The first item of discussion in Socrates' argument is the separation of the body and the soul. Socrates gains full agreement from Simmias and Cebes when he says that death is simply a separation of the body and the soul. He then makes the argument that this parting is what the philosopher should look forward to and work for. Socrates also gains his friends' acknowledgement that the philosopher's lifelong goal is to seek wisdom, and that the body impedes that search. Assuming that they are real, the "truths" of the Just, the Beautiful, etc. are seen in this life only partially-- through the tainted filters of the human eyes. Therefore, humans--namely philosophers, are unable to achieve co