...clear definition of beauty. The same type of argument comes into focus when one considers literature. Dictionary.com defines literature as “written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit,” but this brings into question how one is to judge whether a work has greater or enduring artistic value. This question is addressed in Plato’s Ion. In Ion, Plato addresses whether it is through experience and skill or through divine intervention that Ion judges the merit of works. Through an explication of the text, one can consider whether it is knowledge or preference that leads to determining value through literary criticism. The dialogue opens with Socrates speaking to Ion who is a rhapsodist, or a professional performer of epic poetry. The reader learns that Ion is a skilled rhapsodist as he has just won first place among competitors at the festival of Asclepius. It is upon this knowledge and skill that Ion bases his affinity for Homer. Ion makes the claim that Homer is a superior poet and because of this, Ion is better able to interpret his works as compared to his inability to interpret other poets’ works. When this claim is made, Socrates goes through a series of deductions in order to determine how Ion has come to realize the merit of Homer’s works. Unlike Ion, Socrates believes that Ion’s judgment is based on divine intervention as opposed to any real skill. In order to prove his argument, Socrates equates the rhapsodist to artists or sculptors...
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...Written by Plato, The Republic strives to answer the question ‘What is Justice?’ Unlike other dialogues starring Socrates, The Republic provides an answer for the question being posed, instead of leaving readers puzzled. Using Socrates as a mouth piece, Plato creates a formula to define justice using an ideal society, the soul of an individual in an ideal society, and the greek social virtues. By using a mathematical argument to link the tasks in society, with the parts of the soul, and matching them to social virtues, Plato is able to provide an acceptable definition of justice that embodies both the ideals of a society and of an individual. In order to locate justice, Plato performs a though experiment where he creates an ideal society. In the ideal society everyone has a merit-based assignment. Plato states that in the perfect society there are three categories of people. There are the rulers, the auxiliaries, and the craftsmen. The rulers are in charge of ruling the ideal society, the auxiliaries are in charge of policing the ideal society, and the craftsmen are in charge of creating the basic tools to fulfill society’s needs. In Greece many accept that in an ideal society there are four standard virtues: wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. Plato argues that since his society is ideal the standard virtues must be within the society. He also argues that if we are able to locate the standard values in society we will be able to locate justice. Plato uses an elimination...
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...In the Symposium, Plato presents many points on Love (Eros) which are laid out by different speakers in the honor of Agathon. Phaedrus, Aristodemus, Pausanias, Socrates, Agathon, Aristophanes and Eryximachus all dedicated their symposium to the understanding of love by giving their opinion of how a person should commend it. Near the ending of the speech by Socrates, a beautiful, wealthy and drunk Alcibiades enters the event. This triggers the beginning of Alcibiades speech of travesty, which is disguised in praise, reciting the “secret nature” of Socrates to the guests at hand. The purpose of adding Alcibiades’ speech at the end is to display the nuisance with social expectations for love and the inability to meet them. The character of Alcibiades is used to portray the tragic nature of good merit and the tragedy. He is unable to gain virtue through sexual relations, and there for is forced to remain mortal. The purpose of the speech at whole is to celebrate the fertility of heterosexual relationships and how they are justified in giving birth to children. Alcibiades wants to engage in a relationship with Socrates which in terms is a homosexual relationship. To justify homosexual relationships, they would have had to prove them as productive as a heterosexual relationship. Meaning if what a heterosexual relationship can justify through Diotima’s speech is a child and a relationship which can be carried on in the future has to be the same of what a homosexual relationship can...
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...the objects. There are some chained people on their necks as well as feet, these chained people cannot move easily. Similarly, there is also another world out of the cave world, but between these two worlds, a wall is raised. On the wall, many other people move with different things on their hands and their shadows fall in the cave world. The people inside the cave cannot raise their head completely so that they can only see the shadows like illusion, which they believe, as real but it is just their illusion. - See more at: http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/creationofknowledge/allegory-of-the-cave.html#.Vm1VcUp961s Plato also talks about an ideal state, which is a utopian world. In an ideal state, there is equality among the people because no one is superior or inferior in this world. There is free flow of knowledge justice and truth, everywhere in the ideal state. Plato is also known as the first communist because of his concept of equality among the people. In the ideal state, rulers are also true philosopher whose wealth is not money or gold but spiritual knowledge. Those are the best rulers to rule the ideal state because they are reluctant to rule and active to serve the people as true servants. In other words, the rulers at the ideal state are never thirsty to exercise power, they do not want to impose cruelty over the people but instead they are worried of the condition of the people and the welfare of the state. These rulers are based because for them ruling is not imposing...
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...definitionS of Pragmatic, Pragmatism, and the Pragmatic Theory of Drama in Plato and Aristotle. A University of Lagos, M.A Seminar Work By Larayetan, Raphael Segun, (Mat. No.139013058) COURSE: Theory of Drama LECTURER: Dr. Patrick Oloko Introduction: This paper attempts an exploration of pragmatics, pragmatism and pragmatic theory as perceived by scholars from different intellectual tradition with focus on drama as a genre of literature. From the classic to the contemporary period, dramatic theorists and dramatists have been involved in the polemics on functions of drama, whether it is an instrument of communicating ideas or just a genre of literature that only entertains. Whether drama entertains or bears the ideological or moral burdens which the author through his art intends to pass to the readers, drama unequivocally has a function which, according to Philip Sidney, is to “teach and to delight”. With this in mind, it can be established that every piece of drama sets out to achieve a function though critics and dramatists have disagreed on what the ideal function of drama should be. It is this light that the current paper explores the pragmatic theory of drama in Plato and Aristotle, or, simply put; how Plato and Aristotle perceive the ideal function of drama. Definition of Terms: Pragmatism is a theory that emphasises the dual function of a work of art. It stipulates the heuristic function...
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...While Athenians held such novel freedoms, the fatal flaw of Athenian freedom was its overly collective nature and protection of these freedoms. Athenian demokratia certainly has its merits and proves to have been a system of government and way of life way ahead of its time. The guarantee of political freedom, as the heart of demokratia, is what made the Athenians free. Among the very restricted membership to the citizenry, a system was established that made all citizens free from tyranny. Athenians were also free from invasion and external oppression due to the grandness of the Athenian navy and their monopoly power of the Aegean Sea. Paradoxically, the dominating nature of the Athenian empire is what gave Athenians freedom to self-govern, i.e. autonomia and allowed their democracy to flourish. This political freedom was the pre-eminent freedom, surpassing any idea of individual freedom. Individual freedoms amounted to slightly...
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...A FEW NOTES ON SOCRATES AND THE SOPHISTS Sophists and Socrates both used the elenchus, a method of questioning which is something like ‘cross-examination.’ The Socratic elenchus eventually gave rise to the dialectic, the idea that through question and answer, through opposing ideas, through modifying one’s position and throwing out false opinions (doxa) truth might be pursued. It requires the searching out and bringing forth of true opinions in order to guide the interlocutor towards right thinking and a knowledge of the true forms. Although Socrates, in the Apologia, claims to have discovered no other truth than that he knows no truth, the Socrates of Plato’s earlier dialogues is of the opinion that truth is obtainable by use of the elenchus. SOPHISTS - while they use the elenchus they do not develop a dialectic aimed at leading people towards truth. Some practice eristic, flashy and ostentatious employment of verbal tricks, capping an argument or trapping an opponent without regard to searching out truth. So, among all the other forms of decadence which Aristophanes points to in Athenian society at this time, might be added the decadence of philosophical argumentation. SOPHISTS were mainly outsiders, not Athenians. They came offering an education suited to the creation of a competititve public sphere which seemed to threaten the Old Education, the traditional mythopoetic education based on the poets (Homer, Hesiod, Pindar), religious ritual, and cultic initiation...
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...In the ancient world, philosophy dominated discourse. As a result, many extraordinary thinkers emerged from places such as Greece and Athens. One of these great individuals was Aristotle. He had the benefit of being taught by Plato. Aristotle was able to gain knowledge directly from Plato as well as from what Plato had learned from his teacher, Socrates. The time of Aristotle’s birth allowed him the unique opportunity to stand on the shoulders of two philosophical giants, Plato and Socrates. In his work, Politics, he examined the advantages and disadvantages of different types of political regimes. Aristotle looked at monarchies, aristocracies, polities, tyrannies, oligarchies, and democracies. In his examination, he proposed an explanation of what his best regime would be. While Aristotle admitted that none of the regimes could match his best regime, it can be argued that the polity is the best regime out of the ones that Aristotle studied. The polity provides the greatest regime because it is an indistinguishable mix of democratic and oligarchic elements that works towards the benefit of both the masses and the wealthy, which promotes the middling effect of Aristotle’s best regime. Aristotle’s best regime is one that mimics what he describes as the best way of life. He defines the ideal way of life as living virtuously. He likens this virtue to a mean that is attainable by every type of person. This lifestyle can also be adapted to the regime of a city (Book 4, Chapter 11...
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...to those who feel that discrimination and hate toward someone who was just “born that way” is unethical. This leads us into the question of homosexual marriage. Should homosexuals be granted the same holy matrimony that heterosexual couples have? The first recorded depiction of homosexuality was found in Mesopotamia, circa 3000 BC where artifacts were discovered depicting same sex couples. (Nevill) There are other types of recorded evidence of roughly the same time, for example, In Egypt in the ancient necropolis of Saqqara there is a tomb for a male/male couple who oversaw the Pharaoh’s manicurists, and is dated to be between 2400 BC and 3000 BC. (McCoy) Many people who shaped the world we live in were homosexual, such as: Plato,...
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...Law and Justice THEORIES OF JUSTICE Plato In Plato’s major work, The Republic, he used Socrates as a mouth piece to develop his on view of justice. Socrates outlines his, i.e Plato’s view of justice both for the individual and for society. Dealing with the man first; a man’s soul has 3 elements: 1. Reason 2. Spirt 3. Appetite or desire A man is just when each of these three elements fulfils its appropriate function and there is a harmonious relationship between them. Within society there are three groups society is just hen each class fulfils its appropriate function and there is a harmonious relationship between them. Therefore Plato viewed justice as harmony between the warring elements. Distributive Justice This is concerned with fairly shaking the benefits such as money, property, family, takes and civic duties of life within an organisation. Aristotle Aristotle stressed the need for proportionality and achieving the middle ay and a proper balance between extremes. He said a ‘just state’ ill distribute its wealth on the basis of worth (merit) therefore giving to each according to their virtue and contribution to society. He stated there was a need for corrective justice to ensure that individuals can keep what they are entitled to. The role of the court is making sure the offender does not benefit from his crime ad victim does not suffer loss. In this sense, the balance or ‘middle way’ is achieved. Thomas Aquinas Illustrated his view of...
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...The great philosopher Aristotle stated the bare truth when he said centuries ago that man is "a political animal". He and his equally famous disciple Plato strongly denounced politics. Plato went so far as to say: "O, men of Athens, if I was engaged in politics, I would have perished long ago and done no good either to you or to myself." Since then, however, politics has pervaded every sphere of life, and the number of politicians has grown beyond measure. There is politics everywhere, in government generally, in the administration, in schools, colleges, universities, art, literature, and even in sports and games. In fact, there is hardly any sphere of life and activity, male of female, which is free from politics and the insidious influences of the fast-growing tribe of politicians of various hues and types sincere ones (their number is indeed small), insincere ones and downright hypocrites (their tribe is fast growing), and others who fall mid-way and share the traits of both the good and the bad. Of course, it would be unfair to paint them all with the same brush. The lament of Aristotle and Plato has become pointless in modern society, despite the advance of civilisation and the remarkable progress of education and general enlightenment. Politics and politicians have not only grown amazingly, but have also prospered without let or hindrance. This may indeed be described as the age of politics; politicians are supreme everywhere. The gates of politics are...
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...Plato's Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology 1.0. The Background to Plato’s Metaphysics The author Silverman, Allan (2014) of this article titled Plato’s Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology wrote about how Plato first began to annotate his own points on metaphysics and epistemology. As we all knew, Plato’s definition of things are heavily influenced by his teachers Heraclitus (c.540 B.C.-480-70) Parmenides (c.515 B.C.-449-40) and especially Socrates (470 B.C-399). However only remnants of the writings of Heraclitus and Parmenides and also nothing left of Socrates. The only evidence that we ever had is Plato’s depiction of his teacher that is the dialog he wrote in his writings about Socrates’s views. Sometimes, it is as if it was Socrates’s writing not Plato because of the many things about Socrates he wrote. Some had said that it was his own views but instead he used Socrates as the speaker. This article also wrote about Plato’s predecessors’ views of the concept that influences his definition of Metaphysics and Epistemology which are Being and Forms. Firstly, Parmenides which he said there is one and only in this world and that is being. The truth is it never change and will never be. Sadly, there is not much we could conclude from Parmenides’s point of view. His concept of being has become Plato’s based of doctrine of Forms. As contrast to Parmenides’s definition of physical world, Heraclitus is the advocate of change. He said that the ordinary objects...
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...Give an account of Aristotle’s teaching about Natural law Aristotle was the first practitioner to contribute to the creation of Natural Law as inspired by his mentor Plato he developed the relationship between Natural and conventional justice and outlined the use of Natural inclinations in Natural law. In this essay I will outline Aristotle’s contribution to Natural law. Aristotle’s works, Nicomanchean Ethics and The Politics illustrate the close between legal and political philosophy. In Nicomanchean Ethics, Aristotle argued that law supports a virtuous existence, advances the lives of individuals and promotes the ‘perfect community’. He proposed people should employ practical wisdom or active reason in order to behave in a way that is consistent with a virtuous existence. Aristotle defined justice as ‘a state of mind that encourages men to perform just actions, ‘just’ meaning ‘lawful’, ‘fair’ and ‘virtuous’. In theory, then, there exists a universal standard of natural justice which is unchangeable, but in practice there must always be a mix of natural justice and legal justice in the laws of the city. Therefore while the principles of natural justice don't change, natural justice in action varies because in applying natural justice conventional justice needs to be added. Aristotle divided ‘political’ justice into ‘natural’ and ‘conventional’ justice. According to Aristotle, the content of ‘natural’ justice (or ‘universal’ law) is set by nature, which renders it immutable...
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...Just individuals : In his book ‘The Republic’, Plato searches for justice within the individual and what makes a person ‘just’. By comparing his sense of what is just at a political level and what is just at a psychological level he suggests three virtues of the individual which will make that particular person just. The virtues of wisdom, courage and moderation are common to both a just and the fictional just city of Kallipolis. This artificial city has the pre-determined virtue of being just – he does this in order to understand what justice is for the individual because Plato thinks that ‘a just man won’t differ at all from a just city in respect to the form of justice; rather he’ll be like the city.’ (Republic 435b) In the just city Plato creates three classes: the producers, the guardians and the rulers. Each of these three classes has a certain virtue it has to display to fulfill the ‘just city’ pre-requisite that Plato has placed upon Kallipolis. The rulers are required to exhibit wisdom so that ‘a whole city established according to nature would be wise because of the smallest class and part in it, namely the governing or ruling one. And to this class, belongs a share of the knowledge that alone among all the other kinds of knowledge is to be called wisdom.’ (428e-429a) The wisdom enjoyed by the rulers would be used to ensure that the city has ‘good judgement and [be] really wise.’ (428d) The guardians (soldiers) of Kallipolis would be educated in order to absorb...
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...objects of knowledge epistemologically speaking. From the point of view of ethics and politics, they are the foundation of the right behaviour, and anthropologically speaking they are the base of Plato’s dualism and they even allow him demonstrate the immortality of the soul. Plato defends a clear ontological dualism in which there are two types of realities or worlds: the sensible world and the intelligible world or, as he calls it, the world of the Ideas. The Sensible World is the world of individual realities, and so is multiple and constantly changing, is the world of generation and destruction; is the realm of the sensible, material, temporal and space things. On the contrary, the Intelligible World is the world of the universal, eternal and invisible realities called Ideas (or "Forms"), which are immutable and do not change because they are not material, temporal or space. Ideas can be understood and known; they are the authentic reality. The Ideas or Forms are not just concepts or psychic events of our minds; they do exist as objective and independent beings out of our consciences. They are also the origin of sensible things, but although they are the authentic beings, Plato, unlike Parmenides of Elea, do not completely deny the reality of the sensible things; the sensible world, although ontologically inferior, have also certain kind of being which comes from its participation or imitation of the world of Forms. The task of Demiurge is to give the shape of...
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