I read the eighth chapter of the Plato’s Googleplex, which is “Plato on Cable News”. In this chapter, the author used a conversational mode. In this setting, a supposedly TV show host is asking mean questions and criticise Plato throughout the piece. In this chapter, I found many very familiar topics we talked about in the Republic, such as the connection between happiness and justice. I would write down some of my thoughts inspired by this chapter in the following paragraphs.
The host was stating that power, fame and money, everything that he already had, are the good things that made him happy and he would not change it for the goodness Plato tried to stress. He admitted that these were mixed bag and can lead to bad and he thought Plato’s
Most significant trend of this era was emergence of fully globalized networks of communication of trade and exchange. European campaign if exploration and colonization driven by 1.) scientific curiosity 2.) quest for power and wealth. 3.) religious motivations.
In order to understand the Lemon Test, it is first important to understand what the Establishment Clause is. According to the Cornell University Law School, Legal Information Institute, the Establishment Clause is as follows, “The First Amendment's Establishment Clause prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.” This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion, but also prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another. It also prohibits the government from unduly preferring religion over non-religion, or non-religion over religion”. Meaning, that a government run educational institution, is by law required to have a separation of church and state in the a school environment. This includes, but is not limited to: school prayer, moments of silence, bible study, the Pledge of Allegiance, religiously based holiday parties, scientific materials studied, etc (Imber, et. All).
Growing up, I was extremely fortunate to have a parent who embodied all of the characteristics listed in Carol Stuart’s “Foundations of Child and Youth Care” including passion, caring, space and time, and social competence. My mother has always been my main role model, caregiver, friend, and always treated me with the upmost respect and patience, and together we built a relationship based on trust and mutual appreciation. We would often go on long walks together, using this as a therapeutic milieu for storytelling and the cultivation of unbiased advice. For me, it was important to analyze the world outside of my own head and share in the mutual struggles of daily life with someone who understood or, at the very least listened, as I analyzed, experienced, and complained about the world. For the better part of my life, I did not see this as therapeutic or its relation to child and youth work, rather assuming all parents were capable of , and expressed, this kind of love to some degree. However, it was only by watching my friends wrestle with issues such as depression, anxiety, and body image that I realized the isolation and loneliness that can easily overcome a person without a proper role model or guidance and more importantly, that this presence is not guaranteed in everyone’s life. Through experiences with my friends and mother, I am familiar with being on either side of a therapeutic situation, acknowledged the vital role of it in personal development and decided to
He writes, “when turned towards the twilight of becoming and perishing, then [the soul] has opinion only, and goes blinking about, and seems to have no intelligence” (Book VI, p. 25). By establishing opinion as the opposite to the ultimate good, and by definition, the ultimate evil, he criticizes the use of rhetoric and persuasion while praising to his long-winded, circuitous form of writing. By continually asking questions and telling parables, Plato avoids direct advocation of his beliefs and allows his readers to discover the truth for themselves, rather than to be coerced through eloquent language.
Plato’s, the Divided Line, separates the known from the unknown, visually and intellectually. It acts as a method for understanding different states of minds. First, the line is divided into unequal parts and then again two more times. The bottom section of the line represents the visual, while the upper, bigger portion of the line represents the intelligible. The goal for every human being is to take the images and learn to identify the objects from it. Only then can one reach the intellectual stage. The Divided Line Diagram is both objective and subjective levels of knowing and Being.
Alcibiades’ speech changes the direction of the conversation from praising Agathon to praising Socrates. It might be the reason why Plato ends symposium in this way and also highlights “Platonic Philosophy of love ”.
With reference to Plato’s work entitled Gorgias, this essay will provide a short background to the dialogue, provide a synopsis of the points put forward by Callicles and how Socrates refutes those claims, ending with a final assessment of the dialogue in completion.
Plato’s idea that there was a perfect world of ideas affected this pieces subject and the
Socrates continues the conversation with Glaucon and now focuses on the obligation of the guardians and philosophers to serve the people as a result of their education.
The Republic of Plato begins in a similar fashion that many other Platonic dialogues begin, with that of a question. The conversation between Socrates and the aged Cephalus becomes a philosophical discussion of what advantages money has brought to Cephalus' life. Cephalus replies that money has allowed him "to tell the truth and pay one's debts" (331 b). Nevertheless, Socrates believes this does not portray an accurate description of what justice is. The rest of the first book is a discussion of the definition of justice, mainly that of Thrasymachus' definition. Socrates takes his normal role as an interrogator of peoples' views. The conversation focuses on justice but actually must be viewed in the context of how each
Through several dialogues Plato gives readers accounts of Socrates’ interactions with other Athenians. While some may think of him as a teacher of sorts, Socrates is adamant in rejecting any such claim (Plato, Apology 33a-b). He insists that he is not a teacher because he is not transferring any knowledge from himself to others, but rather assisting those he interacts with in reaching the truth. This assistance is the reason Socrates walks around Athens, engaging in conversation with anyone that he can convince to converse with him. An assertion he makes at his trial in Plato’s Apology is at the center of what drives Socrates in his abnormal ways, “the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being” (38a). Socrates, through aporia, looks to lead an examined life to perfect his soul and live as the best person he can be. This paper looks to examine the ‘unexamined life’ and the implications rooted in living a life like Socrates’.
Writer and director Gary Ross captured the essence of Plato’s philosophical views in his movie, Pleasantville. The movie is about two siblings, David and Jennifer, who live in completely different high school social scenes. Jennifer is the wild, extroverted teen who is obsessed with partying and boy drama. David, on the other hand, is a social outcast and spends most of his time watching TV, specifically, his favorite show, Pleasantville. David idolizes the show because of the perfect town in which everyone is accepted and there is never anything that goes wrong. When the siblings’ mother goes away, the two are left arguing over what TV channel to watch. As their fighting develops, they eventually break the remote, which leads to the
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 attempts to create the blueprint for a perfect society. This blueprint was a sketch of a society in which the problems present in society would be eased. He sought to cure the afflictions of both society and human personality.
I remember growing up through the years, and I was always taught that once you die, your soul would float up to heave and that’s how you would live the rest of your days. This was my conception of the self; you would live out your days on earth but ascend to heaven once it was your time. Plato’s conception of the self is different from mine and is very interesting. Plato describes that your soul is immortal and that your body is just an obstacle for your body, that you gain all of this wisdom from when your soul finally leaves your body. This is very different from what I was taught during my childhood, and I think that Plato gives you a different way of thinking towards the body and the soul.