Plato’s Influence on Western Civilization Essay

     Plato’s notion of the Forms vs. the physical realm is quite and interesting topic. I believe something very similar to what Plato thinks about the Forms and our physical reality. Plato says that there is nothing that is perfect in this reality that we live in. And the Forms are the perfect ideals or thoughts that we are striving to achieve throughout our lives. Plato says it is impossible to reach the Forms in our current reality and that it is only possible to achieve perfect knowledge and truth after our soul leaves our body and goes to the next realm where we can become or attain the Forms.

The initial reason for the execution of Socrates was his idea about the Athenian government and said corruption of the youths. The article, “The Trial and Execution of Socrates: 399 bce,” talks of Socrates’ view of the democratic Athenian government saying, “He felt it did not go far enough in promoting ethical governance of the citizenry (The Trial and Execution of Socrates: bce).” Socrates put down the government’s leadership in the community and proposed his own ideas to those who would listen. A large majority of his followers were young men whose minds were

Western Europe. But how did this western way of life come to be? Their are many different

Plato founded the Academy at Athens after Socrates' death and preserved the lessons that Socrates had taught, essentially laying a foundation for the study of philosophy in Western Civilization. Plato's Republic seeks to unite the lessons of the Academy with the circle of politics that occupied much of Plato's life: The Republic, in fact, teaches that unless philosophy and politics unite completely, the evils of the state will never cease. This unity, indeed, is what is at the core of Socrates' (and therefore Plato's) definition of justice.

In these sessions, I have gained a better understanding of Aristotle and Plato’s ideas and theories. Particularly, I have a specific interest in Aristotle and the notion of the two extremes and to aim towards the “gray or middle of the road”. I also have an interest in Plato’s theory regarding the just and unjust and the repercussions of their actions.

Plato continually attempted to enter the world of politics, but after being let down time after time and seeing the execution of his beloved mentor Socrates, Plato criticized the regime of his time (Athenian democracy). He sought to draft his own representation of the ideal constitution, outlined and explained in his work Republic. Plato’s critique of democracy is expected since democracy embodies the opposite of his ideal regime: A government controlled and ruled by the uneducated masses that easily slips into chaos and tyranny. According to Plato, democracy cannot function efficiently due to its unnatural, weak leaders, disordered functionality, and its appetitive citizens. He defines his conception of democracy through its deviation

Plato was born into an aristocratic family and later became a disciple of Socrates, eventually witnessing the philosopher 's execution in 399BC, he feared for his safety and went travelling to Italy and Egypt. He returned to Athens after his travels and founded the first European university, the Academy. There, astronomy, biology, mathematics, politics and philosophy were taught, with Aristotle as the most famous student. He also compared the state and the individual, stating they both consisted of three parts: the desiring, the spirited and the rational. If they are all in harmony but ruled by the rational you have justice. He went further to construct many statements that have been quoted throughout history in reference to issues of the times, one being ‘ The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men’

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.

Since the early beginnings of society, in which people began living in gathered communities, there can be seen a constant progression, upon a steady time line, of the increased order of the organization of society. However, this is not the kind of progress that was sought by two widely known philosophers and teachers, Plato and Confucius. The kind of social reform and alteration displayed in the teachings and writings of both of these men, examine a movement from societies viewed as chaotic and barbaric toward societies consisting of gentleman, practicing prescribed values, morals, and actions. Confucius and Plato both emphasized a moral conduct that went above and beyond the socially accepted norms of

The great philosopher, Plato, wrote two specific dialogues; the book Timaeus and the book Critias. Plato was a professional teacher who valued intelligence immensely. Plato founded the first Philosophical Academy in Athens in the early fourth century BC. He devoted his life to philosophy and the teachings of his friend Socrates. Plato learned from Socrates and passed on his knowledge to his students. After his friend's sudden death, Plato became dissatisfied with the government in Athens. He filtered away from his family and lived his dream of researching and teaching philosophy. Plato focused on many philosophical aspects and wrote numerous dialogues. In the book Timaeus, Plato spoke of the beginning of the world and the creation of

Plato is one of history’s most popular philosophers who had a lasting effect on the world around him. Plato is mostly known for his philosophical works and founding the Academy north of Athens. During his early life, he wanted to pursue a career in literature and politics, and in fact, began writing plays and short stories. Plato happened to stumble upon socrates speaking in a public market and was pulled in by what he was saying. He felt so strongly about philosophy after that resulting in him burning his early works and starting out fresh. He wanted to pursue a career in philosophy. It is believed that Plato was going to compete for a prize until he realized that he had a strong passion in philosophy. From

Why would a seventy-year-old philosopher be put to death for what he was teaching in a society enjoying more freedom and democracy than any the world had ever seen? Plato (427-347 B.C.E.) is especially important to the understanding of the trial of Socrates because he, along with Xenophon, wrote the only two surviving accounts of the defense (or apology) of Socrates. Plato’s account is generally given more attention by scholars of the two authors because he, unlike Xenophon, actually attended the one-day trial of Socrates in Athens in 399 B.C.E. Both Plato and Chaerophon, another important witness present at the trial, knew how Socrates engaged in the Athenian intellectual community, what he shared with its members, and how original it may have been. Plato has been both a pupil and somewhat ardent admirer of Socrates, and for this reason his version of the trial may have been somewhat biased in favor of one whom he regarded as a great hero. At any rate, historians may be fairly certain that, even though Socrates has been to some extent idealized by his pupil, the account given represents what Plato believed to be true about his teacher. The turbulent history of Athens in the several years preceding his trial had a lot to do with the decisions to prosecute and ultimately convict Socrates. An examination of that history may not provide final answers, but it does provide

Plato and Aristotle have two distinct views on wellness. However, each man’s opinion on wellness is directly tied in to his respective opinions on the idea of imitation as a form of knowledge. Their appreciation or lack thereof for tragedy is in fact directly correlated to their own perspective on wellness and emotion. Firstly, it is important to consider each man’s view of wellness—that is how does each man go about addressing emotional stability. One important consideration is the approach Plato takes in relation to Aristotle. It is this approach that we will see actually mirroring between how they treat emotional well-being and their tolerance for imitation.

Some would argue that Plato was against the government of his time. That may be true if one takes into account the fact that Plato, who supported the oligarchical Sparta, was growing up in Athens, Greece, who strongly supported a democratic government (Roberts & Sutch 2004). Then one could argue that he was against the government because he supported a government (oligarchies) that went against that in which he grew up in (democracies). However, in the overarching concept of being anti-political, then Plato was not anti-political. In fact, Plato was pro-political in that he supported a form of elitism (or oligarchy).

Looking at Plato, you must understand where and what the timeframe he lived in. He was born in Classical Greece in the year 427. He was educated, sophisticate, wise, intelligent, and also wealthy. These were traits that in this time period put you at the top of societal elites. Plato was a very gifted orator and speaker, giving him the ability to reason and discuss any topic really, with the ability to win arguments and persuade people. Due to his status in society, he was very idealistic and used this idealism to reason how a perfect society should be constructed and run.