On the Uses and Abuses of Eschatology for Life

This paper examines the role of the concluding myth of the Phaedo in the context of the dialogue as a whole, arguing that the myth’s exploration of the relationship between action, condition of soul and form of life provides valuable information about Plato’s conception of the kind of political environment necessary for human flourishing. It identifies three features of the myth essential to this exploration: its self-critical construction of the perspective of the makers of this myth, its focus on the conditions under which violent deeds are committed and its envisaging of the form of human community necessary for the expiation of such deeds.