Socratic Dualism

Authors

  • Javier Echeñique Sosa Universidad Andrés Bello

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show, against the dominant interpretations, that earlier in his career Plato saw the need to postulate the survival of the soul as an independent locus of benefit and harm, in order to complete his defense of Socratic ethics – in particular, of the principle of Sovereignty of Virtue, crucial to earlier dialogues such as Apology, Crito, and Gorgias. The dualism resulting from this postulate I call ‘socratic dualism’, distinct from the mature dualism developed by Plato in the Phaedo.

Keywords:

Soul, benefit, body, harm, dualism, ethics, Socrates, survival, virtue