Philosophy is much more than ‘the study of thought’, it is thought. It is hard to argue the importance of something, to prove the reason why we should care when it is inherently responsible for ‘the way things are’. Philosophy is the reason why we think a certain way. It has done much more than influence the way in which we rationalize and interpret, it is the reason why we rationalize and interpret the way we do. It is the foundation for our political society, which spawned the justice, economic and cultural system. It is the reason that our society has evolved into what it is today. Philosophy is central to the institution of modern politics. The agreed upon system that tells us how to behave within a society. Politics forms a boundary and
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Their sentiments and ideas, although some thousand years old, still echo loudly in present day. Each respective period of philosophical thought is marked by two prominent …show more content…
His writings therefore take root in the drama of the political upheaval. It was at this time that the city state that he called home was erupting both politically and culturally. The golden age of Athenian democracy was brought to a grinding halt by the Peloponnesian war. A historical battle fought between Athens and its empire and a coalition of states led by Sparta, its long time adversary. The result of the bloody feud was the deposition of democracy and the instalment of oligarchy. Famously led by the thirty tyrants, who despite holding power for a short time, violently prosecuted any notion of democracy. It was a time absent of justice, ruled by tyrants who ‘extinguished’ anyone who opposed their regime. This included Socrates, one of the first citizens to oppose the oligarchy. Notably members of Plato’s family were involved in the original coup d’tat (of the thirty), naturally this had great influence on his work. His writings are reflective of common themes from these troublesome times and the perspectives he viewed them with. His works resonate with critiques of democracy and the pursuit of justice. His thoughts and teachings are deeply embedded with a singular question of what does it mean to be good? Often using his mentor and teacher, Socrates as the main character and focal point of his dialogues, Plato’s writings burn with the desire of a man trying to reconcile ‘right and
Their sentiments and ideas, although some thousand years old, still echo loudly in present day. Each respective period of philosophical thought is marked by two prominent …show more content…
His writings therefore take root in the drama of the political upheaval. It was at this time that the city state that he called home was erupting both politically and culturally. The golden age of Athenian democracy was brought to a grinding halt by the Peloponnesian war. A historical battle fought between Athens and its empire and a coalition of states led by Sparta, its long time adversary. The result of the bloody feud was the deposition of democracy and the instalment of oligarchy. Famously led by the thirty tyrants, who despite holding power for a short time, violently prosecuted any notion of democracy. It was a time absent of justice, ruled by tyrants who ‘extinguished’ anyone who opposed their regime. This included Socrates, one of the first citizens to oppose the oligarchy. Notably members of Plato’s family were involved in the original coup d’tat (of the thirty), naturally this had great influence on his work. His writings are reflective of common themes from these troublesome times and the perspectives he viewed them with. His works resonate with critiques of democracy and the pursuit of justice. His thoughts and teachings are deeply embedded with a singular question of what does it mean to be good? Often using his mentor and teacher, Socrates as the main character and focal point of his dialogues, Plato’s writings burn with the desire of a man trying to reconcile ‘right and