Final answer:
Plato's theory of knowledge, called anamnesis or recollection, implies that the soul is immortal because it holds knowledge of eternal forms before being born into the body. The soul's ability to recollect these ideal forms supports its existence before and after life in the physical world. 'Phaedo' explains how the soul's immortality allows it to engage with pure, unchanging concepts.
Step-by-step explanation:
Plato's theory of knowledge posits that knowledge is a form of recollecting what the soul has previously known before inhabiting a human body. This process of anamnesis supports the argument for the soul's immortality. According to Plato, the soul pre-exists before entering the human body and retains knowledge of eternal forms or ideals from a realm of perfect, unchanging concepts. The confidence in identifying objects like a chair in our physical world stems from the soul's recollection of these ideal forms. When the soul enters the body, it becomes distracted by the senses and begins to confuse these pure forms with their imperfect physical representations, leading to error in knowledge.
Plato's dialogue 'Phaedo' is crucial for understanding his views on the soul's immortality. Within the dialogue, Plato outlines his belief that the soul exists apart from the body and is immortal, providing several arguments to back this claim. Despite modern critiques against his proofs, Plato paved the way for philosophical inquiries into the nature of the soul and its eternal aspect.
Recollecting is integral to the soul's function because it implies that the soul has had previous encounters with these eternal forms and will continue to exist beyond physical death, capable of encountering these forms again in future existences. Therefore, the concept of recollection serves as both a foundation for knowledge and an argument for the immortal nature of the soul.