Famous Last Words - Plato's Phaedo

-Plato's (c. 427-347 BC) dialogue "Phaedo" dramatizes Socrates' swansong, his final philosophical discussion, and his death.
   -Also introduces the "theory of Forms", arguably Plato's most important doctrine.
-Socrates is on his deathbed and talking to his students/friends/followers.
   -When talking, they are discussing the soul, which they all presume to exist and be immortal.
   -Socrates eventually gets on to demonstrate that the soul is immaterial, invisible, and can survive independent of the body.
      -The soul is immortal, they believe, because it existed before we did.
      -Here we are introduced to the concept of "Forms". 
         -As we grow older when we are children, we "recollect" Forms like "Beauty", "Equal-ness", etc.  Not physical objects, but the nature that objects partake in. 
         -Because the soul can "recollect" these eternal Forms, the soul, too, must be eternal.
         -Another interesting idea is that physical objects can represent Forms, but are never the Forms themselves.
            -For example, two sticks may be equal in length, but they are unequal if compared to a third stick that is not equal in length.  So, they don't capture "Equal-ness" perfectly. 
            -Another example- Helen of Troy: beauty personified, but not beautiful if compared to Aphrodite.  So Helen is beautiful, but not "Beautiful" (the form). 
               -This concept is known as "Compresence of Opposites".
   -Forms also play a role in Plato's metaphysics, not just his epistemology. 
      -For example, Plato believes that the Forms cause things to be so, so like the Form Equal-ness causes things to be equal.  "Beauty" (the Form) causes beauty. 
         -However, the Forms do not cause do not cause other Forms or opposites; "Beauty" doesn't cause "Not Beauty".
         -There are obviously lots of problems with this.  If Forms are immaterial, then what about a form like "Large"?  Some holes in this logic...
            -To Plato's credit, he does have Socrates admit in this dialogue that perhaps he's oversimplifying things.
   -So what about the soul??  Can the soul die?
      -Socrates says that as a proper cause of life, the soul is immune to death.  However, Socrates believes that his soul is to survive and join with divine masters and other good people (how modest!).
      -What if the soul goes to another body? 
         -Socrates believed you get the body you deserve (similar to reincarnation)