Essays On Plato

Essay on Plato
Plato: The Life of Plato
Plato was born around 427 BC, in Athens Greece to rich and politically involved family. Plato's
parents spared no expense in educating him; he was taught at the finest schools. He was taught by
Socrates and defended Socrates when he was on trial. Plato traveled to Italy and may have even
visited Egypt before founding The Academy.Plato also visited Sicily and instructed a young king
there before returning to The Academy to teach for twenty years before his death in 347 BC at the
age of eighty.
Growing up Plato would have gone to best schools the area had to offer; his parents were rich there
were no limitations to what they could afford. Plato was taught by the best teachers available and
was a very skillful...show more content...
At a later date Plato wrote "The Apology" remembering this horrendous time and the conversations
as he and Socrates other students argued for Socrates life.
After Socrates death Plato and several of Socrates other students traveled to Megara where they
stayed for 9 years. He also traveled to Italy around 390 BC where he met Archytas of Tarentum
who introduced Plato to Pythagorenism. This helped form Plato's ideas that mathematics was the
truest way of expressing the universe. There are also rumors of Plato traveling to Egypt and
learning of the water clock but like all rumors it is not know for sure.
Plato founded The Academy in 387 BC; it was build on land that once belonged to a man named
Academos hence the name The Academy. Plato founded The Academy for the purpose of
teaching future leaders of Greece. The Academy had a gymnasium and several shrines on its large
lot of land. After founding The Academy Plato traveled to Sicily, came back taught for four years,
left for Sicily again, and then returned to The Academy to teach for twenty years. When Plato died
he was succeeded by his nephew, not by Aristotle, which was who most people thought the
successor would be. The Academy was eventually shut down in 529 AD, but it holds an immense
record, it was kept open for nine hundred years, a feat no other establishment of its kind can claim.
In 367 BC Dion, a student and good friend of Plato, requested Plato to come and
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Essay on Plato's Symposium
Though not as philosophical as many of Plato's other works, The Symposium gives a greater in
depth account and characterization into the social life of the intellectual circles in Ancient Greece.
The eulogies from each of the philosophers at the discussion examine the origins and theories of
love in its many forms. Several of the theories and themes discussed in The Symposium are repeated
as well as contrasted by each of the orators. The themes of physical love and lust, and reproduction
are most notably discussed and compared within each speech.
The ideas of physical love, or the lusting for body rather than mind, are discussed within the
speakers and related to their own physical loves as compared to their intellectual loves....show more
content...
In Agathon's eulogy, he praises the actual god that is Love, and speaks of the virtues of Love rather
than the natures. Within these virtues is moderation, and he states that "love has the biggest share
of moderation. It is generally agreed that moderation is the mastery of pleasures and desires, and
that no pleasure is stronger than Love...if Love masters pleasures and desires, he must be
exceptionally moderate," (30.196c). This continues further on the ideas of the pleasure received
purely from physical love are inferior and must be practiced in moderation. Socrates closes on the
discussion of physical love and lust in his discussion. He concludes that physical love is not love
at all because, "desire and love are directed at what you don't have, what isn't there, and what you
need," (35.200e). Since one can never be in the possession of love, then love can not be held in the
single physical act of lust and pleasure. Each orator discusses the inferiority of the purely physical
acts of love and as they continue, each discussion delves further into the inadequacy of love without
intellect.
As with the aspects of physical love and lust within humans, the ideas of reproduction permeate
throughout The Symposium. In Aristophanes' address, he discusses the history of love in the

Plato's View of Love Essays
Plato is often criticized for preaching the gospel of me first. The claim is that his understanding of
love is essentially egoistic, and this is seen as troublesome for the obvious ethical reasons. But there
may be an even more troubling issue with Plato's understanding of love. In this paper I will attempt
to argue that for Plato, love is in a sense impossible; that it can only ever be a desire for something
out of one's grasp. The stakes are high but perhaps there is a way to understand this problem in a
way that seems a little less damning. To do this I will analyze arguments from the Lysis and the
Symposium, first questioning even the possibility of love and then attempt to show that love is in
fact possible, all though in weaker...show more content...
This is essentially the same kind of relationship I have to the plant in a garden. I water the plants,
weed the ground around, allowing them to flourish and in turn they provide me with food. It
seems on this conception of love I am equally able to love plant and a person, and do so in very
much the same manner. If love then, is love the useful it encompasses so much as to become
almost meaningless. It is odd to think of a young girl picking petals of a flower saying, "he thinks
I'm useful, he thinks he I'm useful not." Or staring deep into a lover's eye and saying,"You are
useful to me." In the Symposium Plato places Socrates in a dialogue with the goddess Diotima. She
says two things of interest to this paper about love. Firstly, at 206a that humans when they love
long to possess the good and do so for ever, and secondly that at 206b that "To love is to bring
forth upon the beautiful, both in body and soul (Hamilton 558)." The first statement makes a
claim about what love is, a desire to posses the good, and the second a statement about what love
does, bring forth the beautiful. I will now briefly analyze both claims. If love longs to possess the
good there are two possibilities, either man can come to possess the good or it can not. Now the
good itself, the form of the good stands outside of the realm of human existence, it is not possible
for men to see the form of the good. This can be derived from the worst

Plato's Theory Of Education Essay
Humanity is in a constant process to better themselves, as a result of their self–transcending nature.
The purpose of this process is to achieve an immortal soul. However, an individual cannot obtain this
without first being educated in the system developed by Plato and after surpassing his methods, the
individual will remain in a constant state of pursuing the classical virtues. To fully analyzePlato's
Theory of Education, an understanding of his Allegory of the Cave is necessary. This parable
begins with several prisoners chained by their legs and necks to restrict their movement. They
cannot converse with one another; they can only see the dark wall of the back of the cave in front
of them. Behind them is a fire and with its light,...show more content...
"At any rate, we are satisfied, as before, to have four divisions; two for intellect and two for
opinion, and to call the first division science, the second understanding, the third belief, and the
fourth perception of shadows" (VII). Each level consists of different concepts, and approaches reason
and analysis in extremely different manners. According to Socrates, through using this process, it
became possible to reach a perfection of which all knowledge strives to achieve. This perfection
is also referred to as the perception of the absolute good (VII). Achieving this knowledge is, to
Plato, precisely what humanity was constantly striving for. However, this pursuit cannot end
without first mastering all four divisions of Plato's Theory of Education. Primarily, the first two
divisions of the Metaphor of the Divided Line consist with the Visible World, and additionally,
are opinion based. As shown in the diagram, the first level's mode of thought is Imagining and
was referred to by Socrates as the perception of shadows (VII). Those engaged in this level of
philosophical thought draw their conclusions wholly on the evidence derived from Images. These
Images are merely shadows, reflections of physical objects. Moreover, they can easily be called
illusions as

Platos "The Symposium" Essay
In Greek culture around the time of Plato, the perfect ideal person was considered.
Plato's idea that there was a perfect world of ideas affected this pieces subject and the subject's
action. Many works of his time period were sculptures that were meant to be viewed from all angles,
attempting to be a closer match to that of the ideal. This idea that the ideal world was real and what
matter not the physical also effect the actions depicted in many works of this time period. Most of the
works are depicting an ideal Greek person performing a noble act not just a common act. Many of
the works are also just a still image of a figure from a single moment in time. All of the male
sculptures appear in the nude...show more content...
What is love? In his speech, Aristophanes engages in the discussion of love, encompassing human
nature as whole rather than individualistic aspects. According to a myth, we were originally
created as a single being, united with our beloved. As pairs, we were quite powerful and chaotic,
such that the god had to split us into two. Thereafter, life became pursuit, a pursuit for the other half,
a "pursuit for wholeness, to be complete." And thesis what Aristophanes defines as love.
He believes that love is innate: " love is born into every human being". He is expressing
that the phenomenon of love is as natural and inherent to us as breathing itself. Like other amenities
of life, Love fulfills us. "To be in love is to see the other individual as a special complement to
one's existence." Socrates, on the other hand, defines love as the desire to possess good and
beautiful entities, which he presently lacks. By a dialectical method, questioning Agathon, he
manifests that love cannot presently possess the object of affection. Even when he desires what he
has, what he really desire is "the preservation of what he now has in time to come, so that he
will have it then." It follows then, that he wants, rather than has the good. Thus,
Love itself is not beautiful. This however, does not imply that Love is ugly or evil. Rather,
Love is in between; just as there is something between wisdom and

Plato's Theory of Knowledge Essay
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.
...show more content...
Plato considered shadows, art and poetry, especially rhetoric, deceptive illusions, what you see is
not necessarily what you get. With poetry and rhetoric you may be able to read the words but you
may not understand the "real" meaning. For example, take, again, the shadow. If you know a
shadow is something "real" then you are beyond the state of imagination which implies that a
person is "unaware of observation and amounts to illusion and ignorance". Belief is the next stage
of developing knowledge. Plato goes with the idea that seeing really is not always believing we
have a strong conviction for what we see but not with absolute certainty. This stage is more
advanced than imagining because it's based more firmly on reality. But just because we can
actually see the object and not just it's shadow doesn't mean we know all there is to know about
the object. In the next stage, Thinking, we leave the "visible world" and move into the "intelligible
world" which, Plato claims, is seen mostly in scientists. It stands for the power of the mind to take
properties from a visible object and applying them. Thinking is the "visible" object but also the
hypotheses, "A truth which is taken as self–evident but which depends upon some higher truth".
Plato wants us to see all things as they really are so we can see that all is inter–connected. But

Essay about Plato
Birth and family
The exact birthdate of Plato is unknown. Based on ancient sources, most modern scholars estimate
that he was born in Athens or Aegina[b] between 428 and 427 BC[a] His father was Ariston.
According to a disputed tradition, reported by Diogenes Laertius, Ariston traced his descent from the
king of Athens, Codrus, and the king of Messenia, Melanthus.[4] Plato's mother was Perictione,
whose family boasted of a relationship with the famous Athenian lawmaker and lyric poet Solon.[5]
Perictione was sister of Charmides and niece of Critias, both prominent figures of the Thirty Tyrants,
the brief oligarchic regime, which followed on the collapse of Athens at the end of the
Peloponnesian war (404–403 b.c.e.).[6] Besides Plato...show more content...
According to Burnet, "the opening scene of the Charmides is a glorification of the whole [family]
connection ... Plato's dialogues are not only a memorial to Socrates, but also the happier days of his
own family".[17]
Name
According to Diogenes Laertius, the philosopher was named Aristocles after his grandfather, but his
wrestling coach, Ariston of Argos, dubbed him "Platon", meaning "broad" on account of his robust
figure.[18] According to the sources mentioned by Diogenes (all dating from the Alexandrian
period), Plato derived his name from the breadth (platutГЄs) of his eloquence, or else because he was
very wide (platus) across the forehead.[19] In the 21st century some scholars disputed Diogenes, and
argued that the legend about his name

Essay on Plato's Euthyphro
Plato's Euthyphro
One of the most interesting and influential thinkers of all time was Socrates, whose dedication to
careful reasoning helped form the basis for philosophy. Socrates applied logical tricks in the search
for the truth. Consequently, his willingness to call everything into question and his determination to
accept nothing less than an accurate account of the nature of things made him one of the first people
to apply critical philosophy. Although he was well known for his philosophical ways of thinking,
Socrates never wrote anything down, so we are dependent on his students, like Plato, for any detailed
knowledge of his methods or ways of thinking. One of the early dialogues...show more content...
Euthyphro is supposed to provide a general definition that captures the very basic nature of what
piety is. Euthyphro claims that he knows what it is to be pious, but every answer he offers is
subjected to the full force of Socrates' critical thinking. Socrates systematically refutes
Euthyphro's suggestion that what makes right actions right is that the gods love, or approve of
them. First, there is the problem that since questions of right and wrong often create endless
disputes, the gods are likely to disagree among themselves about moral matters just as often as we
do, making some actions both right and wrong. Socrates lets Euthyphro off the hook on this one
by agreeing with him, but only for purposes of continuing the discussion. More importantly,
Socrates instigates a formal problem for Euthyphro from a deceivingly simple question, "Is the
pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?" Neither
choice can do the justice for which Euthyphro intends his definition of piety. If right actions are
pious only because the gods love them, then moral rightness is completely optional, depending only
on the impulses of the gods. But if the gods love right actions only because they are already right,
then there must be some non–divine source of values, which we might come to know separately
from their

Plato Essay
Today many people regard Plato as the first genuine political philosopher and Aristotle as the first
political scientist. They were both great thinkers in regards to, in part with Socrates, being the
foundation of the great western philosophers. Plato and Aristotle each had ideas in how to proceed
with improving the society in which they were part of during their existence. It is necessary
therefore to analyze their different theoretical approaches regarding their philosophical perspectives,
such as ethics and psychology. This paper however will mainly concentrate on Aristotle's views on
friendship and how it impacts today's society.
The main objective in Plato's philosophy is a creation of a perfect society. He constructs a foundation
He felt that Plato's view of a strict overhaul of society in general wasn't necessary. He believed that
society was at its optimum and you can only improve upon the existing one.
Plato's perfect society would consist of three basic groups, which are Guardians (Gold), Auxiliaries
(Silver), and the Artisan (Bronze). The highest of these classes are the gold people, which consist of
rulers and non–rulers. Those that are rulers are society's decision & policy makers and
non–rulers occupy levels of civil servants. The fundamental prerequisite to becoming a genuine
philosopher is to have knowledge of forms, thus enabling you to know the truth. Plato's theory of the
forms is partly logical and part metaphysical. Armed with the truth, he believed that philosophical
ruler will always make the right decision, and rule with total wisdom, justice and virtue. The rulers,
he felt, wouldn't posses any money or property, they would be free of desires, excesses, and vices.
The Auxiliaries (Silver) are people of strength, courage, and military capacity; they occupy a small
sector of society. All auxiliaries would be subjected to a series of tests, which will check their
powers of resistance to self–interest, pleasure and other temptations. The last level, Artisan (Bronze),
are the workers which might be composed of farmers and artist, essentially non–skilled workers.
They would produce all the consumable and non–consumable goods deemed necessary for
consumption and the continued

Essay on Plato's Theory of Knowledge
"If the truth of all things always existed in the soul, then the soul is immortal" (The Philosophical
Journey 89). This states that since the soul has all knowledge integrated, one recollects this
knowledge through situations in an individual's life and use one's reasoning. With the dialogues of
the Meno and Phaedo, Plato discusses the ideas of recollection and immortality of the soul in general.
As well, the Republic, through the three different situations shown, Plato shows the ideas of the
forms and what is real and what is not.
In the dialogue of Meno, Socrates explains the idea of recollection with the question and answer
period between himself and the boy. Meno asks Socrates, "What do you mean by saying that we do
not learn, and...show more content...
Socrates ponders this thought and explains that, "His soul must have always possessed this
knowledge, for he either was or was not a man" (The Philosophical Journey 89). This explains that
it is an innate notion, where the soul always has the knowledge and can be obtained through
remembering said knowledge. Therefore, Socrates believes that since the truth is always inside the
soul, then it must be immortal. The soul has all knowledge, and through the process of
recollection, one can recover this information. Phaedo, the second dialogue of Plato's theory, states
that only through the forms and absolutes, an individual can have knowledge. It has been
questioned how society can have the knowledge of an absolute if we haven't discovered said
absolute. Socrates reflects, "The thing which I see aims at being like some other thing, but falls
short of and cannot be like that other thing, and is inferior" (The Philosophical Journey 90). That is
to say that in order to have the understanding of an absolute of something, we can derive its meaning
from the things that do not meet the requirements. In addition, to derive the conceptualization of an
absolute, an individual can only use the senses one is given. As well, Socrates declares, "From the
senses then is derived the conception that all sensible equals aim at an absolute equality of which
they fall short" (The Philosophical Journey 90). As a result, the senses can only see

The Theory of the Ideas and PlatoвЂ™s Ontology
I. THE THEORY OF THE IDEAS AND PLATO'S ONTOLOGY
I. 1. The ontological dualism The theory of the Ideas is the base of Plato's philosophy: the Ideas are
not only the real objects ontologically speaking, but they are the authentically objects of knowledge
epistemologically speaking. From the point of view of ethics and politics, they are the foundation of
the right behaviour, and anthropologically speaking they are the base of Plato's dualism and they
even allow him demonstrate the immortality of the soul. Plato defends a clear ontological dualism
in which there are two types of realities or worlds: the sensible world and the intelligible world or, as
he calls it, the world of the Ideas. The Sensible World is the...show more content...
The objects to which names (such as "Socrates" or "Napoleon") refer are individuals; but we have
certain problems about the objects to which other terms (nouns, abstract adjectives and abstract
nouns) refer. We call them UNIVERSAL terms because they do refer to a plurality of objects. For
that reason Plato deduces there must be universal beings matching up those universal concepts of
which there are plenty of individuals or examples; "The Green" would match the concept of "green",
"The Kindness" would match the concept of "kindness", "The Beauty" would match the concept of
"beautiful", "The Truth" would match the concept of "truth". Those beings which match universal
concepts are called Ideas or Forms.
c) The possibility of scientific knowledge: science strictly talking cannot deal with things which are
continuously changing; the sensible world is continuously changing, so science cannot study it; it
has to study an immutable world. The second premise shows a clear affinity with Parmenides of
Elea and Heraclitus of Ephesus: what is given to our senses is a world ruled by continuous change,
by mutation. As far as the first premise, we have to think about something permanent in those
objects we want to have knowledge about if we want this knowledge to be true. Is there any
knowledge that is always true and not just sometimes true? If there is, then we have to think there
are things

Essay on Plato's Concept Of Justice
Plato's Concept Of Justice
ABSTRACT: In his philosophy Plato gives a prominent place to the idea of justice. Plato was highly
dissatisfied with the prevailing degenerating conditions in Athens. The Athenian democracy was on
the verge of ruin and was ultimately responsible for Socrates's death. The amateur meddlesomeness
and excessive individualism became main targets of Plato's attack. This attack came in the form of
the construction of an ideal society in which justice reigned supreme, since Plato believed justice to
be the remedy for curing these evils. After criticizing the conventional theories of justice presented
differently by Cephalus, Polymarchus, Thrasymachus and Glaucon, Plato gives us his own theory of
justice according to...show more content...
In additional, Sophistic teaching of the ethics of self–satisfaction resulted in the excessive
individualism also induced the citizens to capture the office of the State for their own selfish
purpose and eventually divided "Athens in to two histile camps of rich and poor, opressor and
opressed. "Evidently, these two factors amateur needlesomeness and excessive individualism
became main targets of Plato's attack. The attack came in the form of the construction of an ideal
society in which "Justice" reigned supreme, since Plato found in justice the remedy for curing these
evils. Thus, we are to inquire in this study the nature of justice as prepounded by Plato as a
fundamental principle of well–order society.
It is to be noted that before Plato many theories of justice were prevalent. The inquiry about justice
goes from the crudest to the most refined interpretation of it. It remains therefore to inquire what
were the reasons for which he rejected those views. Thus before discussing Plato's own concept of
justice, it is necessary to analyze those traditional theories of justice were rejected by him.
Cephalus who was a representative of traditional morality of the ancient trading class established the
traditional theory of justice . According to him

Essay on Plato and Aristotle
Plato describes a cave where people are chained up and can only see shadows cast on a wall. He
parallels these shadows to the things that people see in the world around them, the materialistic
reality that most people base their lives on. He parallels the chains to norms, customs, traditions,
habits, etc. Plato believes that because people are so preoccupied with these shadows of the truth,
they ignore the real truth. He parallels these shadows to the things that people see in the world
around them, the materialistic reality that most people base their lives on. So, it makes sense that
Plato wouldn't want to discount the possibility of a philosopher king based on the fact that he has
never seen one,...show more content...
This example of the differences in Plato an Aristotle's different views on government could be
expanded and clarified to a much greater extent than I have done here, however I don't believe
that it would help to show which is better. Comparing their theories of government would make
this task difficult, if not impossible, because such a comparison is so complex. So I would like to
move on to an example of their different views that has been historically tested, the issue of
women. In Greek civilization, women are seen to be inferior to men. They don't vote, or hold
political office. In the household, the man is in charge, and the woman obeys. Women aren't
educated (so they seem stupider than men do), and they are obviously weaker physically than men
are. Both Plato and Aristotle live in this civilization where women seem to be unequal to men, but
they have different opinions about the significance of this inequality. Aristotle believes that women
are inferior to men by nature (Politics 17, 26). Men hold political offices, and women don't; men
give orders, and women obey. This has been true in every civilization that Aristotle knows about.
Aristotle looks at these facts in the world around him, past and present, and uses the facts that he
sees to explain reality. In Aristotle's opinion women are obviously not inclined by nature to rule or be

Essay on Plato
Plato
The first degree of belief are physical objects, as the second degree of belief are shadows and
images of the physical objects. In the last book, Plato criticizes poetry and the fine arts. Plato feels
that art is merely the imitation of the imitation of reality, and that poetry corrupts the soul. Socrates
says that artists merely create things. As an example, if a painter draws a couch on his canvas, he is
creating a couch. But the couch he creates is not the real couch, it is nothing but a copy of an
ordinary, physical couch which was created by a craftsman. But the ordinary, physical couch is
nothing more than an imperfect copy, or image of the Form of Couch. So, the couch on the canvas
is nothing but a copy of a copy of the...show more content...
The Republic was Plato's ways of expressing his Theory of Forms and Justice. The main idea
perhaps is to make people understand that there can be no justice within a society whose people
are not "just" within themselves. There needs to be an internal justice, within the people, and
within each person, in order to bring peace to the society. From reading the Republic, I realized
that some issues he mentions are very clear, and some are not clear since I live in a different
society and time. Plato does not describe his ideal society in great detail since he is considered
with the ideal idea itself, and it is hard for me as a materialist to understand without seeing. One
thing that is clear is that Plato tries to defend his theory all along and lets us, "the unknowledged,"
experience a glimpse of the good. Plato's belief seemed that life was to involve a movement upward
toward the good, as this was a movement of the Soul.
Morality in the republic
The theme of The Republic is very complicated in some ways; it is a manual of sorts, which
demonstrates how society can achieve virtue. In the beginning of the Republic, we are introduced to
the fundamental question of the rest of the text, whether it is more beneficial to live justly (moral) or
unjustly (immoral). It is also important to note that The Republic is not arguing which is "better",
but rather which is more beneficial, whether the just or unjust life will make one happier. I

Essay about Plato
Plato was a philosopher and educator in ancient Greece. He was one of the most important thinkers
and writers in the history of Western culture. Plato was born in Athens into a family that was one of
the oldest and most distinguished in the city. His father Ariston died when Plato was only a child.
The name Plato was a nickname meaning broad shoulders. Plato's real name was Aristocles. Plato
had aspirations of becoming a politician, however these hopes were destroyed when his friend
Socrates was sentenced to death in 299 B.C. Extremely hurt Plato left Athens and traveled for
several years. In 387 B.C., Plato returned to Athens and founded a school of philosophy and science
that became known as the Academy. Topics such as astronomy,
Plato was interested in how we can apply a single word or concept to many words or things. For
example how can the word house be used for all the individual dwellings that are houses? Plato
answered that various things can be called by the same name because they have something in
common. He called this common factor the thing's form or idea. Plato insisted that the forms differ
greatly from the ordinary things that we see around us. Ordinary things change but their forms do
not. A particular triangle may be altered in size or shape but the form of a triangle can never
change. Plato concluded that forms exist neither in space or time. They can be known not only by
the intellect but also by the senses. Because of their stability and perfection, the forms have greater
reality than ordinary objects observed by the senses. Thus true knowledge is knowledge of the forms.
In his most well known work, The Republic, Plato states that in his view, only in a good society
can the good life be achieved. The Republic outlines Plato's idea of a perfect or utopian society. He
also identifies the four cardinal virtues that are required for a good society. These cardinal virtues
are temperance or self–control, courage, wisdom, and justice. Without these virtues he believed that
the good life could not be obtained. In The Republic Plato also discusses two different forms of

Essay on Plato on Justice
Plato's interpretation of justice as seen in 'The Republic' is a vastly different one when compared
to what we and even the philosophers of his own time are accustomed to. Plato would say justice
is the act of carrying out one's duties as he is fitted with. Moreover, if one's duties require one to lie
or commit something else that is not traditionally viewed along with justice; that too is considered
just by Plato's accounts in 'The Republic.' I believe Plato's account of justice, and his likely defense
against objections are both clear and logical, thus I will endeavor to argue his views as best as I can.
Plato's view of justice ties in with his view of a perfect world. In Plato's ideal world, the society
would be a wise one, wise in...show more content...
Plato goes about this by explaining what justice is; justice has to do with doing what is right, and
there exists some specific virtue in everything, which enables it to work well. If it is deprived of
that nature, in contrast it would suffer. It is much the same with the soul, the soul must also perform
its specific virtue. The more virtuous, or 'just' a soul is, the happier the soul is. The happier the soul
is, the happier the person is. Therefore a just man lives happily and well, whereas an unjust man
would not. This argument follows the a=b b=c therefore a=c argument form.
Another objection, brought about by a radical and different theory of Justice is brought up by Plato
in a conversation between Socrates and Thrasymachus. In this argument Thrasymachus defines
justice as in the interest of the stronger. This basically means that justice belongs in the hands of
the rulers, and that the rulers are whoever is stronger, therefore getting to a ruling position. Laws
are then made, based on the ruling party's interest, and only theirs. Those who violate such created
laws, will get punished for breaking the law and so on and so forth. Socrates completely disagrees
with this theory of justice and gives the analogy of a physician who is studying and exercising his
power is in fact doing so in the interest of his patients, not himself. In

Essay on Plato's Republic
Plato's Republic
Plato, one of the most ingenious and powerful thinkers in Western philosophy, born around 425
B.C. Plato investigated a wide range of topics. Dominant among his ideas is an immense discourse
called The Republic. The main focus of Plato is a perfect society. He outlines a utopian society, out
of his disapproval for the tension of political life. Plato lived through the Peloponnesian War
(431–404 BC), in which much of Greece was devastated. This created poverty and political
confusion and corruption. Therefore, Plato created a sketch of a society in which the problems he
thought were present would be eased. Essentially, The Republic deals with the question of justice
and therefore with the questions "what is a just...show more content...
Although, this system is a hierarchy with the philosophers at the top, but they are the only ones who
can find universal truths and apply it and teach it to those who cannot see it.
Plato also has three other virtues to help categorize those within the city and find justice in the city
itself– wisdom, courage, and moderation, all ideals that would sustain the city and nurture it.
Philosophers posses wisdom, auxiliaries courage, and all classes poses moderation. Wisdom is the
whole knowledge, which describes the rulers of the city. The rulers should be the ones who
incorporate philosophy and ruling together to rule the city wisely. Courage describes the guardians,
whose job was to defend the city from invasion and take new lands for the city. The third virtue of
the ideal city was moderation which is the concept of self–control and knowing ones role, also the
concept of "one man, one job". The ideal city described in the work is picture perfect because it
brings harmony among the different kind of people and the virtues that go hand in hand to bring
justice about.
Despite his emphasis of justice as a function of the perfect state, Plato also deals with justice as a
personal virtue. There are three parts in the individual soul –– sensation, emotion, and intelligence.
The just person has to know how to balance these aspects. Each person has to act in moderation to
enhance the well being of the city. Food and possessions are

Essay On Plato And Rousseau
People have been yielding their basic moral and social rights to a higher power and the concept of a
divine being for centuries. In 360 B.C.E., Plato's Symposium discussed higher power in human
culture and, in 1762 Jean–Jacques Rousseau discussed the same concept from a different
perspective in The Social Contract. It is significant because, despite the long passage of time
between these texts and today, people still yield to a higher power in modern society. In Plato's
Symposium, the idea that the gods hold ultimate power over human life shapes the actions of those
in a society. Every aspect of life, from creation to the body's physical shape to death, is controlled by
the gods and could be taken at any moment if humans overstep the boundaries...show more content...
The sovereign power being God or the gods in both cases and the united society being the yielding
of rights in favor of mutual benefit for all members of society. These rights are yielded not from
physical force but out of a convenience and moral beliefs. Plato and Rousseau emphasize God's
or the gods' ultimate control over the lives of humans. Both also give the reason for human
obedience to the higher power being love, fear, and hope. The humans in Plato's writing and the
citizens in Rousseau's writing seek to benefit themselves and they ultimately do by giving up some
individual right to the whole. However, while Plato focuses more on the emotional aspects of a
higher power and obedience, Rousseau focuses on survival and benefit as the reason for the
obedience to a higher power. Plato inadvertently describes a hierarchy of power while explaining an
origin story (Plato 63–66). On the other hand, Rousseau deliberately presents each level in the
hierarchy and justification for each. Both Plato and Rousseau put God or the gods as the highest
power with human and then other creatures below them (Rousseau 14–15). The hierarchy of power
outlined by Rousseau and Plato is significant because it is still relevant in modern times. Modern
culture, specifically the majority of the United States follows a hierarchy of power with God at the
top, humans beneath God, and animals below humans. This form is exactly like Plato's and
Rousseau's power structure. The yielding of individual right to benefit as a whole can also be found
in modern culture. The social hierarchy defined by Plato and Rousseau is seemingly timeless and
applicable to almost every

Plato's Theory of Human Knowledge Essay
Plato's Theory of Human Knowledge
Plato contended that all true knowledge is recollection. He stated that we all have innate knowledge
that tells us about the things we experience in our world. This knowledge, Plato believed, was
gained when the soul resided in the invisible realm, the realm of The Forms and The Good.
Plato's theory of The Forms argued that everything in the natural world is representative of the
ideal of that form. For example, a table is representative of the ideal form Table. The form is the
perfect ideal on which the physical table is modeled. These forms do not exist in the natural world,
as they are perfect, and there is nothing perfect in the natural world. Rather the forms exist in the
invisible realm,...show more content...
is recollected.
However, in proving that what we call learning is actually recollection, Plato also proved that the
soul is immortal. As was stated, there is no example of true perfection in our world. Yet, we can
imagine the idea of perfection. Where could this idea come from if we have not experienced it in
our world? We must have experienced it at some point if the idea is within us.
Thus, Plato argued that the soul must have existed outside of the natural world. In order for this to
be so, it must be immortal, living before it came into this world. It only stands to reason, Plato
contended, that it must continue to exist after it leaves this world. How else would it have been in
existence before it came into this world? Plato believed that it was a rational assumption that our
soul must continue to exist even after our death.
Whether Plato believed that the soul migrates from one lifetime to another, one body to another,
some would say is unclear. However, I believe that the idea of recollection leans heavily on the
assumption that the soul is residing within the invisible realm before it comes into existence in the
physical realm.
If the soul migrates from one body to another at one person's death and another's birth, then we
would still have no explanation for the soul's knowledge of the forms. For wouldn't the previous life
have been spent in the natural world, just as this life is? As has already been argued,

Plato the Philosopher Essay
Plato was a philosopher who was born in Athens (470–390 BCE), and was also a student of Socrates.
He felt that intelligence and one's perception belonged to completely independent realms or
realities. He believed that general concepts of knowledge were predestined, or placed in the soul
before birth even occurred in living things. Plato believed that the cosmos was intelligible, and the
the universe was mathematically understandable. He believes that mathematical objects could be
seen as perfect forms. Forms, a doctoral of Plato, can be understood as an everyday object or idea,
which does not, exists in the everyday realm, but merely is existent in the hypothetical realm or
reality.
Plato believed that the truths existed...show more content...
Our sensory also give us knowledge of the material world, what we can see or smell. And sensory
objects he believed that they were in constant change and were a phenomenon to the physical world.
Plato used the concept of the divided line to illustrate the relationship of knowledge to opinion.
Metaphysics is investigating principles or reality transcending those of any particular science.
Cosmology and Ontology were the traditional branches concerned with the explaining of the
ultimate nature of being in the world. Epistemology was also used it is the attempt to answer the
basic question of true and untrue knowledge. The study of nature of being, existence or reality in
general and its basic categories. A Plato's Divided Line. A+B= world of forms (Being). C+D=
(Becoming) Segments A, B, C, D represent decreasing degrees of truth. Ea. Degree of truth
corresponds to different kind of thinking and different level of reality. (A) Level of pure intelligence
or understanding the soul directly apprehends truth at highest level. (B) Level of reasoning
specifically, mathematical thinking and deductive reasoning. (C) Level of belief or common
opinions about physical objects, morals, politics, and practical affairs. (D) Level of illusion,
dominated by second hand opinions and uncritical impressions. Plato states that The Form Human
does not change–grow–or decay. Aristotle a student of Plato's for twenty years disagreed with Plato's
views. His basic

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