The Greek Philosophers And The Philosophers

Plato’s theory of the simplicity of the soul is seen in the Phaedo. Through the mouthpiece of Socrates, Plato argues for a simple soul which only has one true aim. He states that the soul only seeks truth and that all other senses and experiences are merely distractions through the soul being embodied ‘the soul reasons best when none of these senses troubles it, neither hearing nor sight, nor pain nor pleasure, but when it is most by itself, taking leave of the body and as far as possible having no contact or association with it in its search for reality.’ (Plato, 1997, §65c). The simple soul can only aim to grasp the truth of reality which it gets closer to as man becomes closer to death. This is why, in Plato’s opinion, a philosopher in particular can

One of the positive effects of such a belief regarding the soul and its existence after the body's physical death is that it can serve as motivation to lead a virtuous life. This fact is readily demonstrated within the speech and actions of Socrates, who attempted to lead a high life of virtue, reasoning, and thinking in order to protect his soul from any sort of debauchery which might affect it in the afterlife. Socrates' conception of the afterlife was somewhat as muddled as Plato's, during The Apology he claimed he knew nothing about it, yet he also asserts that it will either be a restful, lasting slumber or a state in which one has an enjoyable degree of communication with the

In ancient Greece two great written philosophers lived. First there was Plato and then Aristotle. Aristotle was a pupil of Plato. Despite being taught by Plato they had different theories and views. Their ethics were very typical and traditional of ancient Greece but Aristotle detailed virtue ethics and the path to happiness. Plato’s political theories for a utopian society varied from Aristotle’s view of ‘best state for each society’. Their metaphysical theories are complete opposites and very contradicting. Even though Plato and Aristotle came from the same era and were closely linked they had very different philosophies.

“If the truth of all things always existed in the soul, then the soul is immortal” (The Philosophical Journey 89). This states that since the soul has all knowledge integrated, one recollects this knowledge through situations in an individual’s life and use one’s reasoning. With the dialogues of the Meno and Phaedo, Plato discusses the ideas of recollection and immortality of the soul in general. As well, the Republic, through the three different situations shown, Plato shows the ideas of the forms and what is real and what is not.

Plato, in addition to being a philosopher, wrestled at the Olympic level, is one of the classical Greek authors, mathematicians and the founder of The Academy, the first higher learning institute in the west. In short, Plato is one of the great thinkers in history and his contributions to philosophy, ethics and politics are many and varied. One of Plato’s main philosophical ideas is based on the idea that the world

Nevertheless, Socrates tries continue their discussion with him attempting to direct Meno to the search for what virtue is since neither of them have recollected a definition. Meno, however, wishes for Socrates to return to his initial question of whether or not virtue is teachable. Socrates is reluctant to do this because he does not want to inquire into the qualities of something that he does not have a definition for, but agrees to do it Meno’s way as long as Meno allows him to approach it the way geometers approach their problems, by means of hypothesis. Socrates explains this method by using a geometer who wants to find a solution to a problem where he does not know a particular property that is necessary to know in order to find a solution. Knowing that he is missing an important piece of information, the geometer can hypothesize the answer by assuming the missing property is the same as a different property that he knows. To demonstrate this, he suggests a situation where a geometer is asked if a triangle with a specific area can be inscribed in a particular circle. The geometer does not know the area of either the circle or the triangle, however, he can hypothesize that a triangle can be inscribed in the circle if the area of the triangle is less than the area of the circle. This process allows the geometer to assert the possibility, or impossibility, of a solution to a problem where he does not have all of the information. The geometer was unable to answer the

But what you say about the soul is the subject of much disbelief: people fear that when they are separated from the body, it may no longer exist anywhere.” (Plato, 16) Cebes in those lines says that people often believe that the soul is mortal and that it perishes after death. In order for Socrates to persuade Cebes and the others present with him, he needs to use compelling arguments in order to persuade them that the soul is immortal. Socrates exposes as he goes through the arguments that the soul is immortal and conveys Plato’s arguments.

Plato then talks about the man coming back down the cave and telling the others about the different reality outside the cave. The purpose of this is to serve the common good and help other people out. This justice that the man is doing is something that every human should do as stated in the claim. The man’s dignity is not only in his newfound education, but it is found in reaching out to the other trapped in the cave and helping them see what is the truth behind the shadows. However, there are people who need to learn this but instead chose selfishness.

The Enlightenment was the beginning of new ideas which included scientific discoveries, new ideas in politics as well as in philosophy. During the Englitement, phylosophers began to revert back to the study of ancient civilizations and began to convert these concepts into politics and science. Many new philosophers and scientists evolved from the birth of "natural laws" that governed the era of the Englitenment. It was also through the in-depth studies of Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle, new ideas began to arise. In this mannor, the Englitenment was a movement that allowed logic to be inforced, rather than the superstition that ruled the Middle Ages.

Chapter 7 How Ancient Greek Philosophy Influenced the Early Church Spiritual gifts are to be exercised in an orderly way by “all” (men and women) “so that all may learn” (1 Cor 14:31; Dr. Martin Hanna). Ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle thought beyond the pagan societies in which they lived and numerous elements found in their philosophies were embraced by Jewish and Christian religious leaders. The common thread was the effort to understand God as revealed in nature as well as His interaction with humans.85 The philosophers sought many of the answers that Christians often ponder. Both groups wanted to know more about their creator, what were the abilities of God, His morality, and how did the human soul come about.

explains his belief that the “soul exists before, and survives the body”. Plato 's beliefs of

For a philosopher such as Plato, he believed that we are imprisoning our souls in our

Thus, Plato argued that the soul must have existed outside of the natural world. In order for this to be so, it must be immortal, living before it came into this world. It only stands to reason, Plato contended, that it must continue to exist after it leaves this world. How else would it have been in existence before it came into this world? Plato believed that it was a rational assumption that our soul must continue to exist even after our death.

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.

Throughout the history of the world, philosophy has been at the forefront of the human search for knowledge, but there is no other philosophy like ancient Greek philosophy. Ancient Greek philosophy roughly began in the sixth century BCE and continued on up until ancient Greece became apart of the Roman Empire. The great Greek philosophers of the time, like Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle focused their study of philosophy in subjects like political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, ontology, logic, biology, and rhetoric to name a few. Even today many philosophers agree that ancient Greek philosophy has influenced much of today’s Western culture. Among the broad subject of ancient Greek philosophy there were many sub-forms of Greek philosophy like the Pre-Socratic philosophy, which involves the Milesian school, and Pythagoreanism, and classical Greek philosophy, which involves Socrates’, Plato’s, and Aristotle’s teachings; and then there was sophism and the sophists. Who are the sophists and why/how are their teachings relevant with the rest of ancient Greek philosophy?