Plato (/ˈpleɪtoʊ/;[1] Greek: Πλάτων‚ Plátōn‚ "broad";[2] 428/427 or 424/423 BCE[a] – 348/347 BCE) was a philosopher‚ as well as mathematician‚ in Classical Greece‚ and an influential figure in philosophy‚ central in Western philosophy. He was Socrates’ student‚ and founded the Academy in Athens‚ the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with Socrates and his most famous student‚ Aristotle‚ Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science.[3] Alfred
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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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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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Plato‚ student of Socrates‚ and Aristotle‚ student of Plato‚ two of the most influential philosophers to have ever walked the earth‚ take two completely different approaches whilst talking about the formation of city states and epistemology itself. Plato primarily defined the nature of things in theoretical terms through metaphysics‚ in contrast to actual terms. Thus by looking to the ’higher forms’ he aimed to explain the function of existing knowledge and understandings in the search for the ’absolute
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the book seems to be the nature of justice‚ a topic in political philosophy‚ but Plato also has his characters explore issues in philosophical cosmology‚ philosophical theology‚ philosophical anthropology‚ ethics‚ aesthetics‚ and epistemology. The parts of the Republic that are contained in our text (pp. 107-123) focus on Plato’s idea (ideal?) of the Philosopher Ruler. According to Plato‚ the best possible political system (state) will be ruled (governed) by
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Plato - Plato WHEN Socrates was sixty years old‚ Plato‚ then a youth of twenty‚ came to him as a pupil. When Plato was sixty years old‚ the seventeen-year-old Aristotle presented himself‚ joining the Teacher ’s group of "Friends‚" as the members of the Academy called themselves. Aristotle was a youth of gentle birth and breeding‚ his father occupying the position of physician to King Philip of Macedon. Possessed of a strong character‚ a penetrating intellect‚ apparent sincerity‚ but great personal
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The Lesson Between The Myth Of The Cave In the story of Plato’s “Myth of the Cave” Plato’s analogy portrays a group of people being imprisoned in a cave and being deceived into thinking that shadows on a cave wall are all reality has to offer them. They have lived their entire life this way‚ and never stepped to the outside world. But if they could manage to somehow escape‚ they would exit out of the cave. For the first time‚ the prisoners would see sunlight and dimensions of such‚ and their mind
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democracy. I will then assess this critique based on the contemporary model of democracy experienced by Plato. Furthermore‚ I will argue that the critique is still applicable in a modern context by presenting various problems that modern democratic models pose for the critique and then demonstrating how Plato’s argument can overcome them. In order to clearly understand why Plato finds democracy so objectionable it is necessary to understand how democracy worked in an Ancient Greek
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2012 Knowledge and opinion essentially form the entire dialogue of Plato’s Meno. Throughout the dialogue Socrates and Meno are on the search for whether virtue can be taught. From Socrates and Meno’s search for virtue‚ the importance of understanding knowledge and opinion becomes evident. Socrates and Meno’s search for virtue results in three themes. These themes are the relationship of knowledge‚ opinion and the helpful importance of teaching. Understanding knowledge‚ opinion and teaching’s
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