What is "Self"? According to Socrates, Plato, and Descartes
What is "Self"? According to Socrates, Plato, and Descartes
What is the "self"? This question has been the topic of deliberation for many centuries dating all the way back to Socrates. He was the very first known philosopher to broach the subject of "self". Socrates offers the foundation of his beliefs on the subject whiles his student and disciple, Plato preserved and built on them. Many centuries later, mathematician, scientist, and philosopher Rene Descartes, while sharing in his fellow philosopher's beliefs, was able to offer a modern perspective on the subject. In its simplest form, the "self" can be defined as the total, or complete, make up of a being. There are many more ...
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separate aspects of the "self", the material substance (physical body), and the nonmaterial substance (soul) (Chaffee 90). This is what Socrates believed. He believed that the soul is immortal and unchanging while the physical body is mortal and constantly changing. They are joined together and are only separated in death. We live on Earth, and Earth is part of the physical realm because it is constantly changing. When we die are bodies stay here in the physical realm while our souls travel to the ideal realm. The ideal realm is eternal and unchanging, like our souls. As Socrates stated in Phaedo, "And do we not believe it (death) to be the separation of the soul from the body? Does not death mean that the body comes to exist by itself separated from the soul, and that the soul exists by herself, separated from the body? What is death but that?" (Plato 9).
What is the purpose of our "self"? Our soul breathes life into our body and is in control of every thought we ...
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truth can only be achieved when we die, then it is our "selves" purpose to die. We were born to die. As Socrates stated, "The true philosopher studies to die, and to him of all men is death least terrible." (Plato 13).
Since Socrates believed that the soul is immortal, it is only true that once it is free from the body it will move on to the afterlife; but how do we really know that the immortal part of our "self" moves on an doesn't just die with our mortal "self"? Life after death is a widely debatable topic. Many of the people who believe in life after death put their faith in God. While faith in the afterlife is true to many, there is no reasoning behind it. Faith is simply an ...
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What is "Self"? According to Socrates, Plato, and Descartes. (2012, March 30). Retrieved March 26, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/What-Self-According-Socrates-Plato-Descartes/100546
"What is "Self"? According to Socrates, Plato, and Descartes." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 30 Mar. 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2025. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/What-Self-According-Socrates-Plato-Descartes/100546>
"What is "Self"? According to Socrates, Plato, and Descartes." Essayworld.com. March 30, 2012. Accessed March 26, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/What-Self-According-Socrates-Plato-Descartes/100546.
"What is "Self"? According to Socrates, Plato, and Descartes." Essayworld.com. March 30, 2012. Accessed March 26, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/What-Self-According-Socrates-Plato-Descartes/100546.
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