Notes and Comments on Phaedo -- 11

28 June 2023

Notes and Comments on Phaedo – 11

Continuing with my series of notes and comments on Phaedo using the Harold North Fowler translation, published by the Loeb Classical Library:

“’Now how about such things as this, Simmias?  Do we think there is such a thing as absolute justice, or not?’

“’We certainly think there is.’

“’And absolute beauty and goodness.’

“’Of course.’

“’Well, did you ever see anything of that kind with your eyes?’

“’Certainly not,’ said he.

“’Or did you ever reach them with any of the bodily senses?  I am speaking of all such things, as size, health, strength, and in short the essence or underlying quality of everything.  Is their true nature contemplated by means of the body?  Is it not rather the case that he who prepares himself most carefully to understand the true essence of each thing that he examines would come nearest to the knowledge of it?’

“’Certainly.’

“’Would not that man do this most perfectly who approaches each thing, so far as possible, with the reason alone, not introducing sight into his reasoning nor dragging in any of the other senses along with his thinking, but who employs pure, absolute reason in his attempt to search out the pure, absolute essence of things, and who removes himself, so far as possible, from eyes and ears, and, in a word, from his whole body, because he feels that its companionship disturbs the soul and hinders it from attaining truth and wisdom?  Is not this the man, Simmias, if anyone, to attain to the knowledge of reality?’

“’That is true as true can be, Socrates,’ said Simmias.

“’Then,’ said he, ‘all this must cause good lovers of wisdom to think and say one to the other something like this: “There seems to be a short cut which leads us and our argument to the conclusion in our search that so long as we have the body, and the soul is contaminated by such an evil, we shall never attain completely what we desire, that is, the truth.  For the body keeps us constantly busy by reason of its need of sustenance; and moreover, if diseases come upon it they hinder our pursuit of the truth.  And the body fills us with passions and desires and fears, and all sorts of fancies and foolishness, so that, as they say, it really and truly makes it impossible for us to think at all.  The body and its desires are the only cause of wars and factions and battles; for all wars arise for the sake of gaining money, and we are compelled to gain money for the sake of the body.  We are slaves to its service. And so, because of all these things, we have no leisure for philosophy.  But the worst of all is that if we do get a bit of leisure and turn to philosophy, the body is constantly breaking in upon our studies and disturbing us with noise and confusion, so that it prevents our beholding the truth, and in fact we perceive that, if we are ever to know anything absolutely, we must be free from the body and must behold the actual realities with the eye of the soul alone.  And then, as our argument shows, when we are dead we are likely to possess the wisdom which we desire and claim to be enamoured of, but now while we live.  For, if pure knowledge is impossible while the body is with us, one of two things must follow, either it cannot be acquired at all or only when we are dead; for then the soul will be by itself apart from the body, but not before.  And while we live, we shall, I think, be nearest to knowledge when we avoid, so far as possible, intercourse and communion with the body, except what is absolutely necessary, and are not filled with its nature, but keep ourselves pure from it until God himself sets us free.  And in this way, freeing ourselves from the foolishness of the body and being pure, we shall, I think, be with the pure and shall know of ourselves all that is pure, -- and that is, perhaps, the truth.  For it cannot be that the impure attain the pure.”  Such words as these, I think, Simmias, all who are rightly lovers of knowledge must say to each other and such must be their thoughts.  Do you not agree?’

“’Most assuredly, Socrates.’

1.  This section begins with Socrates inquiring as to whether Simmias accepts that abstract objects, or entities, or forms, exist.  Socrates begins with Justice, then continues with Beauty and Goodness. 

The strategy of Socrates is to get Simmias to comprehend that Simmias uses abstract realities, what Platonists would call ‘forms,’ every day.  This is an approach that, I have observed, can be effective as long as the person, someone like Simmias, has some openness of mind.  If the person is a dogmatic materialist and/or a reductionist, it is unlikely that the discussion well bear fruit.

Socrates chooses to use difficult ideas like Justice, Beauty, and Goodness in his discussion with Simmias.  I suspect this is because Simmias has participated in discussions about these issues with Socrates in the past; either as an observer or participant.  In similar situations I have tended to use more readily accessible abstractions such as numbers because people use numbers every day in a casual way, without really giving numbers much thought.  It is, I think, easier to point out that we do not ever actually observe numbers as such, only their instantiations, and then continue, depending on how the discussion unfolds.

The point is to use the discussion to awaken the inquirer to the reality of non-sensory dimensions of existence.

2.  Socrates broadens the discussion by arguing for an underlying reality, or essence, of all things; I understand this as Socrates pointing to Being in the second hypostasis.  Our senses cannot access Being as such because Being as such is not a sound or a sight or a taste, etc.  If Being were a sound, it could not be found in visual objects.  If Being were a visual object, such as a quality like color or shape, it could not be found in sonic objects; and similarly for the other sense realms.  Being as such is, therefore, not something that is perceived, yet all objects perceived by the senses participate in Being.

This step by Socrates leads Simmias to a transcendental presence that is, at the same time, immanent in the sensory objects around them. 

3.  I think what Socrates is getting at, and carefully leading Simmias to understand, is that bodily sensations cloud our ability to access non-sensory realities.  We cannot see Being, we cannot hear Being, etc.  Yet Being manifests everywhere.

The solution, then, is to step back from the hold of the body; to ‘separate’ the soul from the body.  For the soul, which is immaterial, is able to access Being, Beauty, and Justice.

This may seem difficult to understand.  But consider situations when we are confronted with a difficult problem; this may involve money, a job, friendships, confrontations, etc.  Confronted with these kinds of difficulties, we often step back because we ‘need some time to think.’  It is evident to us that the solution will not appear by indulging the senses; even if such indulgence makes us feel good for a short time, the problem will still be there when the effects of the stimulation pass.

The problem that philosophy seeks to solve is the great problem of life and death.  And like these other problems it is only by stepping away from attachment to sensory stimulation that we find the path to its resolution.

4.  Socrates suggests that as long as we have a body we can be ‘near’ pure knowledge, but we cannot have full knowledge.  That makes sense to me.  On the other hand, partial knowledge of the transcendental, the Good and the One, is accessible and salvific. 

In a way, demanding full knowledge of ultimate otherness resembles a musician demanding a perfect, flawless, performance every time they have a concert.  Or a scientist making the demand that he never make a mistake in his calculations or interpretations.  Or that a cook never fall short of an ideal meal.  We live in the third hypostasis of becoming and begoning, a realm that is metaphysically distant from the Source of things; the things of this material world are copies, or paintings, of their source and, therefore, fall short of perfection.  In the realm of becoming and begoning perfection is not possible.

Nevertheless, through our ascetic practices, and our cultivation of virtue and wisdom, we can prepare ourselves for an easy transition to the Good and the One, and step into the luminous darkness that is our true home.