Plato's Phaedo: Philosophy as Preparation for Death › The Allegory of the True Earth

Near the dialogue's end, Socrates offers a myth about the fate of souls after death. The earth we inhabit is actually a hollow in a much larger, truer earth. We live like fish at the bottom of the sea, mistaking water for air and the sea floor for the earth's surface. Above us lies the true earth, bathed in pure light, where colors are more vivid, gems more precious, and everything more real. Souls that have lived philosophically ascend to this higher realm. Those corrupted by bodily desires sink to lower regions. The myth is explicitly presented as uncertain (Socrates says it would not be sensible to insist on its details) but the moral is clear: how we live determines where we end up. Philosophy purifies the soul and prepares it for a better existence.