Free Essays on Plato

Some assumed that homosexuality alone is capable of satisfying â€Å"a man’s highest and noblest aspirations†. Whereas heterosexual love is placed at an inferior level, being described as only existing for carnal reasons; its ultimate purpose being procreation. There are differing views in these dialogues, Aristophanes contradicts his peers by treating heterosexuality at the same level as homosexuality, arguing that both are predestined. Aristophanes considered himself as the comic poet and he began his discourse as such. Yet as the speech continued, he professed to open another vein of discourse; he had a mind to praise Love in another way, unlike that of either Pausanias or Eryximachus. â€Å"Mankind†, he said, â€Å"judging by their neglect of him, have never at all understood the power of Love†. He argued that if they had understood him they would have built noble temples and altars, and offered solemn sacrifices in his honor. He sought to describe his power and wanted to teach the rest of the world what he was teaching at that moment. Aristophanes spoke first of the nature of man and what had become of it. He said that human nature had changed: The sexes were originally three in number; there was man, woman, and the union of the two. At one time there was a distinct kind, with a bodily shape and a name of its own, constituted by the union of the male and the female: but now only the word 'androgynous' remains, and that as a term of reproach. Aristophanes proceeded by telling an anecdote about the terrible might and strength of mankind and how â€Å"the thoughts of their hearts were so great that they made an attack upon the gods†, leaving the celestial councils to decide whether or not to kill them. Zeus found a solution, and decided to cut them in two so as to divide their strength. As he cut them one after another, he bade Apollo give the face and the half of the neck a turn in order that man might contemplate the secti on of himsel... Free Essays on Plato Free Essays on Plato In Plato’s parable of the misgoverned ship to a poorly run city government he believes that the ship, Athenian democracy, is headed for destruction. Each person is acting in his own interest’s not keeping in mind what he is best for the entire crew. The captain on the ship is physically stronger and bigger then all others onboard the ship, but his hearing, eyesight and knowledge of seafaring are lacking. This captain is being compared the main rulers or leaders of a city; rulers must be propionate members of their society and well as respected just like a captain must be the propionate member on his ship. The captain can not be expected to understand and run all aspects of their everyday city operation just as the ruler can not be. Plato’s captain is not given credit for his work and functions onboard a ship. Not all captains/leaders suffer from â€Å"blindness† about what is happening under their rule. Also Athenian democracy did not have a distinct ruler that stayed in a position of overwhelming power for very long; so the captain is not represented very well. The sailors are constantly arguing with each other, each thinking that they should be the pilot, even though none of them have education on how to navigate. They also think that navigation can not be taught, so they are constantly trying to control the captain through flattery and deceit. They are not skilled in the art of navigation and do not feel that they should have learn it because it is something that we are all inherently born with. The sailors are seeking to control the ship for their benefit and not for that of everyone on board. Once they do get control they drink and eat all the supplies onboard and do not leave supplies for trading which is their reason for sailing. The sailors are a representation of politicians who act in their own interests. These people get in positions of power through flattery and once there suck money from the society or ... Free Essays on Plato Class Divisions in Plato’s Ideal State In his search for justice in The Republic, Plato describes three separate class divisions in the ideal state. The philosophers who possess knowledge, the warriors who possess courage, and the common man who lives to fulfill their wants make up the Plato’s class hierarchy and form the basis for Plato’s efficient city. The three virtues that Plato describes are wisdom, courage, and moderation. Wisdom or â€Å"the love of knowledge† describes the rulers of the city. Since philosophers innately possess this love of knowledge, Plato believes the philosophers should be the ruling class. The other â€Å"guardians† that Plato describes possess courage achieved through an unconquerable spirit. Plato states that, â€Å"a man that is devoid of†¦spirit cannot possibly make a good guardian.† This constitutes a second class of warriors in Plato’s ideal state. The third class or the â€Å"common man† lives only to fulfill his desires. The virtue he’s in search of is moderation and he is in need of this because unlimited desire is evil in Plato’s ideal state. Philosophers are the only ones that possess the knowledge necessary to be the rulers of the ideal state. Philosophers possess this so-called â€Å"love of knowledge† that makes them the best of the guardian class. The common man is not qualified to be in the ruling class because he is concerned only with satisfying his own desires thus incapable of fulfilling the citizens’ needs and serving the general welfare of the state. They are in need of moderation and this occurs only when desires are controlled by the rulers. The problem with this scenario lies in the fact that this is not the way the world works which can be verified through empirical evidence. These characteristics cannot be separated into three different classes; all three characteristics exist in each man. In Plato’s ideal state the ruling class is required to give up thei... Free Essays on Plato What are some of the ways that love can help humans to achieve happiness and fulfillment? There are many ways in which love can help humans to achieve happiness and fulfillment. In Plato’s discussion on love, he explains to us that love offers us a pathway from chaos (25-31 Plato, Aristophanes), the romantic companionship that it offers can lead people out of loneliness. Love also leads us to happiness and fulfillment by leading us too our matching half who we can spend the rest of our lives with. Love can also make us feel different emotions depending on how the love is carried out. Phadreus claims that love gives us a sense of shame for acting badly and a sense of pride for acting well. Another positive aspect of love is that is helps us to overcome selfishness therefore leading to happiness and fulfillment. What are some of the ways that CERTAIN forms of love can pose an obstacle to human’s achievement of happiness and fulfillment? There are many ways in which different kinds of love such as sexual love, romantic love, friendship love, love of god, ect†¦ can in turn pose as an obstacle for human’s achievement of happiness and fulfillment. Firstly, if we take sexual love, Augustine believes that his desire for sexual love pushed him away from achieving happiness because sex prevented him from figuring out what he should believe in the area of religion. The focus on sexual love prevented Augustine to form a strong spiritual relationship with God and a healthy relationship with his wife as he mentioned in book VI. Another problem that Augustine was faced with which many of people today are faced with is winning the love of your friends. In the Theft of Pears, Augustine presents a perfect example of one trying to obtain the love of his friends by stealing the pears and gaining praise by doing so. Thus he was trying to imitate God in order to obtain happiness and fulfillment, however, â€Å"Happin ess doesn’... Free Essays on Plato Plato was born in Athens, Greece in about 427 B.C (based on the Gregorian Calendar). Born into a family of aristocrats, Plato’s father, Ariston, was said to have been a descendant of the royal kings of Athens. This might explain Plato’s why as a young man, Plato’s interest were in political leadership. He was disillusioned by the low level of politics in his time and felt that the only hope for Athens political state was to found a school and create a new kind of political character. Socrates, a great philosopher at that time, was said to have been the reason for Plato renouncing his political practice. Plato became a disciple of Socrates, following in his basic philosophy and dialectical style of debate. The relationship between Plato and Socrates was cut short by the death of Socrates at the hands of the Athenian democracy in 399 B.C. Afraid for his life; Plato left Athens and began to travel. Plato continued in the pursuit of truth through questions, answers and additional questions. Plato traveled around to many Greek cities in search of more knowledge and truth. It wasn’t until about 385 B.C that Plato returned to Athens. There, he founded the Academy, which is said to be the first University in history. This school provided a comprehensive curriculum for those future scholars that would follow in Plato’s path. The great philosopher, Plato wrote many dialogues, which can be defined as the parts of a literary or dramatic work that represents conversation. For him, dialogues were a part of his conception of philosophy. Although his works are not dated, they all come from one of three periods; the early, middle or late periods. Plato also wrote some letters, but his dialogues are what made him great. His early dialogues such as Lysis, (a discussion of friendship), and Book I of the Republic (a discussion of justice) were dedicated solely to the memory of Socrates. His middle to late while still using Socrates in them re... Free Essays on Plato Some assumed that homosexuality alone is capable of satisfying â€Å"a man’s highest and noblest aspirations†. Whereas heterosexual love is placed at an inferior level, being described as only existing for carnal reasons; its ultimate purpose being procreation. There are differing views in these dialogues, Aristophanes contradicts his peers by treating heterosexuality at the same level as homosexuality, arguing that both are predestined. Aristophanes considered himself as the comic poet and he began his discourse as such. Yet as the speech continued, he professed to open another vein of discourse; he had a mind to praise Love in another way, unlike that of either Pausanias or Eryximachus. â€Å"Mankind†, he said, â€Å"judging by their neglect of him, have never at all understood the power of Love†. He argued that if they had understood him they would have built noble temples and altars, and offered solemn sacrifices in his honor. He sought to describe his power and wanted to teach the rest of the world what he was teaching at that moment. Aristophanes spoke first of the nature of man and what had become of it. He said that human nature had changed: The sexes were originally three in number; there was man, woman, and the union of the two. At one time there was a distinct kind, with a bodily shape and a name of its own, constituted by the union of the male and the female: but now only the word 'androgynous' remains, and that as a term of reproach. Aristophanes proceeded by telling an anecdote about the terrible might and strength of mankind and how â€Å"the thoughts of their hearts were so great that they made an attack upon the gods†, leaving the celestial councils to decide whether or not to kill them. Zeus found a solution, and decided to cut them in two so as to divide their strength. As he cut them one after another, he bade Apollo give the face and the half of the neck a turn in order that man might contemplate the secti on of himsel... Free Essays on Plato The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. He sees it as what happens when someone is educated to the level of philosopher. He contends that they must "go back into the cave" or return to the everyday world of politics, greed and power struggles. The Allegory also attacks people who rely upon or are slaves to their senses. The chains that bind the prisoners are the senses. The fun of the allegory is to try to put all the details of the cave into your interpretation. In other words, what are the models the guards carry? the fire? the struggle out of the cave? the sunlight? the shadows on the cave wall? Socrates, in Book VII of The Republic, just after the allegory told us that the cave was our world and the fire was our sun. He said the path of the prisoner was our soul's ascent to knowledge or enlightenment. He equated our world of sight with the intellect's world of opinion. Both were at the bottom of the ladder of knowledge. Our world of sight allows us to "see" things that are not real, such as parallel lines and perfect circles. He calls this higher understanding the world "abstract Reality" or the Intelligeble world. He equates this abstract reality with the knowledge that comes from reasoning and finally understanding. On the physical side, our world of sight, the stages of growth are first recognition of images (the shadows on the cave wall) then the recognition of objects (the models the guards carry) To understand abstract reality requires the understanding of mathematics and finally the forms or the Ideals of all things (the world outside the cave). But our understanding of the physical world is mirrored in our minds by our ways of thinking. First comes imagination (Socrates thought little of creativity), then our unfounded but real beliefs. Opinion gives way to knowledge through reasoning (learned though mathematics). Finally, the realization of the forms is mirrored ... Free Essays on Plato The message of Plato’s myth of the cave conveys his theory of how we come to know or how we attain true knowledge. In the cavern people are chained so they can look forward only at the wall of the cave. Behind them, a fire burns which they are never able to see. Nevertheless, between them and the fire runs a path with a low wall, along which people carry pictures, puppets, and statues. The prisoners cannot see the exit out of the cave, the fire burning behind them, or the people carrying objects in front of the fire. They only see the shadows. Plato makes an Appearance/Reality distinction. For example, the relation between what things appear to be to the senses and what they really are. The prisoners are only familiar with the appearances of shadows and thus they mistake appearance, which are the shadows, for Reality. Furthermore, they do not know what causes the shadows. We can reach the forms through the mind much like a sixth sense. We apprehend the higher world through min d in much the same way that we apprehend this world with our eyes. The cave allegory also proves that the role of education is not to teach in the sense of feeding people information they do not have, but rather to shed light on things they already know. Since the soul is immortal, we are born knowing everything we will ever know. All we have to do is remember it or be guided into remembering it. Professors often say that they give the knowledge just as we give gifts, but in all reality we are born with this knowledge which must be inspired and turned on to fully acquire true knowledge. A professor’s job is to guide students into remembrance of things known, rather than filling them with new things. The light of the Sun, or the Good, shines down upon things and helps the man to a remembrance of them. Knowledge is within us, going inward, not mere surface appearance. Therefore he does not have to be told what they are once the light is on them, he recognizes wh... Free Essays on Plato Society today is changing at a phenomenal rate. Many people are left behind only to find themselves being forced to catch up. More than 2000 years ago, Plato wrote â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave† which contemplates the process of change and the acceptance of it. The views Plato expressed in his writings can still be used to describe the world today. Everyone begins in the dark. We enter this world a blank slate where our parents and the formal education system nurture, protect, and try to prepare us for life. After we finish school and move out of our parent’s home we are rudely awakened by the harsh reality of the real world. The enlightenment we experience when we reach adulthood is only the beginning, but it is enough for us to know we don’t want to go back where we started. As infants we see things in the most basic form; we do not have any understanding of what we see or hear. Our parents teach us what they think we should know, and how we should act. Our schools teach us what we need to know to survive in today’s economic society. We accept what they teach, and do not question why because we do not know for sure what lies ahead. Plato symbolizes this when he writes â€Å"human beings living in an underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light†¦their legs and neck chained so that they cannot move† (315, 316). We finally finish school and leave the comfort of our parent’s home; we are tossed into the midst of the real world and all of its harshness. At first it is a struggle, in most instances we are afraid, and many are not ready for the change. We are eventually able to meet the challenge; we settle into our routine and welcome the next challenge. Plato sums this up when he writes â€Å"when any of them is liberated and compelled to suddenly stand up and turn his neck around and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains†¦ and his eye is turned towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision† (3... Free Essays on Plato Plato believed that education of the guardian starts in the early childhood. "Don’t you know that the beginning is the most important part of every work and that this is especially so with anything young and tender? For at that stage it’s most plastic, and each thing assimilates itself to the model whose stamp anyone wishes to give to it" (377 b). He then proposes children must learn speech or logic (376 d), gymnastic and music (376 e). American elementary schools implement his ideas by teaching reading and writing for logic exercise, physical education and athletics for gymnastic, and specialist session for learning music. For reading, or storytelling for preliterate children, Plato suggests telling stories that enlighten children about the good values – in this case justice in the society – so they will not be contaminated with lies and injustice. For example, children should learn about the history of America, the biography of American founding fathers, and the values that the United States of America is based upon, such as patriotism, freedom, and justice. Considering Plato’s suggestion, we should not allow children to listen to or to read stories about sexual scandals and other misconduct among politicians in the higher public offices. Plato recommends it is equally good for children to learn divine aspects about God. He insisted that the God’s works were just and good (380 b), and the God and what belongs to the God are in every way the best condition (381 b). He disagrees to any effort to tell children about God as wizard, God as a high-tempered figure, or even about the thoughts that God is a liar. Plato criticized poems, tales and stories that undermined God. It seems that Plato believed in God. It is difficult to implement Plato’s ideas about teaching about God’s existence in American public schools because religion is not part of the subject matter. In fact, it is prohibited by the Constitution. Educator... Free Essays on Plato Plato’s â€Å"Crito,† begins with dialogue between Socrates and Crito which takes place in Socrate’s prison cell, where he awaits execution. Crito had been watching Socrates for a long time and was amazed how peacefully he slept awaiting death. But Socrates replies that it would be odd to fear death at such an old age Crito has made arrangements to smuggle his friend Socrates out of prison to safety. But since Socrates is willing to wait for his execution, Crito presents many arguments to persuade him to escape. He first tell Socrates that he should not worry about the risk or the financial cost to his friends. The next two arguments state that if Socrates remained in prison, he would be helping his enemies in wrondoing him unjustly, and this would result in acting unjustly himself. Crito also mentioned that he would be abandoning his children and leaving them without a father. Socrates replies to Crito that he should not worry about public opinion and to only listen to expert and wise advise. He tells Crito that if escaping from prison is just, he will go with Crito, if it is unjust, he must remain in prison and face death. Next, Socrates begins to tell about the Laws of Athens, which speaks to him and explain why it would be unjust for him to leave his cell. He believes that breaking one rule means breaking them all which would cause great harm since these laws provided for his upbringing and education. Socrates provides a very convincing argument of why he should not escape from the Athenian prison. He states that if he does as Crito suggests and escapes, it will not be justifiable nor true. Although his family and friends will be much happier if he escapes, he will not follow the justice or moral code of the state in which he was born and raised. Socrates also gives the idea that if he were to escape, his family and friends would be happy for him, but their fellow citizens and their state in which they reside would no... Free Essays on Plato Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† and Black Elk’s â€Å"The Great Vision† each make a case for a particular way of knowing through a vision or higher realm. Black Elk describes a far more detailed version of his own vision as a young child. His experience provides a way of knowing the spiritual world. Plato describes a man imprisoned in a cave who finds a way of knowing and understanding the world through an enlightening experience. Both authors share similar ideas of gaining knowledge at a higher level, but smaller details of their writings show the differences in their positions. In â€Å"Allegory of the Cave,† Plato created a metaphoric story beginning at the far end of a cave, a long way from the outside world where men had lived since childhood with their legs and necks tied up in a way that kept them in one place and only allowed them to look straight ahead. Further up the cave, a fire was burning which allowed minimal lighting. There was a wall between the fire and the men, behind which people carried all sorts of artifacts. The men were only able to see shadows of these artifacts. They did not have any knowledge of definite objects. One of the men was untied and dragged into the sunlight. After his eyes adjusted to the light, he feasted his eyes â€Å"on the heavenly bodies and the heavens themselves.† He was told he was now closer to reality and was seeing more accurately. When the man saw the sun, he deducted that it was â€Å"the source of the seasons and the yearly cycle that the whole of the visible realm is its domain.† Plato called the upward journey the mind’s ascent to the intelligible realm. â€Å"In the realm of knowledge is goodness† which is responsible for everything that is right and fine and â€Å"is the source and provider of truth.† Plato deducted that after visiting the higher realm, one would not want â€Å"to engage in human business† in the lower realm because his mind would rather be in the upper regi... Free Essays on Plato Plato's Theory of Knowledge Plato’s Theory of Knowledge is very interesting. He expresses this theory with three approaches: his allegory of The Cave, his metaphor of the Divided Line and his doctrine The Forms. Each theory is interconnected; one could not be without the other. Here we will explore how one relates to the other. In The Cave, Plato describes a vision of shackled prisoners seated in a dark cave facing the wall. Chained also by their necks, the prisoners can only look forward and see only shadows, These shadows are produced by men, with shapes of objects or men, walking in front of a fire behind the prisoners. Plato states that for the prisoners, reality is only the mere shadows thrown onto the wall. Another vision is releasing a prisoner from his chains, how his movements are difficult, his eye adjustment painful and suggestions of the effects of returning to the cave. The Cave suggests to us that Plato saw most of humanity living in â€Å"the cave†, in the dark, and that the vision of knowledge and the â€Å"conversion† to that knowledge was salvation from darkness. He put it this way, â€Å"the conversion of the soul is not to put the power of sight in the soul’s eye, which already has it, but to insure that, insisted of looking in the wrong direction it is turned the way it ought to be.† Plato’s two worlds: the dark, the cave, and the bright were his way of rejecting the Sophists, who found â€Å"true knowledge† impossible because of constant change. Plato believed there was a â€Å" true Idea of Justice†. The Cave showed us this quite dramatically. The Divided Line visualizes the levels of knowledge in a more systematic way. Plato states there are four stages of knowledge development: Imagining, Belief, Thinking, and Perfect Intelligence. Imagining is at the lowest level of this developmental ladder. Imagining, here in Plato’s world, is not taken at its conventional level but of appearances seen as â€Å"tru e re... Free Essays on Plato The Greek philosopher Plato (428-347 BC) was among the most important and creative thinkers of the ancient world. His work set forth most of the important problems and concepts of Western philosophy, psychology, logic, and politics, and his influence has remained profound from ancient to modern times. Plato was born in Athens in 428 BC. Both his parents were of distinguished Athenian families, and his stepfather, an associate of Pericles, was an active participant in the political and cultural life of Periclean Athens. Plato seems as a young man to have been destined for an aristocratic political career. The excesses of Athenian political life, however, both under the oligarchical rule of the so-called Thirty Tyrants and under the restored democracy, seem to have led him to give up these ambitions. In particular, the execution of Socrates had a profound effect on his plans. The older philosopher was a close friend of Plato's family, and Plato's writings attest to Socrates' great infl uence on him. After Socrates' death Plato retired from active Athenian life and traveled widely for a number of years. In 388 BC he journeyed to Italy and Sicily, where he became the friend of Dionysius the Elder, ruler of Syracuse, and his brother-in-law Dion. The following year he returned to Athens, where he founded the Academy, an institution devoted to research and instruction in philosophy and the sciences. Most of his life thereafter was spent in teaching and guiding the activities of the Academy. When Dionysius died, Dion invited Plato to return to Syracuse to undertake the philosophical education of the new ruler, Dionysius the Younger. Plato went, perhaps with the hope of founding the rule of a philosopher-king as envisioned in his work the Republic. The visit, however, ended in failure. In 361, Plato went to Syracuse again. This visit proved even more disastrous, and he returned to the Academy. Plato died in 347 BC. Plato's published writings, of ... Free Essays on Plato Socrates' ideal city is described through Plato in his work The Republic, some questions pondered through the text could be; How is this an "ideal" city formed, and is justice in the city relative to that of the human soul? I believe Socrates found the true meaning of justice in the larger atmosphere of the city and applied that concept to the human soul. Socrates describes his idea of an "ideal city" as one that has all the necessary parts to function and to show that justice is truly the harmony between the three stages of the city and soul in the human body. Plato introduces the idea of the happiness. Socrates says, "†¦in establishing our city, we aren’t aiming to make any one group outstanding happy but to make the whole city so, as far as possible " (Plato 420b). I agree that in order to examine one thing that is difficult to comprehend, it is wise to look on a larger scale. In this case, Socrates had to examine the difference of a whole city and other concepts of ci ties in order to determine justice in the world and inner soul. In order to develop the perfect city Socrates had to develop the other ideas that contribute to the "ideal city", the City of Need, and the City of Luxury in order to develop the Perfect City. I believe Socrates in-depth discovery process for the perfect city is a great philosophical look into the idea of justice. Socrates brought up a subject many men at that time would never have thought about and Plato believed that the idea of justice was worthy of writing a literary work to pass his philosophy on to future generations. Since the crucial elements of justice may be easier to observe on the larger scale like a city than on one individual. The focus for Socrates is a perfect city, because the city will represent human soul, Socrates says; "we'll go on to consider it in the individuals, considering the likeness of the bigger in the idea of the littler?"(Plato 369a). Plato's "ideal city" is really the sea... Free Essays on Plato Plato and Aristotle, 4th century philosophers, hold polar views on politics and philosophy in general. This fact is very cleverly illustrated by Raphael's "School of Athens" , in which Plato is portrayed looking up to the higher forms; as Aristotle points down emphasizing his leanings toward the 'second philosophy' of the natural sciences. In a discussion of politics, the stand point of each philosopher becomes an essential factor. It is not coincidental that Plato states in "The Republic" that Philosopher Rulers who possess knowledge of the good should be the governors in a city state. His strong interest in metaphysics is demonstrated in The Republic various times: for example, the similes of the cave, the sun, and the line, and his theory of the forms. Because he is so involved in metaphysics, his views on politics are more theoretical as opposed to actual. Aristotle, contrarily, holds the view that politics is the art of ruling and being ruled in turn. In "The Politics", he attempts to outline a way of governing that would be ideal for an actual state. Balance is a key term in discussing Aristotle because he believes that balance is the necessary element to creating a stable government. His less-metaphysical approach to politics suggests that Aristotle could be in tune with the modern world, although millennia removed from it. Plato's concept of what politics and government should be is a direct result of his belief in the theory of forms. The theory of forms basically states that there is a higher "form" for everything that exists in the world. Each material thing is simply a representation of the real thing which is the form. According to Plato, most people cannot see the forms, they only see their representation or their shadows, as in the simile of the cave. Only those who love knowledge and contemplate on the reality of things will achieve understanding of the forms. Philosophers, who by definition are knowledge lovers, ar...