=2. The Immortality of Post-Existence.= Plato’s ground for belief in the existence of soul after death is practically the same as that for its previous existence. Its destiny hereafter depends upon how far it has freed itself in this earthly life from the sensuous appetite. As proofs for future existence Plato mentions the soul’s possession of the Ideas, the simplicity and unity of the soul, the soul as the principle of life, and the goodness of God. However weak Plato’s arguments may be for the existence of future immortality, his absolute belief in it is one of the chief points in his teaching. It is interesting to note that the modern western world seems to have no concern in the previous state of the soul, but through the influence of the Christian religion has focused its attention upon the future life. Oriental religions contain the doctrine of pre-existence and the transmigration of souls, but not in the same sense as Plato. In Plato the soul possesses an identity that persists. It has all the qualities of the Ideas, but is also an entity possessing these qualities. It has non-origination, indestructibility, unity, and changelessness. The doctrine of the immortality of post-existence had appeared in the Greek religion, but this is the first time that we have found it as a part of philosophic teaching. The student will, of course, feel the difficulties in Plato’s conception as he has presented it. For how can the soul preserve its individuality as a unity, when the soul belongs in part to a world which is temporal?