In The Republic‚ Plato plays around with the argument that it is better to be just than unjust. His vessel for showing this is through the forming of an “ideal” city. In this hypothetical city he creates a censored educational system and abolishes the “typical” family structure in hopes that the society would be just. Taking in the context and the time period‚ Socrates’ ideas were radical but plausible‚ if executed correctly. Through that execution‚ though‚ I am not completely convinced that human
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Aristotle/Plato Essay What is the purpose of an examined life? The examined life is a life that is thought through logically and has a clear and distinct view on the world and everything that makes up the world. An examined life also has a logical purpose and goal to strive for and achieve. Not only is this life preferable but also it is necessary‚ which is shown through Plato’s writings in the Five Dialogues‚ that “the unexamined life is not worth living for men” (41‚ Five Dialogues). Without
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but by the time Plato brings up the notion of a philosopher-king it’s thirty years after Socrates’ death and what the character Socrates says in the Republic is probably much more Plato than Socrates. This is also two hundred years after Confucius‚ so it may even be that the two are not quite so isolated from each other as they may seem. A couple interesting differences between the two become readily apparent. Plato thought that a true philosopher actually wouldn’t want to lead unless he was forced
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Euthyphro Plato’s Euthyphro is the dialogue of Socrates and Euthyphro. Socrates requests that Euthyphro teaches him the meaning of piety‚ when Socrates finds out that Euthyphro is persecuting his father for being impious. Euthyphro offers four definitions for what piety is‚ all of which are analyzed by Socrates‚ and then turned down by him in turn. The pious is to prosecute the wrongdoer and to not persecute is impious. This is the first definition that Euthyphro offers to Socrates as a
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A&H Paper Number 1 Todd MacDowell September 26‚ 1999 Prof. Waite In ancient Greece women were viewed as many things. They were not viewed as equivalent to males by any means. Women were portrayed usually as submissive domestic‚ and controlled. They played supporting or secondary roles in life to men‚ who tended to be demanding of their wives‚ but expected them to adhere to their wishes. In the tragedy Medea‚ written by Euripides‚ Medea plays the major role in this story‚ unlike
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justice within an individual and society as a whole‚ and attempts to pinpoint the meaning of the term. He classifies wisdom‚ courage‚ and moderation as the leading qualities a just person should possess. Using a multitude of hypothetical scenarios‚ Plato compares what should be just at a political level to the justness of one’s inner psyche. He provides many scenarios to support his statements‚ however his argument comes across as completely one-sided and biased. Plato’s ideal of a “perfect” society
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Imitation Plato and Aristotle Introduction Plato and Aristotle are two famous literary critics in ancient Greece. Aristotle is Plato’s student. They all agree that art is a form of imitation. However‚ their attitudes towards imitation are profoundly different. Plato claims that poetry is worthless and bad because it is mere imitation and may have bad influence on human beings. Instead‚ though Aristotle admits that poetry is imitation‚ he thinks that it is all right and even good. He also
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Explain the Analogy of the Cave in Plato’s Republic. Plato was a Greek Philosopher‚ who was a student of Socrates. The Analogy of the Cave in Plato’s Republic was written as a dialogue between Socrates and Plato’s brother Glaucon. In the Analogy of the Cave‚ Plato describes the prisoners who lived an isolated life in the confined space of a cave. Plato’s Analogy explains a philosopher’s journey to knowledge and the difficulty that he faces along the way and the prisoners in the cave who have not
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some person or persons and fostered by institutional means in order to direct all aspects of private and public life2 that are significant to politics. With this definition in mind‚ this essay will put forward an argument in favour of the notion that Plato was a totalitarian‚ evident in his conception of the kallipolis which drives forward a totalitarian and utopian dream for a ‘natural class rule of the wise few over the ignorant many’3. On the contrary‚ a literary reading of Plato’s Republic could
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How and why‚ according to Plato‚ do States decline. “…since all creates things must decay‚ even a social order of this kind cannot last for all time‚ but will decay.” (546a) Socrates recognises that his “ideal state” is unlikely to occur in the first place‚ but if it did exist‚ it will not last. Plato breaks down the decay into five regimes‚ decaying in order of best to worst‚ with each regime occupied by a type of man. Fundamentally‚ the decline occurs due to the polis not recognising their proper
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