Plato Born circa 428 B.C, ancient Greek philosopher Plato was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle. His writings explored justice, beauty and equality, and also contained discussions in aesthetics, political philosophy, theology, cosmology, epistemology and the philosophy of language. Plato founded the Academy in Athens, one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Western world. He died in Athens circa 348 B.C. Plato was probably taught by some of Athens' finest educators. The curriculum would have featured the doctrines of Cratylus and Pythagoras as well as Parmenides. These probably helped develop the foundation for Plato's study of metaphysics (the study of nature) and epistemology (the study of knowledge).
Plato's
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He believed that all people should have access to food, shelter, education, and citizenship. For example, he believed that an African should be able to be a philosopher or even a ruler, which was an extremely rare opinion. What was even rarer at that time was the idea that women should have equal rights as men. At that time no one even thought that women were equal to men but Plato. He argued that because women have a soul (in his philosophy a soul consisted of a will, a rational part, and a spiritual part) women should not be treated differently than men. To be I think Plato was a hero coming from my background and hearing from the past blacks wasn’t allowed to do much back in B.C’s so that coming from him was a plus. He is sometimes considered the founding father of philosophy because he influenced philosophy and ethics so much. Plato’s deep influence on ethics, philosophy, and related subjects are only matched by his mentor Socrates and his student Aristotle. In conclusion, Plato was one of the greatest philosophers, thinkers, teachers, and prose writers of all time. Not only did he found the first university for his friend Socrates, but he advocated human rights. He raised and attempted to answer many philosophical and ethical questions. He was a good friend of Socrates, one of the most praised philosophers of all time, teacher of Aristotle, relative of a great lawmaker, and an advocate of education and human rights. For these reasons I consider him a hero and a legend of modern philosophy, ethics and
Hesiod leaves no doubt that the existence of women is on balance a terrible thing for men. Zeus ordered Hephaistos to create women as a punishment for his having been decieved.. Women were to be a poisoned gift for men, which "all shall take to their hearts with delight, an evil to love and embrace" (W&D, 57-59). In the Theogony women are called "a great plague" because they are "ill-suited to Poverty’s curse, but suited to Plenty" (592-93), among other flaws. While Hesiod offers some well-turned phrases in praise of womens’ good qualities, it is unmistakable that these positive attributes are all put there by Zeus for the sole purpose of making woman an "inescapable snare" (589). Women are attractive, they have useful skills and, they provide progeny to help men in their old age, but these qualities are only to prevent men form avoiding the punishment that she brings.
Plato and Aristotle alike were two men who had ideas on ways to improve existing society. Plato, a political philosopher, was in the pursuit of philosophical truth (Hacker 114). Aristotle was concerned with the citizen and the design of political institutions (Hacker 114). They both had well thought out ideas and plans on how to build a better society. Both Aristotle and Plato have had a tremendous impact on political scientists of today. Aristotle helped to develop some democratic ideas. In conclusion these men were great thinkers. Their opinions on society and its functions were quite different, but they both had the same intention, to build a better way of life for the societies they lived in and for the societies that would come to be in the future.
Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher that was born in Athens, Greece around 470/469 BC. He served in the Athenian army and fought in many battles. When Socrates retired from fighting in the army, he began focusing on expressing his beliefs. He wasn’t the typical “teacher” or “preacher”; he was a very critical and analytical thinker that helped guide his students and the Athenians during his time. Through his teachings and beliefs, Socrates had positive and negative influence on the people during his time and modern time. Although he is credited as one of the founders of Western Philosophy, Political Philosophy, and Ethics, his teachings was in disagreement with the teachings of the democracy of Athens, which led to him being put to death. Along with his philosophical beliefs, Socrates’ great thinking led to the creation of the Socratic Method and the Socratic Paradoxes.
When thinking of ancient Greece, images of revolutionary contrapposto sculpture, ornate lecture halls, and great philosophers in togas are sure to come to mind. As the birthplace of democracy and western philosophy, ancient Greece has had an inordinate influence on the progression of the modern world. However, the ancient Greeks’ treatment of women is seemingly at direct odds with their progressive and idealistic society.
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.
Plato, like Pythagoras, believes that knowledge of pure Forms and of “Being” is the direct path to someone living a life of salvation and of the highest quality. Plato, like Pythagoras, also believed that all of the forms are geometric figures and mathematical in nature. Also, Plato, like Heraclitus, believed that our world is constantly changing, or in a constant flux. Plato, also agreed with Parmenides, who believed that the real world is not the same as the world of our experience.
In one of Plato’s most esteemed works, The Republic, Plato forms an ideal city called the Kallipolis with citizens and their respective roles within the city. While creating this “City of Words” Plato was faced with a dilemma, what roles would the women of the city be assigned? This paper argues that women were in fact granted a place in society that provided them with equality in the Kallipolis, and that this equality was achieved through their positioning within the guardian class. Furthermore, this equality was affirmed through their position within the ruling class.
Plato is clearly not advocating for the rights of women. He only used women for his own selfish reasons. Although the institution of marriage was eliminated; therefore removing the oppressive role of the wife, men were still able to discriminate their female partners by viewing them as property. This undoes any possible justice for women. Pomeroy also discussed how “the male guardians are chosen first, then appropriate women are to be selected to be given to them”.
Plato started his teachings in remembrance of his good friend, Socrates. After his death he traveled back to Italy and studied under Pythagoras. Some years later he began "The Academy". Much of the curriculum taught was dedicated to the teachings of Socrates. During this time he began to write down his thoughts about politics and development of a regime. Developing different aspects than Socrates'.
Women were often subjects of intense focus in ancient literary works. In Sarah Pomeroy’s introduction of her text Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, she writes, “Women pervade nearly every genre of classical literature, yet often the bias of the author distorts the information” (x). It is evident in literature that the social roles of women were more restricted than the roles of men. And since the majority of early literature was written by men, misogyny tends to taint much of it. The female characters are usually given negative traits of deception, temptation, selfishness, and seduction. Women were controlled, contained, and exploited. In early literature, women are seen as objects of possession, forces deadly to men, cunning, passive, shameful, and often less honorable than men. Literature reflects the societal beliefs and attitudes of an era and the consistency of these beliefs and attitudes toward women and the roles women play has endured through the centuries in literature. Women begin at a disadvantage according to these societal definitions. In a world run by competing men, women were viewed as property—prizes of contests, booty of battle and the more power men had over these possessions the more prestigious the man. When reading ancient literature one finds that women are often not only prizes, but they were responsible for luring or seducing men into damnation by using their feminine traits.
To begin, Aristotle, who was the famous student of Plato, later became known for b...
Plato adopted many ideas from his mentor Socrates but also collected some ideals from the influential people of his time such as Homer and Heraclitus. Like Socrates, Plato dealt with matters of morals
wrote famous works which were very popular however it is noticed that Plato’s work was based on entertaining lit...
Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato were two of the most influential and knowledgeable ancients in our history. Their contributions and dedication to science, language and politics are immensely valued centuries later. But while the two are highly praised for their works, they viewed several subjects entirely differently, particularly education practices, and human ethics and virtue.
Plato is one of the most important people in the history of Philosophy. Throughout his life, he had made many contributions to the world of philosophy, but the most important contribution that he is most known for is his theory of the Ideas or Forms. Throughout his many works such as the Phaedo and Symposium, he presented his theory of Ideas by using both mythos and logos in his argument for support.