Platonism

Socrates fulfills the will of god by inquiring into the wisdom of people: “God orders me to fulfil the philosopher's mission of searching into myself and other men.” (Plato, 30). Socrates’ accusers hate him because he “[...]went and tried to explain to [them] that [they] thought [themselves] wise, but [were] not really wise” (Plato, 23). Socrates’ three main accusers are Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon. Each of Socrates’ accusers represents a different thing. Meletus represents the quarrels of the…

Plato’s purpose of “Allegory of the cave” was to explain knowledge. In the story the freed prisoner experiences the levels of knowledge. Shadows are imagination; creating names and realities without knowing a cause. The fire is belief; understanding that shadows are mere illusions and it’s statues that are real. Then outside world are forms. Understanding that statues come from reality, such as trees and people. Since true knowledge has to be experienced, not taught. The prisoner cannot…

There are multiple suggestions on how to live an authentic and purposeful life in Plato’s “The Simile of the Cave” from The Republic. In the opening paragraph of the allegory, it begins painting a picture of prisoners who are tightly secured within their chains. “In this chamber are men who have been prisoners there since they were children, their legs and necks being so fastened that they can only look straight ahead of them and cannot turn their heads.” Through reading the description that…

Chase Van Driel Professor Culpepper Core 140 10/09/15 Plato and Augustine Even though Plato was alive before Christianity many of his ideas share similarities with Christian ideals. There was definitely still differences between him and Christian Philosophers though. In my paper I will discuss Plato’s ideas in regards to forms, and form of the good in particular as well as his ideas about divinity and gods, next I will discuss St. Augustine of Hippo’s ideas from Christianity. After introducing…

With the theory of recollection Plato believes that we know the forms; that nothing is new knowledge but rather a simple recollection of the forms we viewed in heaven. The immortal soul departs from the body upon death, ascends to the heavens where it views the forms and then re-enters another body. The forms themselves are immutable, perfect and eternal ideas which earthly substances try to imperfectly mimic, and are the primary reference for all things. The philosopher holds this view that one…

Metaphysics, also commonly known as first philosophy, has been studied since antiquity. The study of metaphysics generally seeks to answer the question of what is really ‘there.’ Many philosophers have contributed to this particular branch of thought. However our understanding of metaphysics would be less significant without the strong foundation of work by ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. One of the most important pieces of work to touch Western Society was Plato’s Theory of…

The dialogue “Phaedo” takes place during the time that Socrates was to be executed after being falsely convicted. Before his death, Socrates explored many theories regarding the body and the soul with his pupil Plato. Plato presents four different arguments to prove the immortality of the soul, that all though the human body perishes after death; the soul still exists. Firstly, he explains the Theory of the Opposite Forms that something came to be living only after having first been dead. Then…

In this paper I will be defending Plato’s style of philosophy and why philosopher kings are best suited to rule, this will also encompass the Forms as it is key to understanding why they are the best suited. Plato uses his Forms to further his knowledge of the difference between people whom he would consider to be true philosophers and people whom he would refer to simply as intellectuals. Plato affirms that a philosopher is best suited to say how people should live based upon the knowledge that…

Love is one of the most important themes of Christian faith. Love is important because Jesus showed us the perfect use of love, and how it should be carried out. Because of Jesus’ perfect love, he died on the cross for us, taking away all of our sins. Jesus’s love is the highest form of love there is. Even though Jesus is the only one whose love is perfect, he still commands us to love like He did. John 13:34 says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must…

In the Allegory of The Cave, Plato depicts a cave where prisoners are strapped into chairs facing a wall. There is a fire burning behind them, and in front of the fire there are puppets which throw shadows on the wall. The shadows on the wall are the prisoners reality, and they have no desire to leave because they know nothing better. If a prisoner were to escape from the chair, he would see the fire and it would hurt his eyes. So he would turn back to the shadows that are easy for him to look…