Plato
Plato was born around 428 B.C., Both of Plato’s parents were from distinguished aristocratic families. Besides being born into an illustrious family, Plato was born into an illustrious city. He was born in the wake of Athens’s Golden Age, the period that had witnessed Athens’s the beginning of the strongest Greek power, the birth of classical Athenian architecture, drama, and arts. His father Ariston died when he was a child. His mother Perictione remarried the politician Pyrilampes. He was educated in philosophy, poetry and gymnastics by distinguished Athenian teachers including the philosopher Cratylus.
It was also at an early age, probably in adolescence, that Plato began to hear Socrates, who engaged a variety of people in Athens
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Plato what is at stake is a clash between what we might call comprehensive world-views; it seems that matters of grave importance in ethics, politics, metaphysics, theology, and e are at stake. Plato agrees that Homer is indeed the educator of Greece, and immediately adds that Homer is “the most poetic and first of the tragic poets.” Plato is setting himself against what he takes to be the entire outlook in contemporary. Since Homer shaped the popular culture of the times, Plato is setting himself against popular culture as he knew it. Plato has in his sights all of “poetry,” contending that its influence is pervasive and often harmful, and that its insite about nature and the divine are mistaken.
It is not easy to understand what Plato means by poetry, whether it is dangerous because of its form or content or both. These questions are complicated by the fact that Plato was not thinking of poetry as a written text read in silence; he had in mind performances, often experienced in theater. When Socrates and Plato conducted their inquiries, poetry was far more influential than what Plato calls “philosophy.” Few people today would imagine that there is any interesting relation between poetry and rhetoric. To think of great poets as “rhetoricians” seems weird, and most rhetoricians do not seem to know the first thing about poetry. Yet Plato himself associates the two very closely: at Gorgias he characterizes
To fully understand Socrates’ choice not to escape and run away from Athens before his trial, requires knowledge of his life during his prior 70 years. He was born and raised in Athens. At the time of his birth, there was no official registration of births in Athens. Accounts of Socrates testimony at his trial indicates he was an old man having spent his 70 productive years, educating the people of Athens. This establishes his birth at or around 470 B.C. Socrates’ father was a craftsman, statuary
A less theoretical definition of poetry is, “putting the best words in the best possible order.” A poet may incorporate the theory as follows. The poet may astutely choose words possibly with a double meaning in order to indirectly convey a message, evoke emotions, or to slander. Then, the poet may unconventionally place such words and phrases perhaps out of expected order for the sake of creating a “word picture,” emphasizing the speaker’s feelings, or offering tangibility to the poem. By implementing this idea onto poetic works, the poet will have auspiciously written a superb poem. This theory may be applied to a few of Catullus’s poems specifically “Carmen 5”, “Carmen 8”, and “Carmen 85.” Catullus’s meticulous choice of words and arrangement highlight the central focus of the poem, obliquely criticize traditional Roman law, manipulate the audience’s attitude, transmit the speaker’s emotions, paint “word pictures,” and offer symbolic meaning consequently producing a successful poem.
Born in Athens in 437 B.C, Greek philosopher Plato is one of the most powerful thinkers in history. Coming from Greek aristocracy, Plato had political ambitions as a young man and appeared to follow the family tradition. However, Socrates and his dialectical method of inquiry, which was to question and answer everything to show ignorance, soon captivated Plato.
Plato is remembered as one of the worlds best known philosophers who along with his writings are widely studied. Plato was a student of the great Greek philosopher Socrates and later went on to be the teacher of Aristotle. Plato’s writings such as “The Republic”, “Apology” and “Symposium” reveal a great amount of insight on what was central to his worldview. He was a true philosopher as he was constantly searching for wisdom and believed questioning every aspect of life would lead him to the knowledge he sought. He was disgusted with the common occurrence of Greeks not thinking for themselves but simply accepting the popular opinion also known as doxa. Plato believed that we ought to search for and meditate on the ideal versions of beauty, justice, wisdom, and other concepts which he referred to as the forms. His hostility towards doxa, theory of the forms, and perspective on reality were the central ideas that shaped Plato’s worldview and led him to be the great philosopher who is still revered today.
Plato was born in Athens, Greece around 427 B.C. He was always interested in politics, until he witnessed his mentor and teacher, Socrates, death. After learning of the callousness of politics, Plato changed his mind and eventually opened up The Academy, which is considered if not the first, one of the first Universities. Students at the Academy studied many different fields of science, including biological and astronomical. The students also studied many other fields, such as math. Plato developed many views that were mathematical in nature. He expressed these views through his writings. According to Dr. Calkins of Andrew University, "Timaeus is probably the most renowned of Plato's thirty-five dialogues. [In it] Plato expresses that he
Poetry has a role in society, not only to serve as part of the aesthetics or of the arts. It also gives us a view of what the society is in the context of when it was written and what the author is trying to express through words. The words as a tool in poetry may seem ordinary when used in ordinary circumstance. Yet, these words can hold more emotion and thought, however brief it was presented.
3) Plato’s view on the Rhetoric in Gorgias is completely different than Phaedrus view on rhetoric. In Gorgias, Plato emphasis the use of rhetoric as flattery that only lacks merit in scientifically sense. As stated with the readings, Plato warns “when the rhetorician Is more persuasive that the physician, the ignorant is more persuasive with the ignorant that he who has knowledge—is not the inference.” (Plato, 48). This implies that rhetoric creates this distortion that allows others to distort what is fake into something that is real through rhetoric. Plato was very fearful of the use of language in a destructive way because of his overall faulty it may lead and the Sophists discuss how rhetoric can be deceptive in its means. In contrast, Phaedrus approaches rhetoric in an entirely different view focusing on the ways in which rhetoric is a craft and used as a tool of self-expression.
Socrates was born in Athens in 469 B.C.E. He had a son that was not known to many people. Very little is known about Socrates early life, but we know we he was taught by a pupil by his father. Until the age of 40, we have zero evidence on what happened during his life in that life
In the Republic, Plato proposes the complete censorship of imitative poetry from his ideal city, arguing that it corrupts individuals’ souls and therefore has a negative effect on society, resulting in injustice within the city. Although seemingly trivial at first, when considered within its proper context, the censorship of imitative poetry from the city would result in severe consequences. Throughout this essay I will discuss the political and psychological implications of its censorship, and will also refute Plato’s argument, showing how it lacks soundness: notably, through a criticism of his epistemology. Regarding the political implications of the censorship of poetry, I will draw from the ideas of Karl Popper, who argued Plato to be one of the most influential philosophers on the emergence of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, laying the foundations for their very existence (K. Popper, 1945). I will also show how poets themselves have an important political role within cities, in that they enable the general population to hold the state accountable for their actions. To discuss the psychological implications of poetry’s censorship, I will compare the contrasting views of Plato and Aristotle regarding its effect on the soul, whereby Aristotle claims that poetry actually has beneficial, cathartic effects. Following these criticisms, it will become apparent that Plato’s proposed ban of imitative poetry is indefensible.
Rhetoric is an art form created before the reign of Gorgias, by Aristotle. As time progressed throughout the ages, Aristotle taught the art of rhetoric to his student Socrates, who eventually taught it to Plato. The art gradually adapted into the rhetoric we use today, providing the reason as to why Plato chooses to recreate the account of Socrates and Gorgias’ discussion. Plato shows us how Socrates’ knowledge of proper usage of rhetoric is vaster than that of Gorgias’. He helps us visualize the various ways he uses rhetoric, to provide the reason for his ability to use rhetoric better than the other Orators. This is illuminated by Socrates’ use of pathos, in his argument of pain and pleasure, the use of ethos in speaking about the comparison of medicine and gymnastics, and his use of logos in his debate on the body and soul. Plato places special consideration into choosing the topics he highlights in the story because of Socrates innate ability to refute these topics the way does.
Many aspects of ancient Greek theaters have long been studied and debated. Much of the information about these theaters is based on speculation due to the fact that so little of them still exist today. This lack of remnants especially applies to the architecture of the early Greek Theaters. However, through archeological finds and years of studying the people, the plays, and the architecture of the time, we are able to make many conclusions about these early structures.
Plato was a philosopher and educator in ancient Greece. He was one of the most important thinkers and writers in the history of Western culture. Plato was born in Athens into a family that was one of the oldest and most distinguished in the city. His father Ariston died when Plato was only a child. The name Plato was a nickname meaning broad shoulders. Plato's real name was Aristocles. Plato had aspirations of becoming a politician, however these hopes were destroyed when his friend Socrates was sentenced to death in 299 B.C. Extremely hurt Plato left Athens and traveled for several years. In 387 B.C., Plato returned to Athens and founded a school of philosophy and science that became known as the Academy. Topics such as astronomy,
Growing up in Athens, Greece in around 420 B.C., Plato was born into the perfect place for a young philosophizing man such as himself. He was well educated from an early age, showing a proclivity for music, writing, and gymnastics. (Diogenes). Young Plato, much like many boys in their teenage
Greek philosopher, born into an aristocratic Athenian family in the year 427BC, he was expected to take up a political
Socrates was an influential Greek philosopher; however, he never wrote any book and his ideologies are mostly presented by Plato, who was his student. Plato explains Socrates’ attitude towards poetry in his books, the Republic and the Symposium. Afterward, he offers his perceptions and solutions to the matter. Plato’s Republic explains Socrates’ mindset towards poetry censorship. Socrates argued that poetry lacked wisdom because there was no censorship of works of poetry. As a result, poets can write about anything they wish to inscribe, which enhances imitation. On this note, Socrates argued that poetry exposed citizens to different forms of imitation, which would corrupt their minds because they had no restrictions.