Aristotle’s Poetics December 19‚ 2010 1. The Concept of Imitation In The Poetics‚ Aristotle asserts that literature is a function of human nature’s instinct to imitate. This implies that as humans‚ we are constantly driven to imitate‚ to create. By labeling this creative impulse an “instinct‚” one is to believe that this desire for imitation is a matter of survival‚ of necessity. The question then arises‚ of what does one feel compelled to imitate and in what way does it aid in our survival
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3310-Christina Hughes 10/22/13 Machiavelli: The Prince In The Prince‚ Machiavelli introduced a completely different idea of what is a stable government and his definition of what virtue is compared to previous philosophers such as Thucydides‚ Socrates‚ etc. Previous‚ classical philosophers associated virtue with the good in life. In their eyes‚ a virtuous man is an honorable man. In The Republic of Plato‚ Socrates defines virtue as doing something well and in The Prince Machiavelli defines virtue as your
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I will present the argument for how this behaviour can be interpreted as being conservative using narratives from Crito and The Republic. Lastly‚ I will argue why this behaviour instead demonstrates that Socrates was a radical. In the Apology‚ Plato provides a narrative of Socrates’ defence for using the elenchus‚ an exhaustive questioning method‚ to stir the position of Athenian citizens on traditional values (Jowett‚ 2009). Derived from various arguments in The Apology‚ Crito‚ and The Republic
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In the allegory of the cave‚ Plato describes several men who have been chained all their lives with only a wall in front of them in which shadows are displayed and only echoes are heard. These men believe these shadows and echoes to be the totality of real things in the world without any inclination to question the veracity of their perception. Once one of them is released from the chains and comes out of the cave‚ he is welcomed into a new reality‚ one that supersedes the misapprehension of the
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alteration; as a foreign seed sown in an alien soil is wont to be overcome and die out into the native growth‚ so this kind does not preserve its own quality but falls away and degenerates into the alien type. - Plato‚ Republic 497 c I. Introduction In the sixth book of the Republic‚ Plato describes a philosophic soul as an exotic seed planted in strange soil. Because the soil is foreign to the seed‚ its growth is stunted‚ if not overwhelmed‚ by the forces alien to its nature. The context of
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Categorization of Friendship In this essay I will be discussing Aristotle’s different types of friendship. “By friendship (philia) Aristotle typically means the mutually acknowledged and reciprocal relation of good will and affection that exists among individuals who share an interest in each other on the basis of virtue‚ pleasure and utility.” (Sherman‚ 1987) In my opinion Aristotle’s friendship of virtue is the most respectful relationship of every mankind. I will first explain Aristotle’s
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There were many great philosophers who have contributed in making philosophy what it is today‚ one of them being Plato. In addition to being an outstanding philosopher‚ he was also a mathematician and a writer. One of Plato’s biggest inspirations was his very own teacher Socrates. Socrates never wrote down a word of what he said‚ but thankfully Plato was able to record it all down for him and wrote many dialogues about Socrates words and teachings. One of Plato’s most famous works was his dialogue
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Euthyphro – Plato NAME PHI208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Instructor date Euthyphro – Plato The discussion between Socrates and Euthyphro is one of the most famous Socratic discussions because of the meaning set behind the actions. This discussion is focused on what is the piety or the holiness asked by Socrates to Euthyphro. Socrates appoints Euthyphro to help him understand what piety is as he admits he does not know‚ in order to help with his case against him. They argue
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Aristotle Living a “Good Life.” This is something most people strive for‚ but what we all question is‚ what is it that leads to a “good life‚” or what does it really mean to have a “good life.” Most people would agree that whatever makes a person happy will lead to a good life‚ but happiness with each individual differs. Whether it be pleasure‚ wealth‚ or health many can disregard the virtue of true happiness‚ and their material desires leads to ignorance. Aristotle’s answer to this is that we must
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Aristotle’s theory of the four causes is impossible to apply to everyday life and cannot be applied to the real world. Aristotle believed there are four causes that determine what things are and their purpose and claims this is how we differentiate one thing from another. These four causes are known as the material cause‚ the efficient cause‚ the formal cause and most importantly for Aristotle‚ the final cause‚ and these together describe how ‘things’ transform from the state of actuality to potentiality
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