Scribd
Upload
239 views

SOCRATES

Socrates believed that the self has two parts - the physical body and the immortal soul. The body is mortal and constantly changing, while the soul remains unchanging in both the physical realm when alive and the ideal realm after death. According to Socrates, cultivating virtue and engaging in philosophical inquiry to improve one's soul is paramount to achieving happiness. Plato also viewed the self as having three parts - the body concerned with physical pleasures, the immortal mind directed towards ideas, and the soul giving identity and driving the body.

Uploaded by

Beverly Ann Gonzales
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
239 views

SOCRATES

Socrates believed that the self has two parts - the physical body and the immortal soul. The body is mortal and constantly changing, while the soul remains unchanging in both the physical realm when alive and the ideal realm after death. According to Socrates, cultivating virtue and engaging in philosophical inquiry to improve one's soul is paramount to achieving happiness. Plato also viewed the self as having three parts - the body concerned with physical pleasures, the immortal mind directed towards ideas, and the soul giving identity and driving the body.

Uploaded by

Beverly Ann Gonzales
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

SOCRATES’ VIEW ABOUT SELF

Socrates believed that self has two parts: One part is the physical, tangible aspect of us.
This is the part that is mortal and can be/is constantly changing. Earth also belongs to
this physical realm that our bodies belong in, because just as us in terms of physicality,
the Earth is constantly being modified.

The second part is the soul, which he believed to be immortal. The soul is the part that is
unvarying across all realms (it is unchanging while it is attached to your body and thus in
the physical realm, but is also unmodified once you die and your soul leaves the body to
travel to the ideal realm).

To expand on this slightly, Socrates believed that when we are in the physical realm, we
are alive and our body and soul are attached, therefore making both parts of our “self”
present in the physical realm. When we die however, our body stays in the physical realm
while our soul travels to the ideal realm, therefore making our soul immortal.

According to Socrates it is the state of our soul, or our inner being, which determines the
quality of our life. Thus, it is paramount that we devote considerable amounts of our
attention, energy, and resources to making our soul as good and beautiful as possible
according to Socrates if one devoted themselves to self-knowledge and philosophical
inquiry, they would soon be led to a more appropriate view of the good. There is one
supreme good, he claimed, and possession of this good alone will secure our happiness.
This supreme good, thought Socrates, is virtue. Virtue is defined as moral excellence,
and an individual is considered virtuous if their character is made up of the moral qualities
that are accepted as virtues.

PLATO’S VIEW ABOUT SELF

Plato establishes two enduring binaries: the metaphysical realm as distinct from the
physical world; and, more important for our purposes here, the essential human self and
the physical world, which becomes the mind/body split. This human self is fundamentally
an intellectual entity whose "true" or essential nature exists as separate from the physical
world.

Plato believed that humans could be broken down into 3 parts: the body, the mind and the
soul. The body is the physical part of the body that is only concerned with the material
world, and through which we are able to experience the world we live in. it wants to
experience self-gratification. It is mortal, and when it dies, it is truly dead. The mind is
directed towards the heavenly realm of Ideas, and is immortal. It is with our minds that we
are able to understand the eternal world of the Forms. When it 'dies' it returns to the realm
of Ideas. The soul is the driving force of the body, that it is what gives us our identity.

Beverly Ann M. Gonzales PSYCH101 BSECE-1

You might also like