e is generated out of its opposite.In this way, life and death are opposite, and the process of life becomingdeath is visible, but the process of death becoming life is not. Simmiasreminds the group of one of Socrates’ favorite doctrines, the Doctrine ofRecollection: to learn something is actually remembering what has beenforgotten. This would require the pre-existence of the soul in order tohave the knowledge that is recollected in this life. Socrates supports thiswith the example of equality: to judge two things as unequal, we must firstknow what equality is; but we have no experience in this life of absoluteequality; therefore, this knowledge must come from some previousexistence in which the soul must have existed. This applies also to all theother absolutes, or forms. For all individual things we call by one name,there must be a single, essential nature which allows us to call them by thesame name. This essence is the form. This form is not visible, and is neverseen on earth. Nevertheless, we must use it as a standard by which wejudge things to be what they are. Therefore, it comes from apre-existence state when we were directly aware of them, and now werecollect them when we encounter things on earth that are copies of theseessences. Cebes repeats his objection that, even if the soul existed before birth, itmight be destroyed at death. Socrates returns to the theory of forms, andexplains that there are two sorts of existences, one seen, the other unseen.The seen is the changing, and the unseen is the unchanging. The bodybelongs to the visible and changing; the soul belongs to the invisible andunchanging. The philosopher seeks these unchanging forms and becomeslike them. He is practicing death, or the separation of soul and body, andis purifying the soul of bodily elements that hold it down. Socratesdiscusses the souls or ghosts that linger around tombs, because they aretoo attached to the body. Then, Socrates states that if...
