In Plato’s Republic, many stories are used as allusions and metaphors to describe the issues being discussed. One of these stories is in chapter two and is known as the “Ring of Gyges.” This story has many similarities to the Ring of Power in The Lord of The Rings saga, which also grants the ability to turn invisible. In this essay, I will compare and contrast the “Ring of Gyges” and the events surrounding the Ring of Power in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.…
Democritus was a Greek Philosopher born 460 B.C. in the city of Abdera, and died 370 B.C. He was born into a wealthy family and traveled the world extensively. He was known as the “laughing” philosopher, or the “happy” philosopher because he would constantly mock people, and laugh incessantly about his own jibes. Throughout his life he wrote over 70 books, however very few pages have survived the years. Some have said that Democritus blinded himself to better understand his own mind,however, because he had over 70 writings these conceptions of Democritus have been discredited. Democritus studied natural philosophy under his mentor Leucippus, who had a huge affect on Democritus's writings and publications as they were very similar to Leucippus own theories. It is difficult to distinguish whose theories belonged to who because very few documents have survived. However Democritus has been credited with most of them. His major contributions to science is his atomic theory,which was the basis on which modern atomic theory was developed.(http://www.iep.utm.edu/democrit/)…
Socrates beforehand disproving Gorgias and Polus in The Gorgias, now takes on a rival who he deems qualified enough: Callicles. Here, they discuss the value of temperance and the indulgence of pleasures. Callicles remarks to Socrates, “In the rightly-developed man the passions ought not to be controlled, but that we should let them grow to the upmost and somehow or other satisfy them, and that that is virtue” (Plato 74). Callicles says that to allow growth and indulge in your desires is real virtue. A man who is slave of his own restraint cannot be happy. According to him, satisfying longings is natural and even noble, but because the weaker cannot attain this and are ashamed of their own weakness, they reprimand intemperance and instead praise…
Democracy has been around for hundreds of years and while the basic principles have stayed the same though each society governed in a slightly different way. The most influential democracies were Greece, as it was considered one of the first democracies, and the Roman Republic which lasted several hundred years. Because each sovereignty ruled differently, they had different advancements in the areas of democracy especially in the people's role in the government, the method of voting and fairness of law.…
“Socrates: Should a man professionally engaged in physical training pay attention to the praise and blame and opinion of any man or to those of one man only namely a doctor or trainer”. The problem with this is that the opinion of the majority bears a different type of value than the opinion of a single specialized instructor. In his example it seems accurate to follow the advice of a doctor because the majority is generally uneducated on training. However, you can not trust the advice of just one person. This doctor may have a special agenda. He could be paid by another athlete to make the man training lose. Of course Socrate’s paradigm is just an illustration and is not meant to be examined too deeply but when we apply it to real life…
Power, Justice, and a Bunch of Dudes Arguing Power and weakness, justice and injustice, good and bad. In a world where men seek power at any and all costs, it is important to stop and consider what truly makes one powerful. In Gorgias, translated by James H. Nichols Jr., Gorgias and Polus are trapped in an argument with Socrates about the power that rhetors possess. However, through the use of allegories to justice and suffering, Socrates asserts that it is not power that these such men possess, but, rather weakness.…
It is in this phase that one begins to understand the origin of their actions. One may think they are pursuing something for one reason, when really there is an unconscious desire that is the true cause of the action. In Plato’s Gorgias (488B-491A), Socrates uses his question and answer technique to the extreme. Socrates continuously asks Callicles, in what may seem like a redundant process, to further explain his idea of the terms ‘better’ and ‘superior’. It is clear through this questioning process that Callicles has many discrepancies in his understanding that weaken his overall…
13. What does Teiresias reveal to Oedipus as a result of the king's angry accusation? Note the emphasis on sight and blindness in the dialogue between Oedipus and Teiresias. What irony is implicit in this emphasis?…
Visiting Athens in 427, the Sicilian orator and philosopher, Gorgias, made a sensation by dealing with questions of causality and responsibility, which lay at the heart of Oedipus. A few years later, another orator by the name of Protagoras visited Athens. One of his sayings, “Of all things man is the measure, of the things that are, that they are, and the things that are not, that they are not,” expresses a human-centered, rationalistic speculation that is embodied by the hero in Oedipus. So besides its artistic merit, Oedipus is a major document in one of the most far-reaching intellectual revolutions in Western history. Sometimes called the Fifth-Century enlightenment, this period is marked by a shift from the mythical and symbolic thinking characteristics of archaic poets to a more conceptual and abstract mode of though. According to this new mode, the world operates through non-personal processes that follow predictable, scientific…
“The most intriguing people you will encounter in this life are the people who had insights about you, that you didn't know about yourself” (Alder). This quote can be used to show why the great Greek philosopher, Socrates is deemed as being so intriguing. During his time, Socrates was seen as a great threat because he tended to break free from the normal way of thinking and inevitably, people became afraid of him. Socrates was eventually put to death on account of “corrupting the youth” and being an “atheist,” which were false claims against him to cover up the fact that his accusers simply didn’t like him or his ways. When reading Plato’s Republic, Socrates is shown as being very intriguing because of: his humble ways, his Socratic method,…
In the Gorgias1, Socrates says, “I think that I am the only or almost the only Athenian living who practices the true art of politics; I am the only politician of my time”, while in the Apology2, he claims that “he who will really fight for the right, if he would live even for a little while, must have a private station and not a public one.” As we know, Socrates did manage to live for over 70 years, and did indeed confine himself to a private stance; but how can one be a politician without being a public figure? Or was Socrates not a true champion of justice, as he maintained to be?…
In the Ring of Gyges, Glaucon and Socrates argue over what justice really is. They talk about the classes of goods. The first class being some things are good no matter the consequences, such as joy (The Ring of Gyges, Plato). The second class would be things like health and knowledge, things that are desirable for their results, and the third class are things like a job, or exercise, things that are only good for their consequences (The Ring of Gyges, Plato). Glaucon places justice in the second class because he believes people seek justice only for praise and reputation. To prove his point, he tells Socrates the legend of The Ring of Gyges.…
What is passed down as history – in addition to formative cultural practices – is the cornerstone for all political and socioeconomic structure in society, both past and present. This relationship between the structure of a state and the substance of its people’s beliefs is evident across both traditions and time. Beginning with an open view of human functioning lends itself to be most constructive while investigating this relationship, which is viewing humans as more introspective beings looking for an explanation of human nature. Woven across the cultures studied this semester the theme of a more stable society existing at a time when that society’s institutions reflect individual’s higher levels of developed thinking, can be identified.…
Instruction ought not go for placing learning into the spirit, but rather at turning the spirit toward right cravings. Proceeding with the similarity amongst brain and sight, Socrates clarifies that the vision of an astute, evil man may be similarly as sharp as that of a scholar. The issue lies in what he turns his sharp vision toward It is essential to acknowledge, when perusing the purposeful anecdote of the give in and of the line, that Plato intends to portray four methods for considering, as well as four lifestyles. To utilize an illustration, envision that a man in each of these stages were made a request to state what bravery is. The comprehension of strength would vary generally from stage to…
Still, there are many people who are in opposition to Socrates’ decision of remaining in prison and firmly waiting for his execution. Some critics would claim that Socrates is causing harm by accepting his execution and bringing an end to his life as a teacher. Yet, this claim is refuted because whether Socrates was executed, or he chose to escape and fled into exile, he would not have been able to teach the Athenian people either well. Also, he is not harming others through his death because of the incapability of doing good deeds by living. This means that Socrates would not be doing the right deed by not facing his death penalty because in order for him to continue to make the correct decision, Socrates has to both not escape prison and follow…