2 Regents Park Road
London
NW1 7AY
One of the central themes of Platonic philosophy is the idea of the immaterial soul giving life to the body it occupies, but being “separable” from it – in other words its identity and integrity is not dependent upon the body. In the case of humans, this soul is marked by its ability to both reason and choose to live virtuously: what are the implications of this view? Porphyry in a short work sometimes known under the title “Auxiliaries to the Perception of Intelligibles” discusses important concepts which underlie this view – in what way the soul is attached to the material body; what kind of life leads to our recovery of a full independence; the nature of philosophy and the part it plays in that recovery. We will explore both passages from Porphyry’s treatise and extracts from Plato’s Phaedo – the dialogue which clearly inspired the work.
No previous experience of formal philosophy is required.
Entrance in free, but donations between £3-5 will be welcomed.
A PDF download of the extract we will be reading is available on our website together with further details of this and other Prometheus Trust’s activities: www.prometheustrust.co.uk (the PDF is on the “London Monday Evenings” page.)