Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Differences between men and women in ancient sparta
The role of women held in Sparta at the time
Differences between men and women in ancient sparta
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Differences between men and women in ancient sparta
1B. As Socrates takes the stand to defend himself against the Athenian government he began to explain why he should not be there and how he ended up at the stand in the first place. He cites an encounter with the oracle Delphi. He explains that he asked the oracle who was wisest of all men. The oracle replied that no man was wiser then Socrates (note this will be important later in describing his philosophy). Socrates knowing that he himself knew nothing and that there must be somebody out there with more knowledge than him set out on a journey. He went to many different kinds of people, poets, craftsmen, even politicians. All seemed to have much knowledge about many things. But Socrates found that even with all their knowledge of poetry, politics, and crafts none of it was true wisdom. When he would tell these people that they were in fact not wise, they wouldn’t take to kindly to Socrates. At his trial there were two kinds of accusers the ancient and the present. His accusers of the present were Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon, representing their respective fields. They claim that he is corrupting the youth, that he does not believe in the gods of the state, that he is a doer of evil, and that he makes a weaker argument seem stronger. Socrates wished to address all of these accusations and prove his innocence. On the account of corrupting the youth he calls Meletus to the stand for questioning. He basically asks if he is a bad influence on the youth then what would be a good influence. Meletus answers that the law is a fine influence for the youth. Socrates asserts that those who influence the law are only male, then Meletus asserts that the whole population of Athens is a positive influence on the youth. Socrates us... ... middle of paper ... ... superior in the Guardian class. Although not superior in all ways women in certain classes did hold more power than men in this theory. Because certain traits were just more suited for women then men. There were retorts that women were weaker in all senses because they were physically weaker then men, and many believed they were also mentally weaker. Plato asserted that they were strengthened in many fields such as child birth and nurturing. He saw men as inferior to women in these particular actions. Plato was a different thinker of his time, he could be considered one of the first true feminists. Not what we would consider feminism today but his ideas of women and the state brought about the first sparks of seeking equality for women, even if it was a very small step in that direction it would be used as a reference point for thousands of years to come.
In the Republic written by Socrates, Socrates attempts to prove that human beings ought to practice justice in order to live a more just life. Socrates moves through several examples in order to prove that the just life is one worth living and is the one that ought to be practiced. Through Socrates’s compelling argument in the book titled Plato’s Republic , one can see that the just life is the proper human life.
In Walter Mosley’s Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, the reader is introduced to Socrates Fortlow, an ex-convict who served twenty-seven years for murder and rape. Fortlow is plagued by guilt and, seeing the chaos in his town, feels a need to improve not only his own standards of living, but also those of others in Watts. He attempts this by teaching the people in Watts the lessons he feels will resolve the many challenges the neighbourhood faces. The lessons Fortlow teaches and the methods by which he teaches them are very similar to those of the ancient Greek philosopher for whom Fortlow was named: “‘We was poor and country. My mother couldn’t afford school so she figured that if she named me after somebody smart then maybe I’d get smart’” (Mosley, 44). Though the ancient Greek was born to be a philosopher and Fortlow assumed the philosopher role as a response to the poor state of his life and Watts, both resulted in the same required instruction to their populations. The two Socrates’ both utilize a form of teaching that requires their pupil to become engaged in the lesson. They emphasize ethics, logic, and knowledge in their instruction, and place importance on epistemology and definitions because they feel a problem cannot be solved if one does not first know what it is. Socrates was essential in first introducing these concepts to the world and seemed to be born with them inherent to his being, Fortlow has learned the ideals through life experience and is a real-world application in an area that needs the teachings to get on track. While the two men bear many similarities, their differences they are attributed primarily as a result of their circumstances provide the basis of Fortlow’s importance in Watts and as a modern-...
One could see the final walk-away as a complete failure to a then seemingly meaningless story. Yet, I do not see it this way. Although Euthyphro walked away without a resolution, there was still much to be learned. The seemingly arrogant man that we were introduced to in the beginning, was not the same man in the final pages of the book. We may not have received a complete answer, but we did find something better; the knowledge that we cannot believe that our insights are always correct. And this is what Socrates strove to do: to evoke thought. When put on trial, we see this questioning is not an isolated occurrence as he states, “I believe the god has placed me in the city. I never cease to rouse each and every one of you, to persuade and reproach you all day long and everywhere I find myself in your company” (Apology, 30e). Socrates believed it was his duty to live a life of service in order to make people open their minds. In order for people to grow in wisdom, they needed to realize their ignorance. We need to be challenged in order to grow and it is through experiences, like Euthyphro’s, in which we become more
What would happen if the Socrates of old came back to life to debate the issue of abortion in the modern world? Peter Kreeft tries to give us an idea in his book The Unaborted Socrates. In this book Socrates debates three different aspects of the abortion issue with three different people, an abortion doctor, a philosopher and a psychologist. With the Doctor, Socrates debates when human life begins. With the Philosopher it is debated whether we should legislate morality. With the psychologist he debates whether abortion is a woman's right. Unfortunately, they do not come up with reasonable answers to any of these questions. Without the answer to the question, "is the fetus a human being?" it is impossible to find the answer to the other two questions. In the end, all questions lead back to the first. In answer to whether or not the fetus is a human being, it is concluded as the doctor said, "We simply do not know when the fetus becomes a human person. Anyone who claims to know is a fool because he claims to know what he does not." Nevertheless, even if the debate provides no final answers, it does serve to show the logical reasons for why abortion is horrible. It does present thought provoking questions in the minds of both those who are for and those who are against abortion.
It isn’t the fact Socrates gave women a role in the ideal society, but rather the fact that he proposed such a controversial idea. The notion of women and their equivalencies to men has been something that has been brought up time and time again throughout history and will always remain a great debate. In The Republic Book 5, Socrates says that even though women are not as physically strong as men, women still have the same abilities and aptitudes as men. Therefore, women should be treated equally with men. Because women have the same mental abilities as men, it is possible for them to become leaders as well. “In this Socratic perspective, basic qualities of the human body and mind such as strength, justice, virtue, temperance, courage, wisdom, etc. exist in both sexes enough to make their inclusion, or the inclusion of anything dependent upon them, in a gender identity distinction into a serious misconception of men and women. This means that the most important and valued attributes of the human heart and mind should never be included in the construction of gender difference. All that is courageous, tender, temperate, virtuous, compassionate, just and wise, all that stands at the heart of our attempts to live well, all that is the very lifeblood of the human spirit’s striving for excellence is never masculine or feminine. It is human” (Maxwell). Maxwell perfectly
In Plato’s Apology, when Socrates is pleading his defence, he makes a good argument against the charges of corrupting the youth of Athens. This is evident when he states that, firstly, Meletus, the man who is trying to get Socrates executed, has never cared about the youth of Athens and has no real knowledge on the subject. Secondly, Socrates states that if he was in some way corrupting the youth, then he was doing it unintentionally or unwillingly, in which case he was brought to court for no reason. Finally, Socrates brings to light the fact that Meletus doesn’t have a single witness to attest to Socrates’ corruption. This is how Socrates proves his argument that he isn’t responsible for corrupting the youth of Athens.
The Apology is Socrates' defense at his trial. As the dialogue begins, Socrates notes that his accusers have cautioned the jury against Socrates' eloquence, according to Socrates, the difference between him and his accusers is that Socrates speaks the truth. Socrates distinguished two groups of accusers: the earlier and the later accusers. The earlier group is the hardest to defend against, since they do not appear in court. He is all so accused of being a Sophist: that he is a teacher and takes money for his teaching. He attempts to explain why he has attracted such a reputation. The oracle was asked if anyone was wiser than Socrates was. The answer was no, there was no man wiser. Socrates cannot believe this oracle, so he sets out to disprove it by finding someone who is wiser. He goes to a politician, who is thought wise by him self and others. Socrates does not think this man to be wise and tells him so. As a consequence, the politician hated Socrates, as did others who heard the questioning. "I am better off, because while he knows nothing but thinks that he knows, I neither know nor think that I know" (Socrates). He questioned politicians, poets, and artisans. He finds that the poets do not write from wisdom, but by genius and inspiration. Meletus charges Socrates with being "a doer of evil, and corrupter of the youth, and he does not believe in the gods of the State, and has other new divinities of his own."
Plato's suggestion that female guardians do everything male guardians do is a radical and revolutionary proposal in a time when women were viewed as property. However there are complexities and contradictions in the Platonic text on female equality. He makes obvious statements and allusions those women are more cowardly, less trustworthy, innately worse then men. In Book V, he emphasizes that women, as a class are equals to men in capacity, although on the whole, weaker in all pursuits. Plato's ideal society is inadequate for the emancipation of women from the standpoint of feminism today. His proposal is not in the interest of woman as a class whom he supposes to be depraved, but in the interest of the state. The ideal state is emancipation from woman and a complete "de-feminization" of politics.
In the Meno by Plato, Socrates and Meno attempt to define virtue as an entity and establish whether or not this is a quality that can be taught. According to Socrates, in order for us to possess a quality such as being virtuous, we have to have knowledge of the matter. Meno’s paradox plays a central role in the dialogue as it questions how we can be certain we have arrived at the correct answer. Through the Socratic method of elenchus (to be explained), leading characters into a state of aporia (to be explained) and a geometric lesson, Socrates shows us how we can perform scientific research and reach an answer previously unknown to us. In order to begin scientific research, we have to admit we do not know the answer we are seeking, we have to be perplexed and achieve a thirst for knowledge and critical thinking has to be present. Socrates illustrates this through the geometric lesson with the slave boy in Meno. This paper will discuss if the geometric lesson by Socrates is an effective way of answering Meno’s paradox in terms of doing scientific research and
... All in all, Plato presents several forward-thinking pro-feminist ideologies that promote equality between men and women. Nevertheless, Plato does not endorse equity, and so he would not be considered a modern feminist. Yet, his role in promoting women in non-stereotypical roles and advocating for equality between sexes, regardless of his motivations, is pro (proto-traditional) feminism. References: 1.
In part four of Plato’s Republic, Socrates argues that both men and women will serve as guardians and auxiliaries. Plato appears to endorse feminist ideas. Plato presents Socrates, and himself, as an advocate for feminism. Plato cannot be a feminist due to his motivation for equality. Although Plato endorses some feminist ideas, his endorsement of these ideas does not come from the belief that women should be equal to men, but that everyone must play his or her appropriate role.
This is important since Aristotle covers much of Plato’s Republic in five chapters of the Politics and responds directly to some of Plato’s notions about women (440). Plato rejects his culture’s demand that women be confined to domestic duties. He argues that just because women give birth does not mean that they must have different societal roles than men. He supports this claim by comparing it to the expectations of a female watchdog. Female watchdogs are expected to participate in all activities that male watchdogs perform. The fact that female watchdogs give birth does not affect their duties (439). Aristotle directly addresses this argument by saying that it is “absurd” to compare wild beasts to household management to show women should have the same sort of life as men (440). Aristotle believes that nature proves him right. 1. Karbowski uses this argument to show that in Plato and Aristotle’s time, it was very much instilled in the culture that women have different duties than men because of their biological differences, making Plato’s ideas
To begin with, in politics and law, women were unrepresented. If they were in political power it was because a husband or son died and they had yet to remarry. No woman was being raised to rule a nation and they had little rights in the courtroom, although disregarding Persia, where women could represent their husbands in court and were revered leaders. In Rome and Greece, it was improbable for women to have any high ranking of power as they were provided no formal education and many scholars believed that they were poisonous to society. The prominent Aristotle remarked that "man should rule and the woman should be ruled" (What Athenian Men Said, 1). Sparta was the exception within Greece as most men were not home to run the household, and "It is likely that women
Socrates and Plato were some of the world’s most famous philosophers. Yet, they caused much trouble in the midst of their philosophizing. These philosophers, in the view of the political elites, were threatening the Athenian democracy with their philosophy. But why did they go against the status quo? What was their point in causing all of this turmoil? Plato and Socrates threatened the democracy as a wake-up call. They wanted the citizens to be active thinkers and improve society. This manifested itself in three main ways: Socrates’ life, his student Plato’s life, and their legacy in our modern age.
In Plato’s dialogue, the Phaedo, Socrates gives an account of the immortality of the soul. Socrates does this through a series of arguments. He argues that the soul will continue to exist, and that it will go on to a better place. The argument begins on the day of his execution with the question of whether it is good or bad to die. In other words, he is arguing that the soul is immortal and indestructible. This argument is contrary to Cebes and Simmias who argue that even the soul is long lasting, it is not immortal and it is destroyed when the body dies. This paper focuses on Socrates 's first argument for immortality of the human soul, his counter arguments to Cebes and Simmias ' arguments, and an explanation as to why Socrates first argument for the immorality of the soul does not succeed in establishing that the soul is immortal.