Plato’s Theory of the Existence of the Soul

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The concept of the soul is one which has existed since the Ancient Greeks. The philosopher Plato was extremely far advanced in his philosophical ideas, as was his mentor, Socrates. Their theories were radical and thought provoking, moving away from the traditional world of the polytheistic Greek gods. Plato was monotheistic, believing in the highest principle, the Good. A major theory which he develops concerns the make-up of man. He maintained resolutely that human beings consisted of two distinct entities, body and soul. The body is completely physical and materialistic, being of this world. The soul which is infused at each birth into the body is immortal, and spiritual, and is our true self. The body is the embodiment of evil, as it is laden with worldly desires, and it entraps the soul, distracting them from reaching the truth of the World of the Forms. The soul is a key element in Greek philosophy. Plato made the observation that since our universe is mutable and imperfect; a place must also exist where immutability and perfection can be found in the Good and the Forms. This place is beyond the physical world, in a transcendent realm. This is where the eternal and unchanging forms exist, which are the original blueprints of every created entity in the physical realm. Souls originate and pre-exist in this World of the Forms, and absorb all possible knowledge that the afterlife can offer. However it is necessary that their knowledge of this world is cleansed from their memory before they are incarnated into a mortal, physical body. Plato had definite ideas explored in Phaedrus on how the soul enters the body. It is for him an end of a journey, a journey which begins with the procession of winged charioteers being drawn by two horses (the souls of the gods and mortals) travelling to reach the absolute truth. The gods naturally effortlessly pass on through

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