There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead on the tracks there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are some distance off the tracks on a footbridge standing next to a very large or fat man; we will call him the portly fella. You can push the man off the bridge, and his body will fall onto the tracks and stop the trolley from killing the five people, but will kill the portly fella. You have two options: (1) Do nothing and let the trolley kill the five people. (2) Push the man onto the tracks, where it is likely to kill the one person. What would you do in this situation? Push the portly fella, or just watch as the five people on the tracks reach their own demise.…
Socrates’ unique wisdom can be likened to that of a midwife, as stated in Theaetetus. In Meno, Socrates discusses the definition of virtue with the titular character. Socrates challenges Meno to define virtue, and Meno states that each demographic has a different virtue, for example, “a man’s virtue: to take part in the city’s affairs capably…”(Meno, 71e-72a) or “there is a different…
At one point during a philosophical debate between Socrates and Phaedo, Phaedo attempts to compares the human body to a lyre and the soul to the lyre’s harmony. Socrates, however, argues that this an inaccurate comparison. He explains that a harmony can be more and more fully harmonized or less and less fully harmonized, to which Phaedo confirms. Socrates then claims that a soul cannot be neither more nor less of a soul than another, a fact which Phaedo also confirms. Consequently, if the harmony of a lyre were to represent the human soul, then the harmony of all lyres must be the same, since no soul is greater nor lesser than another. Now, if virtue represents harmony and wickedness disharmony, then all souls must have the same amount of virtue…
The Meno, although not for certain, is thought to be one of Plato's earliest dialogues. The dialogue opens with Meno asking Socrates whether virtue can be imparted, or taught, with the two men dwelling on this question (alongside more central questions of what virtue is) for the entirety of the text. Within the text, Socrates tries to dichotomize an ethical term by inquisitively questioning an individual who believes to know the term's denotation, but ultimately determines that neither he nor the "expert" really know what the word means.…
Doesn’t the same hold for all the other things? Don’t you call shapes and colours admirable on the account of either some pleasure or benefit or both?…
This quote is significant because it exemplifies the way Socrates uses HIS method. Socrates uses metaphors in order to humbly enlighten his audience. At times Socrates structure of explanation is perceived to be complex and or difficult to interpret. To simplify what he is attempting to get across usually takes a thorough examination. Socrates is from ancient times and his methodology still suits fit to modern day. Analyzing the context of his circumstances before death alone goes to show the depth of understanding one needs to comprehend his ideology and beliefs. This quote also provides us with the notion of not being selfish and to avoid pretentious. When one thinks about death or the chance of dying when they’re in a predicament because…
Socrates introduces the concept of the divided line, which has four segments that refers to different levels of cognitive activities. It seems like that the divided levels works as a method of accessing one's intellect. According to Socrates, imagination is located at the very bottom of the line and belief is located right above imagination; these two segments represent the accessibility to the visible realm. Moreover, understanding is placed at the top of the line and thought is located right below understanding; and these two levels represent the accessibility to the intelligible. Socrates indicates that people in the imagination level barely has any knowledge.…
There are numerous charges against Socrates in the reading of The Apology. The basic charges against him include impiety, corrupting the youth, and theorizing about unknown topics. He does not believe in the gods that the state does, and therefore seeks for natural explanations to processes that occur in the world around him. He did not recognize the gods and introduced other new divinities. Socrates was charged with corrupting the youth. Due to the constant asking of questions and inquiry, it lead him to try to discover new things about life. Since he looked for natural reason, he began to teach others about his understandings. His followers soon began to imitate his methods and expose other people as unwise which was a threat to the order…
Junias explains how the knowledge of what is fearsome and what is encouraging is courage. While Socrates continues Nicaraguas’ line of thinking by introducing animals into the conversation, if courage depends on knowledge then animals such as lions are not smart enough to know, and even so few humans are able to understand. In response to Socrates and to Laches further questioning as to whether he believes animals that are commonly seen as courageous are wiser than us, or if he contradicts everyone else by denying their courageous portrayal. slices confirms that courageous is not the word he would use to describe animals, and that only a few people possess it; ‘courageous actions are wise actions’. I lean towards agreeing with spoken word in…
Philosophy Midterm Paper Being compared to a torpedo fish may seem like an insult, but in Socrates’ case, it is nothing but a compliment because of the actions behind it. Socrates is known for his questioning and critical thinking abilities that might give him this nickname. Meno, frustrated by Socrates extreme questioning, says, “Indeed if a joke is in order, you seem, in appearance and in every other way, to be like the broad torpedo fish, for it too makes anyone who comes close and touches it feel numb, and now you seem to have had that kind of effect on me, for both my mind and my tongue are numb, and I have no answer to give you.” (Plato 81).…
Socrates is known as the lover of wisdom and the lover of beauty. His speech is a response to Agathon who comically states that love is beautiful and young, the opposite of Socrates. Socrates inquires is love considered to be a love of something or of nothing? He compares that to how a father is a father to his children and a brother is a brother to his siblings. Socrates expresses that love’s desire suggests that one does not own what he or she loves. Socrates further explains this by giving the example of a healthy man having the desire to remain healthy. One’s desire for things is for the future. The desire rests in the preservation and not the lack thereof. This statement of love being a love of something shows that there is a connection…
One of the major themes that Socrates heavily focused on in his speech was the philosophical ideas of wisdom and a description of Socrates’ own wisdom as well. Older accusers had allegedly claimed that Socrates did not believe in gods, and instead would try to explain phenomenons through physical explanations instead, as well as the fact that Socrates would teach others how to make a weak argument triumph a stronger one by using clever rhetorics. In Socrates’ defense, he has stated that he does not have any kind of competence and expertise in any of these areas. This statement truly divides Socrates from sophists and even Presocratics, as teachers that each belong to these organizations assert that only through experience and examination they can gain…
Socrates suggests that rhetoric, practiced by Gorgias, is not an area of expertise or “tekhne” as they describe. Socrates believes that it is just a branch of flattery. The definition of flattery is such: Flattery is a representation of false arts in Socrates’ opinion. People who try and create good impressions just for excitement and pleasure are practicing flattery. Socrates states that the false arts are standing against the true forms of art, which target the good for its own sake. Socrates tries to prove this in his writing.…
What exacty is virtue and how does one describe it? In the dialog Meno, two men, Meno and Socrates, attempt to define virtue. The dialog begins with Meno asking Socrates if virtue can be taught. Personally, I do not imagine that virtue can be taught. Meno does not exactly know what virtue is but guesses that it is to possess power and to retain good things. Socrates argues that learning is impossible because a soul has already learned everything from passed lives and that learning is simply recollection from those past lives. The purpose of this paper is to discuss Meno’s paradox and to determine how Socrates resolves it.…
Socrates states that the human soul is immortal and it is reborn again, but it’s never destroyed. Socrates also points out that the soul has learned everything that is to know. Therefore, when we “learn” about something, it is merely just a “recollecting” what our soul’s have learned in the past. This idea is essentially the basis of the argument between Socrates and Meno. Socrates tries to prove this to Meno by calling over one of Meno’s servant and confirms that the boy has no knowledge of mathematics. At first, the boy seemed to have no knowledge about Socrates problem. But, through step-by-step questions, the boy was able to provide a correct answer to Socrates problem. Therefore, Socrates states that, since he had no knowledge of geometry in his life, he must have already known it and he was able to…