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Single Idea 9343

[filed under theme 12. Knowledge Sources / A. A Priori Knowledge / 6. A Priori from Reason ]

Full Idea

We are convinced that if we are ever to have pure knowledge of anything, we must get rid of the body and contemplate things by themselves with the soul by itself.

Gist of Idea

To achieve pure knowledge, we must get rid of the body and contemplate things with the soul

Source

Plato (Phaedo [c.382 BCE], 066c)

Book Ref

Plato: 'The Last Days of Socrates', ed/tr. Tredennick,Hugh [Penguin 1969], p.111

A Reaction

This seems to be the original ideal which motivates the devotion to a priori knowledge - that it will lead to a 'pure' knowledge, which in Plato's case will be eternal and necessary knowledge, like taking lessons from the gods. Wrong.

The 21 ideas from 'Phaedo'

16516 The ship which Theseus took to Crete is now sent to Delos crowned with flowers [Plato]
350 In investigation the body leads us astray, but the soul gets a clear view of the facts [Plato]
9343 To achieve pure knowledge, we must get rid of the body and contemplate things with the soul [Plato]
351 War aims at the acquisition of wealth, because we are enslaved to the body [Plato]
354 Wisdom makes virtue and true goodness possible [Plato]
357 People are obviously recollecting when they react to a geometrical diagram [Plato]
359 If we feel the inadequacy of a resemblance, we must recollect the original [Plato]
360 We must have a prior knowledge of equality, if we see 'equal' things and realise they fall short of it [Plato]
361 It is a mistake to think that the most violent pleasure or pain is therefore the truest reality [Plato]
362 The greatest misfortune for a person is to develop a dislike for argument [Plato]
363 Whether the soul pre-exists our body depends on whether it contains the ultimate standard of reality [Plato]
364 One soul can't be more or less of a soul than another [Plato]
13154 Do we think and experience with blood, air or fire, or could it be our brain? [Plato]
15859 To investigate the causes of things, study what is best for them [Plato]
13155 If you add one to one, which one becomes two, or do they both become two? [Plato]
13156 Fancy being unable to distinguish a cause from its necessary background conditions! [Plato]
1 There is only one source for all beauty [Plato]
368 Other things are named after the Forms because they participate in them [Plato]
21347 If Simmias is taller than Socrates, that isn't a feature that is just in Simmias [Plato]
369 If the Earth is spherical and in the centre, it is kept in place by universal symmetry, not by force [Plato]
370 Philosophy is a purification of the soul ready for the afterlife [Plato]