  The argument of the Phaedo begins from Plato's assertion that the soul seeks freedom from the body so that it may best grasp truth, because the body hinders and distracts it: the soul comes to be separate (choris) from the body, itself by itself ((aute kath auten) (64c5–8)). The senses furnish no truth; those senses about the body are neither accurate nor clear. The soul reckons best when it is itself by itself, i.e., not in contact with body (65a-65d3). At this juncture, Socrates changes course: