Abstract

The historical and philosophical value of the usual reading of the Phaedo, emphasizing the immortal dimension of the soul, which would migrate in a metaphysical plane, is undeniable, however, here, we propose to develop the hermeneutic-phenomenological approach and the ethical implications arising from this interpretation. We will do this based on Gadamer’s suggestion to translate the concept of μɛτοίκησις as a transfer of the soul, which sets precedents for addressing the experience of death as a spiritual exercise that happens and ends in facticity. In the first section, we will highlight passages and propose an understanding of the Phaedo from the motto of the soul that changes habits and is configured as an existential transvaluation. After that, we will show that the experience of understanding, based on the awareness of finitude, leads us to intensify and resignify the notion of death and the discussion about the immortality of the soul, as a change of the house of being, that is, a way to [re]guide our way of living. Finally, we will elucidate ethical implications arising from the approach related to the themes of transfiguration of values and death, division of body and mind, existential orientation, expression of responsibility and a more conscious way of living in society.

Keywords
Μɛτοίκησις; Death; Phaedo; Gadamer; Hermeneutics.