Argument Analysis: Phaedrus By Plato

Plato's final argument in Phaedo for the immortality of the soul is one of the most interesting topics of all time. It goes hand to hand with the application of the theory of forms to the question of the soul's immortality, as Plato constantly reminds us, the theory of forms is the most certain of all his theories. The Phaedo is Plato’s attempt to convince us of the immortality of the soul by using several main arguments. These include the argument of forms and the law of opposites. In the final passage of the Phaedo, Plato provides his final proof, although it may be his last attempt to give his reasoning, it is not very convincing. Plato has some good points and reasoning to believe in the immortality of the soul, but his arguments often

In the book, Phaedo by Plato, he discusses the immortality and divinity of the soul, and uses the philosophical theoria to prove that such a thing exists. Plato spends a lot of time trying to prove the idea to his fellow philosophers the divinity of the soul. Yet, in the book In Defense of Philosophy by Josef Pieper, he talks about how philosophy is not about finding an exact truth, but merely seeking to get close enough to it. This shows a clear contradiction between Plato’s belief that a soul is divine and continues to live on and Pieper’s thoughts on what true philosophy is, because he creates dialogue that clearly shows influence of his religious background that takes away from the philosophical discourse. It is due to this, Pieper would not agree with Plato in his interpretation on the divinity of the human soul.

In Plato’s Republic he has many examples of rhetoric. In regards to the controversial topic of women and eugenics in which Plato is almost forced into mentioning because of Adeimantus and Glaucon, he uses various rhetorical statements to portray his view on the matter. His readers believe women should be equal, so Plato attempts to persuade his readers into thinking he believes the same. For example, in the passage on women and family Plato states, “we shall assign these to each accordingly; but if the only difference apparent between them is that the female bears and the male begets, we shall not admit that this is the difference relevant for our purpose, but shall still maintain that our male and female Guardians ought to follow the same occupations” (164). He uses the women are equal and can do the same things as men strategy in order to make Athenian men understand what he is trying to say while still stroking their egos by using rhetoric. Men are in general are hard to persuade when it comes to power, so as a result Plato gives a sense of gender equality while at the same time still giving men the upper hand.

Firstly, have you ever had tons of work to do , but you put it off because you just have to check facebook because you feel as if you don’t you might just die? Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the first side effect of overusing technology: laziness/ procrastination. Ray Bradbury knew this was coming in fact he wrote Fahrenheit 451 in 1953. In Fahrenheit 451 the society freakishly mirrors ours. The average american spends 2.7 hours a day just watching television, (Technology Uninhibited) think about all the other things that you could do in 2.7 hours other than watching television. Sometimes, every other blue moon, even I procrastinate and my main excuse comes back to technology with questions to myself. Why don’t I watch some funny youtube videos before I

“In the last 50 years, up to 100,000 Americans lost their lives due to inactivity leading to some sort of conditional disease such as heart disease [including the laziness within people of society]” (Wise 12). So many people have died from becoming lazy, doing nothing but go on their phones, devices, rather than doing everyday things. Technology has changed the way society approaches life, always depending on it rather than themselves and others. The society today consists of nothing but TV screens, telephone, smartphones, iPads, and items the 19th century would consider a dream to lay hands on. A book written by Bradbury presents lack of effort people put into their lives and society; Bradbury predicts how the future will become later on in the society. Becoming more similar to the laziness and ignorance in the novel, Fahrenheit 451, the society today struggles the society today struggles with dependency on technology which results to lack of social interactions with one another and failure in becoming literate with books.

We as people rely on technology too much by expecting the machine to do something by the click of a button and get angry when the machinery isn’t working. At the beginning technology wasn’t thought of too much but at this point technology is getting people addicted from kids to the elderly.

In Phaedrus, Plato expands on the social implication that those who wield rhetoric ought to be just and act justly when utilizing it. This recurring theme is clearly portrayed through his analysis of love, the soul, and rhetoric itself. Phaedrus is written as a dialogue, with Phaedrus and Socrates discussing their views on rhetoric. Plato structures his writing so that Socrates is the one bestowing knowledge upon Phaedrus, his young and playful pupil, by asking pointed questions to which Phaedrus replies. The relationship between Phaedrus and Socrates is both one of a student and teacher but also one of lovers, made clear by Socrates’ soft attitude and affection towards Phaedrus.

Purposely difficult and intentionally obsessive, Plato’s Phaedrus is an exceedingly difficult read that defies all conventional logic as a piece of discourse. The text is extremely subjective, open to interpretation and individual creativity as to what or whom the narrative is about. Written by Plato, a close disciple of Socrates, this text is set along the Illissus river where Phaedrus and Socrates meet for a day of speech, debate, rhetoric and okay…flirting. Phaedrus leads of the day and recites a speech by his close friend Lysias, who Phaedrus considers to be a top speechmaker. Socrates then, after chiding by Phaedrus unleashes two speeches of his own that overshadow and refute Lysias claim so boldly that Phaedrus is so taken by the

In The Euthyphro, by Plato, Socrates treats Euthyphro as if he is the teacher but it is in fact, Socrates who is doing the teaching. It shows how Socrates is trying to guide Euthyphro through his own reasoning and attempting to let Euthyphro sort things out for himself. In this, Socrates tries to show Euthyphro his ignorance. The central argument in The Euthyphro, is that Socrates wants to see if Euthyphro is as wise as he claims to be, for Socrates feels that the people in general do not understand piety and impiety. Another argument in this story is based on “The Divine Command Theory of Morality”, which is whether or not, Gods commands are morally right because it is actually right, or if it is right because God commanded it.

Plato’s attempt in Phaedrus to establish a basis for a true art of rhetoric is seen through his characterizations and plot developments conveying themes throughout. What is true art of rhetoric? True art of rhetoric is the art of influencing soul and mind. Adapting to audience’s soul is the art of rhetoric, soul of love, soul of lust, and soul of honor. It is a means of persuasion regardless of content or a means of dialectic between two people or more who want the truth regardless of who wins. “Rhetoric is the art of directing the soul by means of speech” (Plato). Plato centers on what happens in the soul when persuasion occurs. The art of rhetoric is a soul-moving power of discourse. Discourse prompted by the love of wisdom and philosophy,

There are times in every mans life where our actions and beliefs collide—these collisions are known as contradictions. There are endless instances in which we are so determined to make a point that we resort to using absurd overstatements, demeaning language, and false accusations in our arguments. This tendency to contradict ourselves often questions our character and morals. Similarly, in The Trial of Socrates (Plato’s Apology), Meletus’ fallacies in reason and his eventual mistake of contradicting himself will clear the accusations placed on Socrates. In this paper, I will argue that Socrates is not guilty of corrupting the youth with the idea of not believing in the Gods but of teaching the youth to think for

When consideration is given to the status of philosophy in Greece at the end of the fifth century

Philosophy is a Greek word meaning "love of wisdom." Throughout Plato's Republic, wisdom plays an important role. According to Plato, education is wisdom. In the passage, 518d, Plato discusses the true meaning of education vicariously through Socrates. Some literary mechanisms can be found in the passage and I will show how they fit in the text and how they contribute to the main themes of Plato's Republic.

I am fascinated by Athenagoras’s argument that “the resurrected body must be that same as the mortal body … because if the human being that is judged is not the same as the human being that acted in mortal life, then one acts while another is judged” (57). I like this argument because he does not uphold the strict separation of the mind/soul and body, but instead realizes that they are inextricably tied to each other, even arguing that some of the flesh “is so intimately connected with the human subject as to be inseparable from it” (58). I do think that, theologically, it makes more sense that the body is not simply disposable because God would not have become flesh through Jesus if the body was unimportant.

Last but not least, technology makes us lazy. Children do not want to read books anymore when they can just run to a computer and get the summary of the book. People are becoming obese because they are not getting out of their homes anymore to exercise because they are glued to Farmville on Facebook. We rather do something easy than actually take the time to do it the long way around. Technology has made the people of the world couch potatoes. We can do everything at a push of a button, and we don’t have to put forth much effort to do the things that we once use to do manually.