Thesis advisor: John Sallis / This dissertation begins with a brief literature review of contemporary scholarship about sacrifice and the <italic>Phaedo.</italic> Chapter 1 provides a description of a Greek sacrificial ritual. Drawing on recent scholarship concerning Greek sacrificial practice, I conclude that the most significant feature of animal sacrifice was that it maintained a proportion between gods and men. In a sacrifice, a proportion between gods and men was enacted and set forth that would have been deeply interwoven with the day-to-day life of the <italic>polis,</italic> Chapter 2 argues that there are many similarities between the death scene and a Greek sacrificial ritual such that the entire <italic>mise-en-scène</italic> of the death scene has "the look" of a Greek sacrificial ritual. Since a Greek sacrificial ritual enacts a proportion between gods and men that is crucial for the maintenance of the city, we should expect that the death of Socrates in the <italic>Phaedo</italic> would enact a similar proportion by providing a logos of life and death. Nevertheless, there are elements in the death scene that also suggest a rupture of sacrificial economy. Chapter 3 offers a close reading of the "second sailing" passage in the Phaedo and argues that through it Socrates provides a way of doing philosophy that both acknowl-edges the limitations of mortals while seeking to set forth an account of life and death, of generation and destruction as a whole, that is proportionate. Although the death of Socrates in the <italic>Phaedo</italic> unfolds according to sacrificial themes it is not a tragedy, for its goal is to restore a version of the archaic ratio that is now appropriate for mortals who, after Socrates' self-sacrifice, are aware of their limitations. In witnessing the <italic>Phaedo</italic> one is offered a vision of an enactment of a proportion between gods and men such as one might have witnessed at a Greek sacrificial ritual. Chapter 4 explores the discussion of the soul and its relationship to the body in the Phaedo. An examination of the section in which Socrates calls death "nothing but a separation of the soul from the body" reveals that such a logos is really disproportionate and comic. In contrast to this view of the soul, I argue that Socrates presents a <italic>logos</italic> of the soul that can act "as if" it is other than itself. In this way, the soul is able to reconsti-tute itself as proportional. Finally, the epilogue points out the differences between my interpretation of the <italic>Phaedo</italic> and Nietzsche's. While Nietzsche sees the death of Socrates as enacting a pes-simistic view of embodiment, I contend that Socrates' death--seen as a sacrifice--may be linked to a Derridean notion of triage to reveal how the ethical situation of the Phaedo is really one of vigilance without reserve rather than salvation or escape. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy.

The highest task of Philosophy, according to Socrates, is to teach man to die, to face death in the right way - the death in which the particular and the general are united, the death that concerns every one of us and at the same time does not concern anyone other than oneself . I agree completely with Socrates in his understanding of death - given that I have understood him correctly - and I believe that we should talk more about death and also dare to reflect upon the difficult issues that are related to it. This is not at all dangerous. But I take a very critical position in regard to his argument for immortality, the immortality of the soul, that is, the continued existence of the soul after the bodily, physical, death. Certainly, there may be a theoretical possibility that the soul somehow continues to exist after the physical death, but I do not think so. The only thing that remains of us, or rather after us, is the memory and the result of our actions in this life, that is, the result of the good or evil we have done against our fellow beings in this life. Death, in my opinion, understood as event or condition, is consequently one of the supernatural phenomena that makes us, we humans, human: a continuous inception and uncompleted wonder.

O tema principal do Fédon de Platão é a imortalidade da alma. Meu objetivo nesta tese é apresentar um estudo dos argumentos sobre a imortalidade da alma no Fédon e uma tradução parcial do diálogo. / The main topic of the Platos Phaedo is the immortality of the soul. My aim in this thesis is to present a study of the arguments for immortality of the soul in the Phaedo and a partial translation of the dialogue.

I will address the issue of Plato’s use of myths concerning the afterlife in the context of the ethical arguments of the Gorgias, Phaedo and Republic, and I will contend that while the arguments in each dialogue are aimed at convincing the rational part of the self, the myths are aimed at persuading the non-rational part of the self. In support of this interpretation, I will examine Plato’s views on the relation between the different parts of the soul and the relationship that poetry and myth have to philosophy. I will argue that Plato’s use of myth is a legitimate tactic in his project of moral education, given his views concerning the role that the non-rational parts of the self play in one’s moral life.

An investigation into whether Plato was committed to separate Forms in the Phaedo. Two accounts of separation are distinguished: Gail Fine's modal account where separation is a capacity to exist independendently from sensible particulars, and Daniel D. Devereux' non-modal account where separation is equivalent with non-immanence. I analyse multiple key passages of the Phaedo using these accounts of separation, to see whether any passage commits Plato to separation understood in either modal or non-modal terms. I argue and conclude that there is no evidence of Plato being committed to separation in the Phaedo, understanding separation in either modal or non-modal terms.

Myth and Argument in Plato's Phaedrus, Republic, and Phaedo investigates the role played by eschatological myth in the arguments of Plato's Phaedrus, Republic and Phaedo. It argues that a reconsideration of the agenda followed by Socrates in each of these dialogues brings into view the contribution made by the mythological narrative to their argumentative line. Each of the three chapters of my thesis analyses the nature of this contribution. The first chapter argues that the myth occupying the central pages of the Phaedrus contributes to developing one of the themes addressed in the dialogue, namely a link between the divine realm and the activities thought by Phaedrus to be unrelated to the religious sphere. By showing that Eros fosters imitation of the gods, the palinode makes an important contribution to this topic. The second chapter proposes that the myth of Er and passage 608c2-621d3 in which it is included are an essential part of the line of argument of the Republic. I analyse the aims Socrates sets in Book 2 for his investigation into justice, and show that they include the description of the positive consequences of justice along with the benefits it causes in and by itself. By listing the rewards just people will receive from other people and the gods, passage 608c2-621d3 gives a description of the positive consequences of justice. The third chapter argues that the argumentative line followed in the Phaedo finds its culmination in the eschatological myth. Socrates expresses a hope for post-mortem justice in his defence of the philosophical life. To render it plausible to his interlocutors he needs to show that the soul is both immortal and intrinsically intelligent. After vindicating these notions, Socrates presents in the concluding myth the image of an afterlife governed by ethical principles.

The Katha Upanishad and Plato’s Phaedo are two texts are both part of a philosophical and religious canon that form existential cornerstones in two respective systems of thought. Both texts claim to be formulations of eternal and unchangeable truths, a claim that to a considerable extent has been accepted historically. Furthermore, they show striking similarities as to how they express views of ultimate value. The parallels that can be drawn between these texts do not end there, however. This essay argues that the central message in both texts served an additional function: That of beneficially affecting the hierarchic position of the authors in their respective societies. Conceptualising their historical contexts as fields of power in the manner of modern sociology applied historically, the following essay will analyse the two texts in the light of established strategies for elevating, upholding and defending one´s position in society. The analysis shows that these strategies in all probability had a relevant role in the shaping of both texts.

This study offers a reinterpretation of the direct tradition of medieval Platonism on the basis of new evidence from the Meno and the Phaedo translated into Latin by Henry Aristippus between 1154 and 1160. In particular, it provides an edition of interlinear and marginal annotations and glosses of the Meno and the Phaedo: the manuscript tradition is particularly useful for understanding which aspects of these two Platonic dialogues were particularly studied during the Middle Ages, as it preserves the considerations of various readers on Platonic philosophy. In the most fortunate cases, it is precisely the manuscript tradition that offers new perspectives that can be used to redesign the networks of reception of the two Platonic texts examined in this study in the centuries following their translation, with particular reference to the 13th and 14th centuries. The research was carried out on unpublished material and manuscript testimonies, with the help of two strategies. First, the medieval sources were submetted to a doxographic analysis, through a bottom-up approach consisting in the identification of the terms ‘Plato’, ‘Meno’, ‘Phaedo’ (or ‘Fedrone’ according to medieval usage). This allowed to understand in which contexts and in relation to which themes the references to the three terms appeared and to provide a list of authors who, between the 13th and the 14th century, had the opportunity to read the Meno and/or the Phaedo in Henry Aristippus’ translation. The second strategy, which we could perhaps describe as ‘inside-out’, was applied in the editing phase of the interlinear and marginal annotations and glosses of the two translations. As an especially important paratextual element, the ‘marginal’ writing proves to be particularly useful for deriving the constituent elements of the two dialogues (inside) that were commented, re-written, re-elaborated and interpreted in the margins of the two texts (outside). By employing both strategies, it is possible to reveal the core concepts of Platonic philosophy that, to a greater or lesser extent, caught the attention of medieval readers of the Latin Meno and the Phaedo.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:11:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1136421 bytes, checksum: 9994eeba66972fa1e6d6b3b8dffac526 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-03 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This thesis proposes a reading of the Phaedo, Plato, centered on the theme of the body / soul that permeates all arguments of the dialogue. Plato in his writings announces care for the soul, and consider it a source of knowledge and virtue, and even the "self" of man. The care and appreciation of the soul are so essential to Plato that in some parts of the Phaedo the philosopher, to relate it to the body, considered as a kind of prison for obstacle and understand that wisdom is sought by those who dedicated to philosophy, is beyond the sensitivity (aísthesis), and while the body is united, the soul will not reach the truth in its fullness. Being part of the body sensitive instance, the philosopher sets before him in an attitude of mistrust, but must admit that at other times by Plato believes that it (the body) and that it begins the search for truth, set by reminiscence thus acknowledging its role. This paper conducts a study on the body / soul considering that it is possible to establish a unified reading of the different ways in which it is presented from an aesthetic dimension: Plato speaks about the care that must be taken in dealing with the body because soul influenced the associated sensitivity that even imposing obstacles to knowledge is the means and instrument through the senses, so you can be learning about things. During the argument, some problems will be solved, because declare that the soul, in order of Forms immutable, can suffer change seems to be strange. The impasse is solved with the help of other dialogues: Republic, Phaedrus and Timaeus, who understand the soul as a reality of a mixed nature, being a metaxú, an intermediate between the divisible and indivisible, the Other and the Same, the mutable and immutable . Finally, the thesis incur the assertion that Plato in the Phaedo is proposing a project that teaches men to practice self-control. / A presente tese propõe uma leitura do Fédon, de Platão, centrada no tema da relação corpo/alma, que perpassa todos os argumentos do diálogo. Platão anuncia em seus textos o cuidado pela alma, por considerá-la a fonte do saber e da virtude e até mesmo o próprio eu do homem. O cuidado e a valorização da alma são tão essenciais para Platão que, em algumas partes do Fédon o filósofo ao relacioná-la com o corpo o considera como um certo tipo de prisão e obstáculo por entender que a sabedoria buscada por aqueles que se dedicam à filosofia, está além da sensibilidade (aísthesis) e, enquanto ao corpo estiver unida, a alma não alcançará a verdade na sua plenitude. Sendo o corpo parte da instância sensível, o filósofo frente a ele se põe numa atitude de desconfiança no exercício da filosofia, contudo, há de convir que em outros momentos Platão considera que é por ele (o corpo) e nele que começa a busca pela verdade, configurada pela reminiscência, reconhecendo assim o seu papel. O presente trabalho realiza um estudo sobre a relação corpo/alma, considerando que é possível estabelecer uma leitura unificada dos diferentes modos como ela se apresenta a partir de uma dimensão estética: Platão discursa sobre os cuidados que se deve ter no trato com o corpo porque a alma a ele associada sofre influência da sensibilidade que, mesmo impondo obstáculos ao conhecimento, é o meio e instrumento, através dos sentidos, para que possa haver aprendizado sobre as coisas. No decorrer da tese, alguns problemas serão resolvidos, pois declarar que a alma, afim das Formas imutáveis, pode sofrer mudança parece ser estranho. O impasse é resolvido com o auxílio de outros diálogos: República, Timeu e Fedro, que entendem a alma como uma realidade de natureza mista, sendo um metaxú, um intermediário, entre o divisível e o indivisível, o Outro e o Mesmo, o mutável e o Imutável. Por fim, a tese incorrerá na afirmação de que Platão está propondo no Fédon um projeto que ensina os homens à prática do domínio de si.

Ce mémoire a pour but de montrer l’impact du paradigme géométrique sur l’évolution de la dialectique dans le Ménon. La première partie de cette recherche est consacrée à la dialectique des premiers dialogues, l’elenchos. Cette pratique de la philosophie est ensuite comparée à la dialectique du Ménon qui est caractérisée par l’introduction de la notion de réminiscence. La seconde partie de cette étude concerne les deux passages géométriques du Ménon : le problème de la duplication du carré et la méthode hypothétique. Le premier passage permet à Platon de défendre la possibilité de la recherche scientifique, alors que le second (inspiré de l’analyse géométrique) est présenté comme un nouveau modèle pour mener à bien l’enquête philosophique. Cette méthode, qui consiste à réduire la difficulté d’un problème en postulant des hypothèses, permet notamment de passer de ce qui est logiquement second (de la qualité: « la vertu s’enseigne-t-elle? ») à ce qui est logiquement premier (à l’essence: « qu’est-ce que la vertu? »). / The purpose of this dissertation is to show the impact of the geometrical paradigm on the evolution of the dialectic in the Meno. The first part of this research is devoted to the dialectic of the first dialogues, the Socratic elenchus. This practice of philosophy is then compared to the dialectic of the Meno which is characterized by the introduction of the concept of recollection. The second part of this study concerns the two geometrical passages of the Meno: the duplication of the square and the hypothetical method. The first passage allows Plato to defend the possibility of scientific research, while the second (inspired by geometrical analysis) is presented as a new model for conducting philosophical inquiry. This new method, which consists in reducing the difficulty of a problem by postulating hypotheses, allows to reason from logically posterior things (quality: “is virtue teachable?”) to logically prior things (essence: “what is virtue?”).