Athen vs Rome

Christopher Hyun
Western Civilization 1
Professor Kincheloe
5/30/2013
“Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge” (Plato). Such a great philosopher like Plato, he strives to educate the people of Athens on behalf of Socrates. With the passion of various ideas on philosophy and political science, Plato pushes through his learning to teach our people. The former philosopher Socrates, Plato had gained the knowledge of the various meanings and the strive after Socrates was sentenced to death which the Athenian Council had given him for what he believed in. Plato’s ideas of teaching weren’t so complicated for us to bestow our knowledge to further extent. Later the teaching will not stop at the cost of false individual in the democracy. Aristotle will continue to prevail in the teaching of philosophy and other subjects that will lead to be a better person with great judgment in the political system in Athens. The “Academy” was a gift from Plato to expand our knowledge of learning philosophy, mathematics, and theoretical astronomy. It will show that written dialogues are far easy to comprehend because they are in play style form instead of textbooks. The challenges in learning are tend to be hurdles yet they are not to be giving up on. Towards the Athenian council, I truly demand that politics should be controlled by well educated individuals. Our former Athenian, Socrates, had to pay the consequences on his belief because he believe that people should devote themselves to individual excellence and justice for achievements above any other concern meant that they should abandon commitment towards the moral code. Socrates had his own principle to stand by on what he believed and to speak to us Athenians to examine our unexamined assumption about individual virtue. With this in mind he was labeled as a traitor and a false philosopher to corrupt the young minds of Athenians. Is this the way we have to go with ourselves in believing that there are gods out there who help us in fights, fights in which we have fought with our own sweat, blood, and tear to acknowledge that we are getting assistant from the gods. I truly state within the teaching of the Academy it shows people to make understandable judgment before the execution on one of our own. The Athenian Council before you, even confessed they had made a terrible mistake in giving Socrates a death sentence. We as a great nation made a huge mistake and informed this tragic situation with creating this horrific democracy. Plato, a great philosopher that was once under Socrates first created this Academy for the teaching of philosophy, mathematics, and theoretical astronomy to us Athens. Creating this Academy Plato shows us that he wanted to make readers reflect thoughtfully on difficult philosophical questions. It was a challenge for us to inherit the aspect of learning and understanding the key elements towards metaphysics. As all teachers their views are critically changed over time where Plato presents a consistent set of doctrines. Plato maintained one essential idea “Moral virtues are universal and absolute, not relative.” Our people of Athens need to believe the proper goal for humans is to seek order and purity in our own souls by using reason to control their irrational desires. We have far yet to prove that we live for ourselves we don’t live under someone, not until the soul is taken away after death from our bodies. With the system of democracy justice wont prevail it will need hierarchy. Leading back to Socrates death the citizens of Athens are incapable of rising above ignorant self-interest. With the ideal society that Plato showed that high ranked men and women should live together and create healthy babies. This might not lead to become true, but the sought of teaching the people into thinking this way it leads to live justly. Within this Academy that was created by Plato it won’t stop for the future philosopher and more Academies to assemble. The prodigy of a young gifted soul that was under the famous Plato came to be recognized as Aristotle. His teaching was soon to be more advance and hence for us as Athenians. He showed much more morals to ourselves then we could imagine. Aristotle achievement towards the system showed that logic argument and scientific investigation of the natural world we stand by. Unlike Plato, Aristotle insisted on explanations based on common sense rather than metaphysics. Aristotle showed us that observing an object or a human being is best to acknowledge on how they tend to act. With patience we tend to realize slowly that we develop behaviors and not just good intentions. “Self-control did not mean denying human desires and appetites; rather, it meant striking a balance between suppressing and heedlessly indulging physical yearnings, of finding the mean” (Aristotle). The Council of Athens, we tend to realize some of our moral code is sacred, but do tend to open your horizons on us as individuals for achieving goals and valuing self-control. As we come to an end, I hope you have the same output as I have explained the teachings and most importantly the Academy that was first formed by our own, Plato. The aspect of growing is not to just have beliefs, but to believe in ourselves as Athenians that we can strive to pursue anything whether it is war, learning, teaching, or creating. The future of our children needs to be well educated to know the difference between right or wrong with some aspect towards our moral code. Our people deserves better, for which they are messengers to expand the knowledge, power, and desire for Athens. They will not have any of those values what so ever if they are not well educated through the Academy that Plato and further more Aristotle has provided. May we have hope for the future as you, the Athenian Council to accept and recognize the great Academy was a best gift that the gods have given to Athens.