Your assignment is to prepare and submit a paper on classics of western philosophy.

Your assignment is to prepare and submit a paper on classics of western philosophy. The dialectical search according to Socrates guides our minds or souls or eyes towards virtue removing all kinds of distractions and incorrect alternatives from our ways. Meno’s challenge is more like a diversion which Socrates had refuted well with his logical arguments. Socrates tried to explain how it is important to know of something which we already know because that helps us to discover the truth. Socrates is of the opinion that if we do not get weary of the search it will be possible on our parts to remember well what the soul has already learned. Thus we see that Socrates had refuted the epistemological paradox presented by Meno in a proper manner by explaining well the need for the dialectical query as the dialectical search helps man to become more knowledgeable and it also helps man to acquire the truths of objects.

Plato’s Phaedo is a conversation between Phaedo, Cebes, and Simmias through which they want to explore the reasons as to why death should not be feared. They basically delve on the explanation provided by Socrates as to why death should not be feared by a true philosopher. Plato based his belief on the explanation provided by Socrates which says that as the soul is immortal and as it is the origin of all our intellect death should never be feared by a true philosopher because pursuing philosophy is nothing more than arriving near the penultimate truth that is death. According to Socrates true philosophy can only be pursued when the desires of the body are denied because they pose as distractions to any kind of intellectual pursuit. Plato through Socrates says that any information which we receive through our senses has to be constantly validated by our intellect. Secondly, Socrates has said that whatever individual experiences like inaccurate information, temptations, and desires prevent a philosopher to acquire true knowledge. Thirdly he has said that that all the functions of the body if taken as distractions are basically taking all happiness and contentment of the body as an annoyance. Plato through Socrates goes on to say that the soul is immortal because it is through the soul we pursue the ultimate knowledge and the soul is not dependent on the body for its existence. He also says that a philosopher in order to pursue true knowledge should disregard the sensory distractions of the body and fully depend on the soul which is the true form for acquiring the truth.