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There is a poignant moment about half way through the Phaedo, that eloquent dialogue depicting the death of Socrates, when Socrates likens himself to swans who sing most beautifully when they realize they must die. Socrates considers their’s a song of joy, for they anticipate joining the god, Apollo, whose servants they are. But most...
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An array of topics is addressed in Plato's "Phaedo" – a dialogue that concentrates on the final days of Socrates who is awaiting execution. Because of the impending end of a great philosopher, much of the subject matter presents vie... Read Post

Stepping from the Crito to the Phaedo dialogue, Plato moves onto more solid ground by switching the discussion to the soul; here, we might not agree with Socrates’s ideas about existence beyond death, but it is much clearer why his ... Read Post

Lisa Guenther, a philosophy profesor at Vanderbilt University, describes teaching Plato's dialogues to death-row inmates in Tennessee: Our last text in the Plato course was the Phaedo, the dialogue that recounts Socrates’ final hour... Read Post