Plato on Knowledge

Plato on Knowledge

Plato argues that philosophy purifies ones soul and prepares one for death. Through his work The Republic he speaks about how everyone and everything is similar in regards to thought process. Plato argues that wisdom is gained over time. As a person grows they are exposed to numerous situations and events, which provide one with experience and teachings. Everything that happens in one’s life shapes who they will become, how their wisdom grows, and how much wisdom they obtain. He argues this by comparing the nature of animals to the nature of humans through analogies that explain people’s behaviors. He also stresses how human’s actions and behaviours change as they grow. This is due to the wisdom which they obtain throughout their lifetime. He further implies that the older a person is, the greater their knowledge is. This is due to the amount of experiences they have gone through. This ultimately further develops their morals and values, thus purifying them and preparing them for death.

At the beginning of a person’s life, from the moment they are born they are a blank canvas. A baby knows nothing. As time moves forward, the baby grows and experiences new things within its environment. The child’s brain begins to develop and it establishes relationships with people and things that it is frequently exposed to. The most important relationship it will develop is with its parents. Parents teach their children to eat, talk, and talk walk along with numerous other things which are considered later in life to be basic human nature. A parent is an essentially a coach, guiding it’s off spring throughout their life until they are old enough and wise enough to be on their own. Plato stresses the subject o...

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...thing. As we grow we are shaped into the people who we will eventually die as. When we learn our heads become filled with knowledge only to expand our minds and greaten our wisdom. Humans learn trough physical and emotional pain and suffering. Every lesson in life is repeated until one finally understands the lesson. Plato stresses that knowledge is power and that it prepares people to accept the circle of life and the course it takes. Each and every one of us is seasoned in a different manner, making all of us unique. These experiences combined purify one’s self, preparing us for the obstacles of life and ultimately bring us to an understanding of death. When one is truly all knowing, they will be able to accept death as an inevitable force of nature, something we cannot control, just as we cannot ultimately control our own fate regardless of how hard we try.