Philosophy Plato Essay Example For Students

Philosophy Plato Essay Plato was born to an aristocratic family in Athens, Greece. When he was a child hisfather, Ariston, who was believed to be descended from the early kings of Athens died, and hismother, Perictione married Pyrilampes. As a young man Plato was always interested in politicalleadership and eventually became a disciple of Socrates. He followed his philosophy and his dialectical style, which is believed to be the search for truth through questions, answers, andadditional questions. After witnessing the death of Socrates at the hands of the Atheniandemocracy in 399 B.C., Plato left Athens and continued to travel to Italy, Sicily, and Egypt. (Internet) In 387 B.C. Plato founded the Academy in Athens otherwise known as the first Europeanuniversity. The Academy provided a wide range of curriculum including subjects such asastronomy, biology, philosophy, political theory, and mathematics. Aristotle was the Academysmost outstanding student. (Internet)The internal affairs of the academy ruled the next 20 years of Platos life and he wrotenothing. Many Greek youths were attracted to the new school. Plato then went to Syracuse tosupervise the education of the ruling prince. Plato was not certain about the success of thisadventure although he felt he could not refuse this opportunity of putting his ideas to a test. Itdid not work out for Plato and he returned to Athens in 360 B.C. He then devoted himself toteaching and lecturing at the Academy. He died at age 80 in Athens in 348 B.C. Before hisdeath Plato completed the Sophist, the Politicus, the Philebus, the Timaeus and finally the Laws. (Internet)DIALOGUES The Symposium is the most widely read of Platos dialogues with the exception of theRepublic and it is with good reason. Its literary merit is outstanding with philosophical andpsychological sources (Allen)ANAYA2THE EARLY DIALOGUESIn the early dialogues Socrates always played the leading roll. In all of them, Plato wastrying to keep the spirit of Socrates alive. There are also early dialogues that portray Socrates inwhimsical moods but always with a serious purpose. (Allen)The Republic was the most revealing of all Platos early writings. Plato believed that onecould not seriously construct a political theory without a metaphysics. Therefore, we find anoutline of human life as it should be lived according to nature. (Allen)THE LATER DIALOGUESIn the later dialogues Soctates does not always play the leading role. He does not enterinto the conversation of Laws. More interest was shown in the possibilities of politics. Law andlegal government were stressed and it greatl y influenced Aristotle. It is clear that in later yearsPlato became more aware of the difficulties in attempting to combine science with government. Platos main interest at the end of his life was to guide human effort as indicated in his lastdialogues, the Laws. (Allen)Many students of the Academy were reaching into positions of power in the Greek world. Plato planned a trilogy at the end of his life, the Timaeus, the Critias, and the Hermoncrates. (Allen)THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE Platos theory of knowledge can be found in the myth of the cave. The myth describespeople chained within a cave. The only images they see are the shadows of objects and animalsheld in front of a fire that is behind them that reflects on the cave walls in front of them. That isall they had ever seen so that is what they believe to be real. One day a man escaped the caveand went outside. With the sun he saw what was real in the world and realized all he ever sawwere just shadows. He went back to the men in the ca ve and told them all this. He told themthat they ANAYA3too could see the outside if they broke free of their chains but they didnt believe him. Theenvironment of the cave to Plato symbolizes the physical world of appearances. Escaping intothe sun-filled world means the transition into the real world that is full and perfect being theworld of forms, which is the proper object of knowledge. (Hare p.39)NATURE OF FORMS The theory of Forms may be understood best in terms of mathematical entities. Thistheory was his way of explaining how the same universal term can refer to so many particularthings or events. An individual is human to the extent that they resemble or participate. In theForm humanness if humanness is defined in terms of being a rational animal and humanbeing to the extent that he or she is rational. An object is beautiful to the extent that itparticipates in the Idea, or Form of beauty. Everything in the world of space and time is, what itis by virtue of its resemblance to , or participation in, its universal Form. The supreme Form isthe Form of Good, which like the sun in the myth of the cave, illuminates all the other ideas. The theory of Forms is intended to explain how one comes to know and also how things havecome to be the way that they are. (Internet)ETHICSPlatos ethical theory rests on the assumption that virtue is knowledge and can be taught,which has to be understood in terms of his theory of Forms. One of his famous arguments is thatto know the good is to do the good. Along with that he states that anyone who behavesimmorally does so out of ignorance. He also says that a truly happy person is a moral person andthey become individuals and always desire their own happiness. They always desire to do thatwhich is moral. (Dolan p.76)ANAYA4TRUTH Plato illustrates truth by telling the well-known story of Gyges. Gyges one day stumbledupon a chasm in the opening of the earth after a heavy rainfall. He came upon a horse made ofbronze which had a door on the side of it. He opened it up and saw the body of a man ofsuperhuman stature, wearing a gold ring. He took the ring off the finger of the body and placedit upon his own. He later realized that if he turned the bezel of the ring inwards in the directionof the palm of his hand he would become invisible. He would use the ring to his advantagemany a time. He would kill off anyone that stood in his way and he got whatever he wantedwithout anyone suspecting him. He even quickly rose to be the King of Lydia. Now, think of thesame ring in the hands of a wise man. He would not consider that it would give him the right todo wrong any more than if it did not belong to him. For to act secretly is not what a good manaims at, it is what he wants to do to act rightly. (Grant 172,173)WORKSPlatos writings were in dialogue form. The earliest collection of Platos work includes35 dialogues and 13 letters. It is still disputed if some of them are authentic or not. The works of Plato can be split u p into 3 groups. The earliest dialogues represent hisattempt to communicate the philosophy and style of Socrates, many of the dialogues take thesame for of the writings from him. (Internet)PLATOS ACHIEVEMENTSPlatos actual achievements in his field was great. He had a greater claim than anyoneelse to be called the founder of philosophy. What is unique about Plato is the progress towards amuch tougher, more precise logical and metaphysical theory, a moral philosophy and aphilosophy of language. Through discussion and criticism, they shaped the entire future ofphilosophy. (Hare)ANAYA5Platos development of the topic The one and the many sought an explanation of thevariety of things on reason. The search started with the question What were their origins andWhat are they all made of . Scientists went on asking this question and answering it. Platograsped the truth that understanding is different from science and just as imporant. (Hare)INTERVIEWOne of Platos most famous ideas is the idea that the world is a rational place and thatwe are all here for a reason. People are good because they want to be good not because they willbe punished if they are not and rewarded if they are. Plato works from top to bottom with hisphilosophy as opposed to bottom to top. It is shown by his work that you do not run into asmany problems doing it the reverse way that he does. Rationality is used to eliminate the feelingin a person. It is the complete opposite of emotion, rationality is used in all views. Emotioncauses more problems because none of the acts such as hate, love, murder, lust, fear.arerational. This idea of reason usually conflicts with the ideas of the bible but in Platos case the views werequite similar. Art is a form that is not looked upon as highly in society as rationality becausethere is so much emotion put into it. One of the best examples is love love is not a rationalthought and with art love is expressed a lot throughout important pieces. Rational thought isknow n to be able to start government and lifestyles, although not all lifestyles can be controlled. Take for instance an alcoholic is an alcoholic because they are not being rational and it is notthat they cant stop drinking it is that they dont have enough willpower to stop. It all comes downto lack of control and lack of reason. Most of what we do is not based on rational thought andeven though we know that it should be we too do not have the willpower to change our lifestylesaround. First of all, we wouldnt be able to survive because it would mean getting rid of allemotional thoughts and feelings and that is close to impossible. Second to live like that wouldseem so far out and unreal that no one would even try to attempt it. No one can live life withoutlove, lust, hate, and ANAYA6fear they are things that every human being is born with and will die with. Plato alwayspresumed that rational was good, and right, but to us in this world rational is impossible. (Swanson)BIBLIOGRAPHYAllen , R.E. The Dialogues of Plato, Volume II. London: Yale University Press Publisher,1991. .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae , .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae .postImageUrl , .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae , .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae:hover , .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae:visited , .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae:active { border:0!important; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae:active , .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uace559981b6aed3c4786000574e213ae:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Josef Mengele Was Born In 1911 In The Bavarian Village Of Gunzburg, Ge EssayGrant, Michael. Cicero, Selected Works. Blatimore: Penguin Books Publisher, 1960. Dolan, John P. The Essentials Erasmus. New York: The new American Library Publisher, 1964Internet. Plato (circa 428-C.-347 B.C) Plato Page. http://www.connect.net/ron/plato.html. Hare, R.M. Plato. London: Oxford University Press, 1892