SOCRATES Socrates 469 BC–399 BC‚ was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy‚ he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers‚ especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon‚ and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. Many would claim that Plato’s dialogues are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity. Through his portrayal in Plato’s dialogues‚ Socrates has
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Explain how Plato’s epistemological assumptions shape his metaphysics (Why does he think that there must be Forms? Hint: Plato says (in effect): “Since knowledge is certain‚ therefore the objects of knowledge must be unchanging.”). b) Define Plato’s Forms and present the theory of Forms by explaining the “divided line.” (You can use the visual image‚ but explain it.) Plato was extremely devoted in answering the sophists’ skepticism about reason and morality. To do so‚ he spent more time than
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man should follow courses of action that are seen to be ‘just’‚ Plato compliments his ethical answers by establishing a psychological structure that shows that conflict predominantly occurs during our decision making as moral agents. We can also see in The Republic a progression of the soul from his earlier‚ more primitive account‚ that saw that man could only act in his best interests (even if these were subsequently flawed). Plato has developed his arguments considerably so as to take into account
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Meno begins his quest to have Socrates explain virtue by nature by stating that having beautiful things is to have virtue. “So I say that virtue is to desire beautiful things and have the power to acquire them” (77b). To help him to understand that this statement is not complete‚ Socrates inquires about specific characteristics that might comprise having something beautiful. These characteristics include wealth‚ a position of honor‚ justice‚ and the pursuit of happiness. Only in perfect combination
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Plato is known as one of the earliest thinkers on education. He believed that the key to a successful society is a strong educational system. The purpose of education according to Plato‚ is to produce good citizens for the benefit of society and to improve the moral quality of each citizen. With proper training focusing on literature‚ music‚ and mathematics a person would become well aware of what is morally acceptable and what has the potential to ruin society. Plato wanted all citizens to use
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Platos Notion of Justice vs. Thrasymachus‚ Why Be Moral? By: Khonstance Milan Plato has a different sense of justice than what we ourselves would consider to be justice. Justice starts in the heart and goes outward. Justice is about being a person of good intent towards all people‚ doing what is believed to be right or moral. Plato believes that once a person has a true understanding of justice that they will want to be “just” for its own benefit regardless of good or bad consequence. Though
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The Republic of Plato Before I started reading Plato’s the Republic‚ I was loathe to admit that reading those philosophy books were gonna really change how I view myself. It was totally a waste of time to read these vague and complicated books. As I went on reading the republic‚ I saw many similar things that still existed in our society. In the book‚ Plato prescribes severe dictates concerning the cultural life of the city. He rules out all poverty‚ with the exception of hymns to the gods and
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Knowledge Aquinas and Descartes have different ideas on how humans gain knowledge in the world. Both philosophers need to define what the human body is composed of in order to determine how we gain knowledge. For Aquinas intellect comes from the soul and the body working in unison. The soul is the substantial form of a living material thing. It is the actuality of a living material substance. Even though the rational soul is what differentiates humans from other living things‚ it does not
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Plato Paper What is the nature of justice? Looking from Plato’s perspective justice can be broken down to its simplest forms. Plato starts where we start; with forms. Forms are the building blocks that build complex ideas and tell us the nature of those ideas. In this case Plato reveals his ideas on the nature of justice through forms. The nature of justice can be simplified to basic forms and rebuilt for everyone can understand. Early in discussion is the topic is consent. Consent
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Saint Augustine was born is 354 in a North Africa province part of the Roman Empire. Growing up in the Roman Empire was a major influence on his work. He is well known for his theological teaching on Christianity and developed much of its doctrine. Augustine wrote on political philosophy as well and developed his own ideas on what the ideal state is. Augustine believes that government is an act of God and its function is to allow people to live good lives. The state is a part of God’s ultimate
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