Last week, I wrote about how Plato is routinely misunderstood in the modern world and suggested a way in which he can be better read. This week, we turn to his dialogue, the Phaedo, which includes the death of Socrates, to put that insight into practice.
Death as an opportunity to reflect on life. The practice is to bring the two aspects of existence close together, not see them in opposition. Moving towards death, as mortal life inevitably does, can reveal – not rationally but experientially – that the deathless embraces mortality.
This is the approach that Plato adopts in his dialogue, Phaedo. It is one of his accounts of the last days of Socrates and is the most dramatic because it ends with Socrates dying. There are two other dialogues, which cover different facets of his passing, so Plato’s aim is clearly not to present evidence. Rather it is to offer reflections that might reveal the inner significance of the moment.
Continue reading at my Substack, A Golden String…