Essay About Selves Of All Distractions And Philosophers Of All Time

Essay Sample on “philosophy, Socrates and Death”
Essay Sample on “philosophy, Socrates and Death”
Essay Sample on “Philosophy, Socrates and Death”
Philosophy is a vast field. It examines and probes many different fields.
Virtue, morality, immortality, death, and the difference between the
psyche (soul) and the soma (body) are just a few of the many different
topics which can be covered under the umbrella of philosophy.
Philosophers are supposed to be experts on all these subjects. The have
well thought out opinions, and they are very learned people. Among the
most revered philosophers of all time was Socrates. Living around the 5th
century B.C., Socrates was among the first philosophers who wasnt a
sophist, meaning that he never felt that he was wise for he was always in
the pursuit of knowledge. Unfortunately, Socrates was put to death late
in his life. One of his best students, Plato, however, recorded what had
occurred on that last day of Socrates life. On that last day of his
life, Socrates made a quite powerful claim. He claimed that philosophy
was merely practice for getting used to death and dying.
At first, the connection between philosophy and death is not clear.
However, as we unravel Socrates argument backing up his claim, the
statement makes a lot of sense. In order for Philosophers to examine
their world accurately and learn the truth accurately, they must remove
them selves of all distractions. These not only include physical
distractions, but they include mental distractions and bodily
distractions as well. Philosophers must get used to viewing and examining
the world with out any senses. Senses merely hinder and obscure the
truth. Sight for example can be fooled easily with optical illusions
which occur normally in nature. Sound can be very distracting as well
when a philosopher is trying to concentrate. All of these cloud the
judgement, and must therefore be detached from the soul. Socrates argues
that philosophers must view the world around them with their souls in
order to accurately learn about it. However, by detaching their souls
from all bodily functions, philosophers may as well be in an induced
state of death. In mortem, the soul wanders free and there are no bodily
hindrances.