With the Theory of Recollection, Socrates assumes that he has satisfactorily shown that the soul pre-exists before this life. Thus, the next question that Socrates tackles in Plato’s Phaedo is directed towards its survival after the death of the body. There is reference to the Theory of Forms in this argument; Socrates uses it to distinguish between invisible, indivisible and immortal things and visible, divisible and mortal things. He explains how the forms of man, dog, chair are always unique and immortal but retain their diversity and difference only in the material world. All things in the material world are bound to the conditions of time and eventually all things die away. However, Socrates states that the forms of these material things remain immortal. Similarly, he states that while the body withers and dies away, the soul remains indivisible and immortal.

Using an intellectualised form of Buddhism, Socrates then claims that the soul is reincarnated again and again back into the material world. The only way to escape this cycle is to live the life of a philosopher, who realises the ephemeral nature of the material world. By freeing oneself from earthly desires and seeking wisdom, the philosopher dwells in the forms and can escape the cycle of reincarnation. In conclusion, although Plato has formularised an understanding of what the soul is, all three arguments can only presuppose its existence without providing any proof for its existence. (Concluded)