Philosophy spans the reaches of the human mind in countless topics‚ but is often divided into three main branches: metaphysics‚ the study of the nature of existence; epistemology‚ the study of knowledge and truth; and ethics‚ the study of morals. One of the first philosophers to look at these fields is Plato (427BCE-347BCE)‚ whose writings are incredibly influential. Plato’s work lays the fundament for philosophy because of his cohesive contributions to the fields of metaphysics‚ epistemology‚ and
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1) Plato’s theory of forms is strongly based on what is real and what is not. What is real is thought to be perfect‚ but something cannot be real or perfect if it is always changing. He explains that the "World of forms" is very different to the "World of appearances". The "World of forms" can only be properly understood by philosophers and those who seek knowledge‚ not by the ignorant or those who do not wish to learn the truth. The theory of forms makes a distinction between those objects that
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Plato form of the good -most important form is the form of the good‚ highest form and the source of all other forms - it represents the sun in the allegory of the cave‚ it illuminates and is the source of the other forms - all forms are an aspect of goodness- truth‚ courage ‚ wisdom and beauty is an aspect of goodness - the greatest thing we will learn‚ knowledge of it is an end in itself and gives meaning and purpose to life. - Different forms are arranged in a hierarchy and most important forms
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Man The Maker of his Destiny Man The Maker Of His Destiny - We are responsible for what we are‚ and whatever we wish ourselves to be‚ we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions‚ it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; SO WE HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO ACT. Man is man‚ so long as he is struggling to rise above nature‚ and this nature is both internal and external... And if we read the history
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Augustine seems to have practically plagiarized Plato. Substitute "god" for "the good" and "the divine" for "the forms" and there you have it: Augustine’s philosophy. He even adopts the technique of argument by analogy from Plato. It is interesting to note the inconsistencies in Augustine’s own comparison to Platonic theory. Plato considered the forms to be the greater knowledge attainable only by philosophers and those with a truly rational soul. Thus‚ understanding of forms is a rational process
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Textual Analysis Term Paper: Gorgias As history suggests‚ Plato was Socrates’ prime student. Plato’s key belief was that the ultimate reality was the notion and concepts of things. His deduction was that what we see in the physical world are simply abstract representations of universal ideas. Consequently‚ Plato supposed‚ that to correctly understand reality one must transcend the physical reality into the world of ideas‚ which is seen in Plato’s “Gorgias.” A lot of the dialects in this
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Critical Analysis of “Phaedo” by Plato Much of the Phaedo by Plato is composed of arguments for the nature of the physical world and how it relates to the after life‚ for example‚ the way our senses perceive the world and how indulging in those senses has negative consequences in our after lives. These arguments find basis in scientific analysis of the time as well as the mythos of the his age. One of the key talking points within the story is the theory of forms. The aforementioned theory
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The views of Plato and Aristotle are different but to some extent similar. Plato was mostly known for Theory of Forms and Aristotle was basically known for his thoughts in metaphysics. Even though they both thought a bit differently they did agree in a few things‚ for instance‚ Plato and Aristotle not only impacted social life in the past but the future‚ in fact some still use it in today’s society. Plato was a student of Socrate’s. He founded the first University called Academy in the year 387
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Plato’s "Allegory of the Cave" - Analysis and Summary The "Allegory of the Cave" by Plato represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we perceive and believe in what is reality. The thesis behind his allegory is the basic opinion that all we perceive are imperfect "reflections" of the ultimate Forms‚ which subsequently represent truth and reality. In his story‚ Plato establishes a cave in which prisoners are chained down and forced to look upon the front wall of the cave
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Starting at 210a of The Symposium‚ Diotima speaks with Socrates about reaching the final vision of the mysteries. She starts talking about a young boy who is starting to be attracted to beautiful bodies. He first loves one body; and then‚ realizing that all bodies are relatively alike‚ he begins to love all beautiful bodies. After that‚ he comes to appreciate the beauty of minds‚ not caring anymore about physical attraction. After all stages‚ the boy will ultimately come to loving beauty itself and
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