Aphorisms Galore!

Attention to health is life's hindrance.

posted 2003 by Truth

One central argument in 2 of Plato’s famous works-the Apology & the Phaedo is that the essential part of man is the soul or mind. They regarded the body as relatively unimportant. In one passage in the dialogue the Phaedo, Socrates even suggests that the body is evil, and that man would be better off without the body.

Socrates and Plato felt that one should never betray one’s own philosophy for any reason, even if the reason is death. Because they firmly believed that we have no cause to fear death, as for the philosopher, death was probably a more desirable state to be in than life because one could reason and contemplate the Forms without the hindrance of perception and the body.

Philosophers were people who pursued wisdom, and according to Plato, the best way to do this was from the mind alone without the body. He believed that the state of one’s soul was of the utmost importance because one’s place in the afterlife and next life was determined by the state of their soul.

How's other's opinion?

Comments

Re: Attention to health is life's hindra  ·  posted 2003 by M.A. Fiol

Body, mind, soul... which of the three letters of "man" is more important?