Philosophy:Soul Is Immortal Essay, Research Paper

The Soul Is Immortal

The task of this paper is to explain how the soul is immortal and lives on through people’s impressions. There is something inside of all human beings that lives on forever. Even when death is upon us, the soul of a person never dies. Thus, we arrive at the statement the soul is immortal. Immortal is something we people associate with ideas like people or gods, who can never die. Immortal is a very strong word because it means quite a bit to human life, and more importantly the soul.

The soul is the most precious part of the human because it is more important than life itself. Every living human being shares the same characteristic as other human beings by possessing a soul. The soul is even a labeled characteristic of people who have already died. The soul stays with a person for all of eternity. It is something that is grown with a person as they move through life. The purpose of life is to be able to grow your own soul. The soul of the dead is remembered through the living. When you finally leave something for good you want everyone and everything to have a good last impression of you. Exactly for this reason it is important to grow your soul and leave life with a last final hurrah.

There are many people, I’m sure, who stand out in our minds who have the greatest souls that we have ever encountered. This kind of person goes out of their way to please other people. They don’t do anything wrong, do positive things day in and day out, and most of all, are happy with what they have in life. They try and spread joy to others through themselves. They also take pride and joy into what they are doing. That’s what makes up your soul. The things and activities you do during your life. These are the things you are remembered by. Negative and positive things will stay with you even after you pass away. A person who I believe has a great soul would be Boston Red Sox player Nomar Garciapara. He is a professional baseball player who does everything good for everyone else he knows. Nomar does charity work and donates free time to help other people who are in need. Not only will he be remembered as an excellent baseball player, but also as a good person with a good soul. His soul will remain in the hearts of the people he touched so dearly during his life. This is just an example of how the soul is immortal and can live on through other people.

One philosopher who thought that the soul was immortal was Plato. He said that death is defined as “the separation of the soul from the body,” but is not the end of the soul(Wolff 183). There also is a saying that “all soul is immortal; for what is always in motion is immortal”(Plato, LDS). But we do not know if the soul is always in motion or not. According to Plato it is the nature of the soul to make its own changes, to be self moving, rather than moved. He also said that something always moving can never be destroyed.

Socrates also had his own theory about life after death. In his argument he stated that if all of this is true, then where do the souls of the dead go? They have to come from some place. But, if the dead derive from the living, then the living have to derive from the dead (Phaedo). The souls of the dead actually do exist, and that good souls have a better part then the evil.

In the “Phaedo”, there are many theories and sayings that have been thought through by philosophers. All things which come to be and have an opposite “must necessarily come to be from their opposite and nowhere else.” These are arguments taken from the “Phaedo” in the book The Last Days of Socrates. The process of going from living to death is called dying. The process of going from death to life is called coming to life again. It also states that “the souls of the living come only from the dead.” But again, where do the sould come from? According to the “Phaedo” the souls of humans come from the dead. Now there is a question of where the dead exist, and Plato says they come from the underworld.

Now, of course there are arguments that say otherwise. Simmias says that the mind cannot live without the body. According to Simmias, the soul is a harmony. He says “a harmony is invisible, without body and like the divine.” A lyre is physical, bodily, and composite, and if the lyre’s strings are broken, the harmony will no longer exist. Cebes also was not so sure about the soul never dying and leaving the world. He argued that even if the soul is long-lasting, it might not be indestructible. It may get worn out after a couple of embodiments, and may eventually be the end of the soul. But according to Cebes they will eventually die. He says the soul will not be immortal.

Plato also said that souls might be repeatedly reborn, in each re-birth purifying themselves more and more to be better souls. Other philosophers agreed with Socrates and Plato about actually believing that the soul lives on forever. Descartes believes that the soul is immortal, but never makes it a point saying it. He is smart in saying that he cannot prove that the soul is immortal, but he believes in it. He cannot prove it, so he says that even if the body dies, the soul does not. Hegel also stated that “the spirit is immortal; it is eternal; and it is immortal and eternal in virtue of the fact that it is infinite. He also stated that it is spatial, as we associate with the body.

Cebes’ argument was more difficult than Simmias’. He argued that the body is like a garment worn by the soul. He said that there will be a time when he dies and that there may be a time when the soul no longer exists. Even if there is life after death, Cebes said that the soul may not truly be immortal.

I believe the soul is immortal because of my personal experiences throughout my life. Last year my granfather died of brain cancer and even though he does not live anymore I feel his presence through my actions. Sometimes I think to myself “would grandpa agree with this?” His soul was spectacular because he was so kind hearted and so generous. I try to be like my grandfather because I know he had one of the greatest souls ever.

I believe that the soul is immortal because even when people pass away they are never forgotten. They will live on through their families and through the peoples’ lives they touched. People from the past are still being remembered today. This proves that the soul is immortal because these people will never be forgotten. Until someone proves otherwise, the soul will remain immortal for eternity.