Works by Aristotle

In general, only truly faithful and dedicated Christians will receive the true secrets from God. As a philosopher, and a Christian theologian, “the Summa Theologica,” is “the most comprehensive and systematic works meant to question and investigate many topics” (Baird). To include, five ways to prove the existence of God, by asking and answering any objections to his arguments, for example the first argument he claims God exist, because force set everything in…

Socrates has the capability to reverse roles in his own trial in order to further prove himself as a paradigm of virtue. Plato creates this Socratic irony through the image of Socrates as a gadfly on the rear of a horse, which represents Athens. Socrates begins this metaphor by saying that he is “far from making a defense speech on my [his] own behalf, as someone might suppose. I [Socrates] do it rather on your behalf, so that you do not do something wrong concerning the gift of the god” by…

Aristotle felt virtue was a practical use of reason that allowed us to utilize our human capacity for reason and rational reflection to determine the choices we should make and what actions we should undertake (Williams & Arrigo, 2012). Aristotle felt that a fulfilled life was a life where our human ability for rational activity was put to good use (Williams & Arrigo, 2012). For Aristotle a good life was a life filled with virtuous activities and that our lives should be lived in a way that we…

Subsequent to Aristotle’s ancient centered view of ethics, that has a focal point of virtue ethics, which defined ethics in a person’s character development, and a broad picture of human life. Modern ethics emerged two-thousand years later. Modern ethics believes morality is based on the action a person takes rather than a person’s character. Overall, modern ethics give us two “act base theories” the Kantianism and Utilitarianism, both define ethics in a form of action. In this paper I will be…

of Plato’s work served to fight back the growing influence of fallacious sophism at the time that paid attention to rhetoric and semantics over truth. Similarly, Descartes’ approach of radical skepticism confronted the monopoly of traditional scholastic philosophy that prevailed for centuries before him. Although both concepts are isolated by different periods of time and space, from a foundational perspective, they are parallels. However, with a more profound apprehension of their work, it…

In Aristotle’s student’s lecture notes compiled, “Virtue and Character”, he aims to give his interpretation of virtue and character. Aristotle also focuses on the idea that everything aims for an end (teleology) or a feeling of completeness. His theory of how to become a better person lacks procedure, which is why it fails. Virtue ethics aims to tell us how we ought to be. Although it is nice to tell us how we ought to be, it does not tell us what we ought to do (as consequentialism and…

In Plato’s The Apology, a trial is depicted to convict Socrates, a man who simply wanted to seek and define the truth, for corrupting the youth of Athens, and harming the relations among citizens by causing disrespect through his practice of philosophy. The trial seeks to uncover the truth of Socrates’ actions, or rather, if his actions were a harm to the society of Athens. In regards to the city, the prosecution had some strong arguments, and many weak ones that Socrates goes on to discredit…

Plato’s The Republic is one of the first books of philosophy. It utilizes the socratic method of discussion and debate to convey ideas relating to justice, politics, and finding the ultimate truth. The text is continually referenced and argued back to in almost all further philosophical conversations. In book seven of The Republic, Plato introduces an allegory which compares the experiences of prisoners in a cave to the levels of knowledge people can obtain. The allegory details a prisoner who…

Allegory of the Cave” is a philosophical parable or analogy from Plato’s The Republic, written around 380 BC. Exploring themes of knowledge, perception, and the importance of education, it takes the form of a discussion between Plato’s brother, Glaucon, and his teacher and mentor, Socrates. Although this dialogue was almost certainly scripted by Plato, it is not clear whether the idea itself is Plato’s own or his record of Socrates’s thoughts. The allegory begins with Plato’s Socrates…

“Plato and Immortality: An examination of the argument in the Republic, Book X,” an article by R. R. Hartford, argues that the tenth book of the Republic is noteworthy because of its historical influence on thought and because of Plato’s striking claims throughout. It emphasizes the Phaedrus argument, that reasoned the endless position of the spirit from which everything else lacks and shows that the Republic argument comes to the same conclusion because the soul lacks a characteristic which…