Plato Symposium Essay

Cara Pace Dr. Anna Cremaldi PHL 3000 3 October 2016 Ascending to Love: Diotima’s Ladder In Plato’s Symposium, Socrates recalls a speech told by priestess Diotima from Mantinea. In this speech, Diotima counters Socrates’s belief that Love is beautiful and good, scolds him, and tells him that just because something is not beautiful does not mean it has to be ugly. In the same way, just because something is not wise does not mean it has to be ignorant, and so on. In other words, Love is not beautiful

In Phaedo Socrates elaborates on the nature of death before his execution. In The Apology, Socrates was sentenced to death by poison by a jury of his peer for committing atheism and corrupting the Athenian youth (Mallik). The story is told from one of Socrates’ students, Phaedo. Engaging in a dialogue with his students, Socrates argues the various ways the immortal soul can continue in the afterlife. Phaedo relates this dialogue to many other students of Socrates as well as the general public.

Plato creates a seemingly invincible philosopher in The Republic. Socrates is able to refute all arguments presented before him with ease. The discussion on justice in Book I of The Republic is one such example. Socrates successfully refutes each different view of justice presented by Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus. Socrates has not given us a definitive definition of justice, nor has he refuted all views of justice, but as far as we are concerned in Book I, he is able to break down the

Socrates' Argument with Crito Socrates has presented a period of questions and answers through dialogue with Crito to examine if he going into exile will damage his reputation. Socrates questions and answers with Crito establishes that a person must decide whether the society he or she lives has a just reasoning behind it's own standards of right and wrong and that a person must have pride in the life that he or she leads. By confirming these two concepts through questions, Socrates attempted

Younger people have tended to look towards the elderly for wisdom and guidance since the beginning of recorded history and beyond. Students to teachers, children to parents, ordinary people to royalty and politicians – generally those who have lived longer are not only believed, but expected to have garnered more knowledge in their longer lives. Abraham Lincoln once said, “I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday. Also, in 2008 the Australian newspaper published an

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success Following the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success has made me the person that I am today. The laws that we have followed have been the Law of Pure Potentiality, the Law of Giving, the Law of Karma or Cause and Effect, the Law of Least Effort, the Law of Intention and Desire, the Law of Detachment, and the Law of Dharma or Purpose in Life. These laws have taught me that success is not a destination it is a journey. They have taught me that true success is the

Plato on the Existence of Negative Forms The question of the origin and nature of evil in the world has preoccupied philosophers throughout history. The ancient philosopher Plato does not directly address this question in his writings, but it can be argued that the logic of his theory of forms demands the existence of forms that are negative in meaning, such as the evil and the bad. When discussing his theory of imitation, Plato alludes to the principle that whenever there are

The position Thrasymachus takes on the definition of justice, as well as its importance in society, is one far differing from the opinions of the other interlocutors in the first book of Plato’s Republic. Embracing his role as a Sophist in Athenian society, Thrasymachus sets out to aggressively dispute Socrates’ opinion that justice is a beneficial and valuable aspect of life and the ideal society. Throughout the course of the dialogue, Thrasymachus formulates three major assertions regarding justice

of one of his students, Plato. It has been alleged that the great Philosopher wrote nothing down for others to read, and as such, the knowledge and the teachings from Socrates that is relied upon to convey his philosophy and the epic story of his life comes not from himself, but his students who attempt to provide and accurate picture of the methods and philosophical beliefs held by their mentor and teacher. The Apology is one of the many written dialogues written by Plato that discuss how Socrates

In his philosophical text, The Republic, Plato argues that justice can only be realized by the moderation of the soul, which he claims reflects as the moderation of the city. He engages in a debate, via the persona of Socrates, with Ademantus and Gaucon on the benefit, or lack thereof, for the man who leads a just life. I shall argue that this analogy reflecting the governing of forces in the soul and in city serves as a sufficient device in proving that justice is beneficial to those who believe