What happens after death is a widely debated and relatively unknown topic that has been raised many times in philosophy. Several theories have been proposed about what might happen to the body and soul after the person's death. This also brings with it the question of how one should live one's life based on what might happen after death. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThere are two things that Socrates says could happen after death. The first is “annihilation” or basically just a very long sleep where the person is not aware of anything. He says this would be a good thing because there would be no consciousness and death would be like a continuing example of the best night's sleep you ever had. The other scenario would be that after death the soul leaves and migrates to another place. Socrates says this is also good because he says that if when we die our soul leaves our body, it must go somewhere with everyone else who has died. You will then be able to meet the other wise and important people in the "afterlife". Socrates says that the best option would be the second one, which is to migrate to another place. He says this is more favorable because if everyone who died ended up in the same place or in an endless sleep it would be rather unrewarding. On the other hand, the best place after death for Socrates would be if when you died you were taken to another place where you could meet all the wise men and heroes of the past. He says this would be a great personal experience where you could examine the minds of others and discover who is truly wise, which would be much more fulfilling than eternal nothingness. In the Phaedo Socrates presents reincarnation through a series of metaphors. compare sleep to being awake in that if you are not asleep then you must be awake and if you are not awake you must be asleep. This too is comparable to living and dying; if you are not living then you must be dead and vice versa. He uses these opposites to say that there is a sort of cyclical theme between the living, the dead, and reincarnation. This cyclical process involves living and then the opposite of what dying would be. He then argues that there is an awakening or rebirth of the dead into the world of the living which in turn creates the cyclical nature of reincarnation he proposes. The body is described as a prison in which the soul is trapped and must be freed. The body is something that wants material and unsatisfactory things, these material things and desires can “burden” the soul. Therefore, if a soul is unable to pass on to the next realm and reincarnate, it must have been “polluted” or burdened by the joys or material things of this world. This means that the person's focus on physical or corporeal things has been so heavy that the soul has failed to break free and, in turn, could be reincarnated into a lowly thing such as an animal or something that is stuck such as something hovering above. cemeteries. However, if a person lives their life free from the material or bodily joys of life and focuses on more fulfilling things to nourish the soul, they will eventually go to a new realm when they die and not be reincarnated. When Socrates says that doing philosophy on the right there is "learning to die". I think he means that to study philosophy and do it well you need to learn three things. These being three things; the soul, the body and the afterlife. Learning these three things will teach you how all of these could be interconnected and affect each other after your death. Based on this I'm not sure exactly which account of death is best. I think I might be one of them. However, if I had tochoose, I would think that the death account would be more suited to Socrates' view would be that when you die you go somewhere else. I think this view fits better because it also brings into play the theme of possible reincarnation as discussed above; which means I think his take on studying philosophy and learning about death will inevitably teach you about the body and the soul and what might happen to them after death. This means that if someone learns about the relationship between those things, they will want to try to possibly “free” their soul when they die, so that it can move on to a possible afterlife and not be stuck in this world because it is burdened by material things. I think that because of the possible relationships between everything, such as the body and the soul, and this world and the afterlife, people will want to try to live the best life possible. This, however, may differ depending on which account of the death you believe. For example, someone who believes in the first account of death, that when you die it's just an endless sleep. This person may not really care about living their best life without material or unimportant things. Such a person would probably argue that when you die, if it's just an endless sleep in which there is nothing and no consciousness, all the work you did was for nothing. It means that if your life is lived "by the book" so to speak and free from the fun but perhaps unsatisfying things in the world, but ultimately death is simply nothing that you have wasted your life. By wasted I think it would mean that you have put yourself through the wringer trying to avoid the pleasant things in life for something perhaps even more unsatisfying in death. Therefore, someone with such a vision will likely live a life full of material things that could make him happy in this life. On the other hand, if you have someone who believes that when you die something happens to you and you go to another place, they might try to live a careful life. This means that such a person will probably know the difference between the body and the soul and will probably believe these things about himself. They would probably try to avoid material things compared to the other person. They would also probably try to make sure they live the best life possible to try to help others make sure their soul remains pure. This difference in mindset regarding death drastically changes the way you live your life. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay I think we can bring the teachings of philosophy to bear on trying to live our lives as best we can and that there can be a middle ground between the two spectrums. By this I mean that to have a fulfilling life I don't think we should focus too much on material things, however, some unfulfilling things that might make you temporarily happy in this life can't hurt you. I don't think holding to a very rigid way of thinking that if you do something bad will impact your reincarnation "status". I think, however, that we should try to live our lives in a positive way and try not to harm others but instead help everyone as much as possible while also trying to improve ourselves. Works Cited: Douglass, F. (2001). An account of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. Penguin Classics.Foner, E. (2001). Introduction. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (pp. vii-xxxii). Penguin Classics.Gates, H.L. Jr., & Robbins, H. (2012). Introduction. In The Classic Slave Narratives (pp. ix-xxxi). Signet Classics.Grinde, D. A., & White, J. (2002)., 20(3), 463-468.