Book · -360
Phaedo
by Plato
Socrates spends his last afternoon before the hemlock arguing that death is not the end.
What does Reddit think of Phaedo?
r/askphilosophy rarely treats Phaedo as a standalone read. It shows up bundled with Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, the trial-and-death set assigned as a unit. One highly upvoted answer (↑92) says it's given to first-years specifically because it opens with weak arguments — the bad logic gives seminar students something to attack on day one. That's the closest thing to a consensus visible here: read it for the fight, not the conclusion. A separate thread digs into who Phaedo the person actually was: Socrates helped free him from slavery, which recasts the frame narrative as more than scene-setting. Nietzsche's Twilight of the Idols gets quoted (↑79), casting Socrates as evidence that Athens was already dying. r/Stoicism and r/philosophy show up too, but thin: two and six references against askphilosophy's 96. The suicide argument in the dialogue draws pushback in one thread as bad long-term strategy for a school trying to keep followers.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · the soul's immortality argued, not assumed
- · the trial-and-death dialogues as a single arc
- · Socratic method turned on its own author
- · death examined without sentimentality
Common praise
- + First-years get assigned it because the arguments are bad enough to argue with, and r/askphilosophy says that's the point.
- + The detail that Phaedo himself was a freed slave reframes who's narrating, not just what's argued.
- + Reading it alongside Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito gives you the full arc from trial to execution instead of an isolated fragment.
Common criticism
- − The soul arguments don't survive modern logical scrutiny, which one askphilosophy thread says is exactly why professors keep assigning them.
- − Nietzsche reads the whole performance as decline dressed up as wisdom, and that quote keeps getting upvoted on its own merits.
- − The suicide argument gets called out in one thread as rhetorically self-defeating for a philosopher trying to keep followers.
Who it's for
Pair it with Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito if you want the whole story instead of a fragment. First-semester philosophy students get assigned this specifically for its weak spots — treat that as an invitation, not a warning. If you want tidy proof of an afterlife, this dialogue will frustrate you: the arguments are built to be interrogated, not banked. Come in curious about how Socrates actually died and you'll get more out of it than someone expecting a polished philosophy textbook.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Phaedo?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“Well, any decent philosophy professor would not have any issue talking about philosophy with anyone with zero background in it. There's nothing to be embarrassed about, as long as you go in with an open mind. Honesty and humility is the best tact to meet one's girlfriend's dad, regardless what he do…
“The standard view is that only the early, so-called Socratic dialogues represent Socrates's actual ideas (if any of the dialogues do). The main ones there are Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. The vast majority of Plato's dialogues, then, aren't seen as representing Socrates's ideas at all. T…
“It is often given to first-year students precisely because it begins with some bad arguments - this gives students some fun work to do in tutorials That said, there are plenty of other options, even within Plato. In my classes we learned the *Euthyphro* first, then a few others (including the *Pha…
“A few reasons. (Note: in early Platonic writings the line between Plato and Socrates is blurry but often believed to be most true to Socrates) 1. To Socrates you cannot truly harm a virtuous person by way of physical attack. The only way for a virtuous person to be harmed is by being vicious. Socra…
“Can't do much better than Plato's dialogues! They're fun and engaging and form the basis for most of western philosophy. Alfred North Whitehead once (half) joked that all of western philosophy consists in "footnotes to Plato." I'd recommend starting with the trio which covers Socrates' trial and ex…
“From Twilight of the Idols: >But Socrates divined still more. He saw right through his noble Athenians; he perceived that his case, his peculiar case, was no exception even in his time. The same kind of degeneracy was silently preparing itself everywhere: ancient Athens was dying out. And Socrates …
“It might be helpful if you explained why you believe that Socrates "believed in slavery and he thought slaves inferior to free humans." In this context, it is interesting that you mention the Phaedo. If memory serves, Phaedo himself was a slave, whom Socrates helped free. Slavery was an extreme…
“Arguing for suicide isn't a good long-term strategy when you're looking to gain followers and readers;-) In many if not most societies even assisted dying in desperate medical cases is considered very controversial nowadays; in the past this would be an extreme stance taken by philosopher and would…
“>What's the end goal of life? What are we actually chasing? I can't speak to this because I don't know. I've found it best to focus on the present, rather than contemplate such things excessively. >Coming to the context of relationships and friendships, I have reached to a point where I feel that …
“>Are there any modern philosophers that devote themselves fully to the defense of an ancient school of philosophy? Yes. There are many scholars who are devoted to reconstructing, defending, and expanding ancient schools of philosophy, just like there are scholars devoted to schools of philosophy of…
“Plato’s Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo was a great starter for me, it’s early in the history of philosophy so you don’t need any background knowledge. It’s a quick easy read and cheap to buy on amazon!
“The Phaedo, something about the concept of immortality of the soul brings good comfort. As for a show I always recommend midnight gospel on Netflix! Face life well my friend, I believe in you!
“I'm surprised nobody mentioned Augustine's Confessions yet. It's a fantastic autobiography. Many of Plato's dialogues as well (my favourites are the Parmenides and the Phaedo). And the Zhuangzi 莊子.
“I always tell people to start with Plato's "Last Days" bundle; "Euthyphro," "Socrates' Apology," "Phaedo" and "Crito". You can get them all together in a single nice Penguin Classics edition, they're fun and easy to read and Plato is of course a philosopher of great renown. Don't worry if you don't …
“Just about every philosophy program begins with Platonic dialogues in some way, particularly the Republic, the Apology, Meno, Euthyphro, Crito, and Phaedo. Though normally not all of them. Dialogues tend to be more engaging than your run of the mill academic tome and Plato more or less discusses eve…
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Phaedo — frequently asked
Is Phaedo worth reading if I've never read Plato before?+
Yes, but not alone. r/askphilosophy's most-upvoted advice on entry points groups Phaedo with Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito as the standard first set, since together they cover Socrates' trial, conviction, and death as one story. Read solo, Phaedo's soul arguments can feel like they're missing setup that the earlier dialogues actually provide.
What does r/askphilosophy think of Phaedo's arguments for immortality?+
One ↑92 answer says the dialogue is assigned to first-years precisely because the arguments are weak enough to give students 'fun work' picking them apart in tutorials. Nobody in the displayed excerpts defends the logic as sound; the value discussed is pedagogical, not that the conclusion holds up.
Should I read Phaedo before or after Crito?+
After. The trio discussed on r/askphilosophy runs Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, then Phaedo, following the actual timeline from indictment to execution. Reading Phaedo first drops you into Socrates' final hours without the trial context that the earlier dialogues set up, which one answer notes some instructors deliberately avoid.
Is Phaedo just about Socrates' death, or is there real philosophy in it?+
Both, and Reddit doesn't separate them cleanly. The death scene frames arguments about the soul, forms, and what philosophy is actually for, and one thread specifically credits Phaedo's own backstory as a freed slave for adding weight to those closing pages beyond the abstract argument.