Plato
The story of two sisters, Melissa and Melinda, is one of deep philosophical analysis. The harsh scenario is of the two sisters’ brother, Matthew, who is involved in a horrific accident that essentially leaves him brain dead and only alive through a complex network of life support systems. According to Matthew’s last will and testament, he states specifically that if something of this sort ever happens to him, both sisters must mutually agree upon the ultimate decision of whether or not to proverbially “pull the plug.” This is a massive decision that will take great deliberation upon both parties to inevitably come to common terms with one another. Essentially, both sisters have their own aspect of what they should do regarding
He described our knowledge of equality by explaining that, “even though we have never seen any two things that are perfectly equal, because there will always be some minute difference; and yet we know what true equality (or the Form of Equality) must be.”(2) He thought that the same was true with many other things. Although we experience imperfect examples of these things, we have a somewhat real understanding of what is truth, beauty, or goodness. Plato differentiated this kind of knowledge from the seemingly unreliable knowledge that we gain through our five senses and appear to be only opinion based. Plato believed that this knowledge must be instinctive, and must have been gained by our souls before we were born. As we begin to understand something that is the object of true knowledge, like a basic math problem, that is not available to the human senses but is true. Regardless, we have some sense of recognition. As for Melinda, this should be enough evidence to prove to Melissa that Matthew’s soul pre-existed Matthew’s body and will continue to exist thereafter.
Melissa may remain skeptical after hearing what Melinda had to say, arguing that the soul does in fact exist before, during, and after the existence of the human body. She could argue that the soul is the life of a human and that when the human is gone, as is the soul. Melissa could negate Melinda’s argument of opposites by easily claiming that these are just