Search Of Truth

Greek literature may seem far removed from modern day culture, but Greek writers have shown today’s society that this is not true. Many Greek philosophers and writers focused on the search for truth. Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all strived to show that one is happiest when he is seeking knowledge of the truth. In the “Witness to the Truth: Socrates”, “The Cave”, and “Nichomachean Ethics” today’s society is shown that the ideas of examining one's life in search of truth reveals why one is living and for whom one is living are still relevant today. Edith Hamilton in her work, “Witness to the Truth: Socrates”, describes the life of Socrates. In Hamilton’s article, she explains Socrates’ view that man must search for …show more content…
He explains that the truth must be taught to others who are still stuck in the darkness. In his allegory, “The Cave”, prisoners, who represent mankind, are fettered together and can only look toward the wall of the cave. On the wall of the cave, images are being projected by puppeteers outside the cave. The images are projected by a fire which lies behind the prisoners. The prisoners believe that the images they are seeing are the real things. Eventually a prisoner escapes his fetters and enters into the light, but immediately the light, which represents the truth, blinds the man. The prisoner wants to go back to the darkness because the true knowledge of who he is and what the world is like is painful. So, the prisoner goes willingly back to his chains. But eventually a prisoner is dragged unwillingly into the light. It takes the prisoner awhile to adjust to the light, or the true knowledge, but he finally realizes what he has been missing. As the released prisoner enjoys his knowledge of the truth, he remembers his once fellow prisoners. Out of pity, the old prisoner goes back into the cave to expose the still fettered prisoners to the truth. This final step represents the new point that Plato was trying to teach his readers. Plato believed it was the job of the philosopher to teach those who are lost about the pleasure one receives when the truth is found. Plato’s allegory …show more content…
Aristotle made the claim that man was happiest when he was using reason to rule his life. As Aristotle said in his work, “Nichomachean Ethics”, “therefore, the life according to reason is best and pleasantest, since reason more than anything else is man. This life therefore is also the happiest.” Aristotle is trying to show that man’s inherent nature is to be contemplative. To reason is to be man. Man’s DNA is made to reason, and when he reasons he becomes more fully who he is supposed to be. Therefore, man is happiest when he is connecting with whom he really is, a thoughtful human being. Aristotle adds the idea to the earlier philosophers that man is by nature a reasoning person