One of the strange but interesting ideas that philosophers ask to be debated is that of the true nature of the human being. While each philosopher likely has their own unique perception of the true nature of the human being, philosophers tend to share some of the same core attributes in their definition. After reading Plato's five dialogues and Descartes' six meditations, I am led to believe that both philosophers commonly share the idea that the human being is capable of existing without the physical body; Plato through the soul and Descartes through the mind. In addition to the common thought of the existence of the human being separate from the body, Plato and Descartes also forcefully teach that human beings are endowed with some knowledge of higher powers that simply need to be remembered throughout life. In addition to these two similarities in the thoughts of Plato and Descartes, Plato believes that humans should spend their lives pleasing the gods and preparing for death in hopes of obtaining a pure soul that will flourish in the afterlife. which can help me in the perception of wax or any other body that fails to make the nature of my mind even more manifest" (Descartes 23). While Descartes examines the information he receives from his senses, mainly that from the experiment on wax, notes that his senses can be deceptive and full of doubt, so he cannot rely on them to determine whether things truly exist. Rather, his mind is behind his knowledge of the existence of things and therefore he is able to exist distinctly from the physical body. Although Plato does not think exactly the same way as Descartes, Plato believes that the human being exists distinctly from the physical body ...... middle of paper ...... knowledge simply is a form of remembrance or a gift from a Supreme Being I tend to believe more in Plato's argument although I strongly disagree with knowledge and remembrance because I'm paying twenty thousand dollars to "learn" right now. agreement that the soul continues to live after the death of the body and is eventually reincarnated into a new body after experiencing the afterlife. Death is a fact of life in today's society, but I don't believe our lives should be spent preparing for it because God gives us the ability to do many more helpful and constructive things instead of preparing for our death. In conclusion, Plato and Descartes teach us numerous ideas about the true nature of the human being. There are some similarities as well as some differences, but I believe that ultimately the true nature of the human being is left up to each individual person's ideas.