This is an old paper, written in Spring Quarter of last year. I enjoy my musings here. I was reminded of this after this week's History of Ancient Philosophy classes. Moral: Hedonism can be okay... sometimes.
In Plato’s Phaedo, in which he is a mouthpiece for Socrates, Plato thinks that men who have spent their lives in philosophy should in no way fear death. Instead, they should accept and embrace death for it is only after death that these men can attain “the great blessings yonder” (101, 63e). Socrates has no fear of death, expecting to join the company of good men after he has passed. According to Plato, the philosopher is freer than other men because he liberates his soul from association with the body as much as possible. He acknowledges that human beings are comprised of both the body and soul but sees the body as a barrier to wisdom. When the soul is freed from the body after death, it is finally able to come by the knowledge philosophers seek.
I do not agree with this view; instead, I deem the body entirely necessary for the soul to achieve great wisdom. It is only through the combination of the soul with the body that life is sustained. Furthermore, it is only through life that humans can experience both worldly pleasure and suffering. Consequently, it is only through experiences—pleasure and suffering—and learning that humans can gain wisdom. Finally, it is only after humans develop wisdom that they can carry it with them when their souls are released from their bodies.
According to Plato’s claim, the soul is the key to true wisdom. On the other hand, Plato views the body as an obstacle that impedes the ability of the soul to reason well; “the soul reasons best when none of these senses troubles it, neither hearing nor sight, nor pain nor pleasure, but when it is most by itself” (page 102, 65c). Plato states that the body also causes many society problems; it causes war, civil discord, battles, and other phenomena that stem from human desire to acquire wealth. While the body is busy seeking idle pleasures and gratifying its needs, it is unable to engage in what is truly important to Plato—philosophy and the truth. Philosophy and the soul’s insight allow for one to truly experience justice, beauty, and wisdom. However, those ideals are impossible for one to understand until he is freed from bodily distractions.
Plato states that in order to achieve true knowledge, the body must be eliminated. This occurs with death, when the soul escapes from the body’s imprisonment. “It seems likely that we shall, only then, when we are dead, attain that which we desire and of which we claim to be lovers, namely, wisdom… either we can never attain knowledge or we can do so after death” (104, 66e-67a). He goes even further by saying that that is why those who practice philosophy do not fear death, but accept it and even look forward to it.
In opposition to Plato, I believe that the body is indispensable to the soul. If it were not, there would be no purpose for souls and bodies to combine; souls would exist on their own at all times and have faultless wisdom. There would be no need for souls to cycle between existence with the body and existence in the underworld where they normally reside. Without the body, life as we know it does not exist. Human beings are defined as unities of the body and soul, and human beings are capable of experiencing life. After death, the soul becomes a separate entity as the body decays and this no longer sustains life. The soul may then achieve wisdom, as Plato describes, but only if life once existed. The soul needs the body so that it can encounter life and worldly experiences and then gain wisdom before its departure. Without life, the soul would not have any experiences to shape itself and one would question why it is that souls go into bodies in the first place.
The soul must unite with the body so that worldly beauties found in life at one time are understood. Without these worldly experiences, souls would have no depth to them. They would be blank slates trapped in the underworld. They would not have perfect wisdom, because it is only through experiences and learning that wisdom is developed. While on earth, the body nourishes the soul and provides it with experiences that later develop into knowledge. Once the soul has this knowledge from life, it can depart from the body with true wisdom.
This wisdom that philosophers crave is attained through life encounters that include both pleasure and suffering. Although many pleasures are perceived to be idle or lead to idle experiences, certain pleasures have worth. Idle pleasures may include gluttony, sloth, and greed. However, the pleasures of spending time with good company, loving another person, and enjoying nature are worthwhile and productive. Although the eyes cannot view the concept of pure beauty, they can view a flower blossoming in the spring as new life is flourishing. This worldly beauty is diminished when the body is gone and the soul can no longer exist in the world. However, the soul retains knowledge of the beauty and carries that knowledge with it to the underworld.
In addition, suffering leads to the acquisition of worldly wisdom. Experiences, whether positive or negative, teach life lessons and provide moral maturity. Those who suffer learn from their afflictions, and if they overcome, can provide wisdom and guidance to others. They may be able to cherish other aspects of life with more fervor. After all, there cannot exist true wisdom without the lack of knowledge and foolishness, which Plato believes is caused by the body. This is explored later in Plato’s Argument of Opposites. The body and the soul combine to form life and wisdom can be obtained through life experiences. Therefore, the body must exist for the soul to acquire wisdom.
Plato would describe the formation of life—the unity of the body and soul—as a naturally occurring cycle. He would not support that it has any worth, only that it is a continual process based on his Argument of Opposites. If life exists, there must be death. The dead come from the living and the living from the dead. Reincarnation is therefore true, and souls must exist in the realm of the dead. Viewing this life cycle as an inevitable process, Plato believes that it is unfortunate for souls to enter bodies. He would argue that the body and soul combine because of the laws of nature; however, it is detrimental for the soul to enter the body. Once it does, it suffers from the body’s endless needs, afflictions, and deceptions. Nothing positive comes from the soul and body joining because the body is imperfect, while the soul is capable of being perfect.
Additionally, Plato would argue that none of the wisdom that philosophers desire can be found on earth where the body dwells. He views the body as incapable of experiencing any aspect of beauty, truth, and justice. He states that “the body confuses the soul and does not allow it to acquire truth and wisdom whenever it is associated with it” (103, 66a). The example of the blossoming flower is not enough of a representation of beauty to sway Plato in his belief that the body is incapable of experiencing what is important. Similarly, Plato views suffering as having no benefits. He believes it is a downfall of the body that distracts people from focusing on philosophy. “The body keeps us busy in a thousand ways because of its need for nurture. Moreover, if certain diseases befall it, they impede our search for the truth” (103, 66b). He does not believe that suffering provides a learning experience in itself; instead, he thinks that the time one spends suffering goes to waste, because it takes time away from philosophical learning.
The main discrepancy between Plato’s argument and mine is our disagreement with the point of the life cycle. I view it as purposeful in the sense that it provides wisdom to the soul with the body as a channel. Additionally, worldly beauties that cannot be perceived in the underworld are presented to the soul through life experiences and are retained after life ends. This contributes to the wisdom one can gain throughout life. Plato views life as an insignificant but unavoidable cycle. He does not see the body as a channel for anything positive, but as a source of hindrance to wisdom that brings about idle pleasures, needs, and diseases.
