The Concept of Punishment in Plato’s Eschatological Myths

The paper focuses on Plato´s concept of punishment from the perspective of the eschatological myths in the Gorgias, the Phaedo and the Republic. The fundamental message of all three mythical accounts is found in the attempt to visualize the unseen life of the soul, with special attention to the conditions of its proper activity. The special issue of its rewards and punishments is not restricted to the afterlife experience of the soul but is primarily related to the here-and-now perspective of the incarnated life. Instead of the consequentialist vision of a post mortem destiny punishing past wrongdoing, the proposed interpretation stresses the actual concern with our present situation. Given the intrinsic value of virtue (and the corresponding badness of vice), the platonic images of the afterlife could be read as an intensification of human experience during this life. Closely related topics – the process of judgement and the method and effect of punishment – are outlined in further detail. Here, the paper points out Plato´s transformative approach to the function of punishment. Against the background of the contemporary Athenian legal system, Plato offers a philosophic alternative of cultivating the soul through the power of dialectical examination and Socratic elenchos