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In the company of friends and his execution looming, Socrates’ impression of time is evident as he describes the soul’s never-ending journey in the body from birth to death and back. It is a journey on which Socrates is about to embark fearlessly as he depicts the continuum of the soul without beginning or end that defines the past, present, and future of each one of us. Our dialogue on the first part of Plato's Phaedo will end at the point where it is agreed the soul exists before birth, but its capacity to survive bodily death remains in doubt.

Along the way, we will encounter the argument that the body confuses its pilot, the soul, in navigating the physical dimensions of space and time. This is a basis of Socrates’ statement that the soul attains virtue only in exchange for knowledge, not in moderation of bodily excesses. This leads to the assertion that the body supplies the soul with sensory data of many physical differences, and in charting the most direct and efficient course through time it is the soul’s job to find equivalence and sameness among the variables of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing.

The same and the different is a theme of Philebus that we discussed two weeks ago, and will revisit in Phaedo’s context of The Equal as the indivisible boundary between the one and the many. Using the philosopher’s knowledge of number and calculation and the soul’s inherent knowledge of The Equal, Socrates says we can construct a logical order of events and derive meaning in time from the differences that our senses feed to us.

How do we reconcile the same and different in the infinite variability and shape of the physical world that surrounds the soul? Einstein’s field equations prove that physics consists of geometry and mathematical relations, and their relevance to the first part of Phaedo will be presented in the upcoming launch of Plato’s Pod YouTube channel. Socrates states that all we perceive through our physical senses “is striving to reach that which is Equal but falls short of it,” and we may prove his point in our own dialogue when each thought necessarily gives birth to another as we strive to reach a common understanding. It is for this reason that Socrates states, in Phaedo and Meno and elsewhere, that all knowledge is recollection and The Equal plays a central role in the soul’s logical reasoning that rules the appetites and spirit.

Our discussion can go anywhere the group wishes, for which some suggested themes will be offered. Wherever our discussion leads, Plato, without a doubt, would have imagined no better way than in dialogue for knowledge – the account of the reasons why – to multiply its connections. We welcome the sharing of all perspectives, whether you are new to or experienced with Plato. Recordings of our previous episodes are at https://open.spotify.com/show/53Zvjr7avMylQgNqfqBxlk?si=ksA1Hp7TQn6BwghRqI26GA&dl_branch=1 and other popular podcast platforms.

This episode will be recorded in voice only without video, using first name as it appears on your screen profile, and podcast for those who would like to share in our knowledge. After the recording ends, participants are welcome to remain for a half hour of “Plato’s Café”, a casual discussion of your choice of themes from any of Plato’s works, or philosophy in general.

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APPROXIMATELY ONE WEEK BEFORE THE MEETUP: Please visit https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqvPwkIofv4UaFldrPpbva3VSXI?e=3Y7PjP for questions and themes that we might address, as well as those explored in our previous meetups. We will also post the reading list for our next meeting which will generally be scheduled every two weeks on Sunday at 10 a.m. eastern. During our dialogue, participants are encouraged to relate their comments to Plato's text, referring to the Stephanus number for the passage so others can follow in the reading. Participants are also encouraged to read the text aloud for the meaning of the written word to resonate.

There are many translations of Plato's works available, of varying quality. Your public library will have multiple editions. A free translation of The Phaedo is available at https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1658, although lacking in explanatory notes and passage reference numbers that would be useful for our discussion. Participants in our entire series might be interested in purchasing Plato: Complete Works (https://www.amazon.ca/Plato-Complete-Works/dp/0872203492/).

The Meetup will take place on Zoom. Please RSVP to access the Zoom link at your Meetup account.

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