Immortality Of The Soul In Philosophic Theories

Whatever ought to exist must begin, and eventually, come to an end. We know this “end” as a death; by definition, the end of the life of a person or organism. This concept introduces a range of questions such as, what happens when one passes or, if all must die, why live? Philosophers across history have pondered such questions and sought to create plausible responses. Ancient philosophers were the first to seek a coherent, lucid understanding of the phenomenon. Aristotle believed death is “the most fearful thing”, asserting, “fear has its object things that are without qualification bad ” (King, 2001). Likewise, Socrates and Plato believed, because of the immortality of the soul, death is no evil, it exists as liberation, freeing the soul from the shambolic existence of the body consisting of insolent cravings and passions – a threshold into another life, passing on knowledge to others for the last time. Moreover, as viewed objectively by the Stoics, death is not a notion to be feared; it is to be conquered and used productively – a natural event that we will all face. Similar to the stoic response, Epicurus instigated his argument with his conclusion, “death is nothing to us”, emphasising, death involves neither pleasure nor pain, the only thing that is bad for us is pain; thus, death is not bad for us. This paper will further elaborate on the Ancient philosophers such sought after responses, as to why death exists, what it truly means to die, and why one must not fear death.

Often referred to as the “Father of Western Philosophy”, Aristotle existed as a Greek philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. His philosophical perception immensely influenced our view on ultimate matters, for instance, death. According to King, Governor Lamm of Colorado, Aristotle asserted that death cannot be considered bad, as the badness of death would consist precisely in an individual no longer subjected to happiness or sorrow. Aristotle believed, “if we were designed by nature to die, then why would we be designed to fear death as the worst evil?. ” The fundamental perception of death is that of the life-cycle: all living things will go through a cycle of growth, activity in its prime, and decay leading to death. But we may ask ourselves, “why must we face death?”, Aristotle’s response to this is through the teleological and cosmological explanation where all living entities aim to imitate the Prime Mover in its eternal serenity so far as it is able. As such, nothing composed of body and soul can remain in existence forever, thus it is destined for the living species to displace one another in an endless cycle. In an equivalent manner, Socrates’ and Plato’s view on the matter was that of viewing death objectively in order to attain erudition and clarity, welcoming death with open arms in an effort to liberate the soul and pass on knowledge to others. When met with his impending death, Socrates was prompted to speculate about the nature of the afterlife, believing in the immortality of the soul. Soon after receiving the death penalty for both corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens and of impiety, Socrates declared that the death penalty may well be considered a blessing, for he has no reason to fear death. To support this claim, Socrates developed an argument in the form of a constructive dilemma: “either death involves the cessation of consciousness, in which case our afterlife existence will resemble a single night of dreamless sleep, or after our death, we will go to a place where all the dead are ruled over by just judges. Since either scenario constitutes a good state, death should be considered something good” (Socrates, 4oC5-41C7). The synopsis of Socrates’ argument is as follows:

Death is either:

• Possibility 1 – A dreamless sleep, referred to as nice and not scary, further stating that he could use the rest.
• Possibility 2 – A passage to another life, where one would be able to associate with those from the past who have already died.

Therefore, either way, death is nothing to fear. Socrates’ impression of the afterlife was that of a place pictured to be similar to Athens, except, no one had any physical bodies – only disembodied minds. He considered this afterlife as astounding as bodies can be problematic; they need to be fed and require rest. Socrates imagined, in the afterlife he would be able to partake in endless philosophical conversations, learning new things with the greatest thinkers of the past without the need for breaks, meals, sleep, and bowel movements. However, many activities in life require a physical vessel in order to achieve, and for this reason, those who have pastimes that are physical, may not be appealed to such afterlife. In view of the fact that Socrates believed in the immortality of the soul, he endorsed devoting one’s life to nourishing and tending to their mind, cultivating the fragment of them that they would be able to keep eternally – if there is an afterlife. In doing so, when death is at your doorstep, you will view death as beneficial, as you will not be distressed by bodily things, while your mind will be at its pinnacle. Existing as one of Socrates’ students, Plato’s view of death is much similar to those of Socrates’, both suggesting that we develop our minds and grow in an ambiguous context as dying may be a threshold into another life where we may exist as an everlasting soul. Plato’s view of death is demonstrated through his writing in which he conceptualises life after physical death. His understanding of this matter was extensively attributed to his notion of the soul – an entity that is distinct from the physical body. While the physical nature of the body is destined to decay, the soul is enduring, perpetual, and destined to go on somewhere in some state of being. Existing as the three most recognisable philosophers in the modern era, Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato profoundly impacted how death should be viewed – a good opportunity to free the eternal soul, using the time of physical existence to prepare the mind for death itself.

In support of the aforementioned philosopher’s awareness of death, Stoic philosophers such as Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus further support the argument by asserting “we should reflect that those who die to suffer no evils, and that all those stories which make us dread what is to come after death are mere fables, and that death is utter freedom, from all of that” (Seneca, 4 BC-AD 65) and “death stands at your elbow. Be good for something while you live and it is in your power” (Aurelius, 161-180 CE).