysis

  The text alludes to the soul's fate after death: the place of innocence will not receive the cunning unjust man, and the soul's flight to the gods involves becoming like them—holy, just, and true.

• On the Nature and Limits of Psychology

  Discusses the higher aspect of human nature that grasps ideas of God, freedom, and immortality, asserting that any complete psychology must admit the reality or possibility of another life.

• Introduction and Analysis

  Purification of the soul is a central metaphor, distinguishing diseases and deformities of the soul from those of the body.

• Philebus

  The discussion implies that the soul's rational part must govern desires, linking to the soul's true nature and well-being.

• Introduction and Analysis

  Discusses the soul's capacity for attaining highest truths and the equable life of pure thought versus the alternation of generation and destruction.

• Philebus

  The discussion of the good and the ordering of the universe by mind implies a cosmic intelligence that may relate to the soul's nature.

• Book V

  The soul is described as second only to God in honor, naturally inclined to avoid evil and seek the chief good, highlighting its supreme value.

• Book X

  The soul is indestructible and changes according to its actions, moving to better or worse places after death.

• Book XI

  The text invokes the belief that souls of the dead care for their descendants, influencing the treatment of orphans and the importance of honoring the departed.

• First Alcibiades

  Socrates distinguishes the true self (the soul) from the body, arguing that self-knowledge involves looking into the soul, especially its divine part associated with wisdom and knowledge.

• First Alcibiades

  The soul is identified as the true self, and self-knowledge involves looking at the divine part of the soul where wisdom resides, linking virtue to the divine.

• Appendix II

  Socrates uses the metaphor of the soul as a ship that needs the pilot of knowledge to navigate life safely, suggesting a concern for the soul's ultimate condition.