In accordance with the New Oxford American Dictionary, a craft is a skilled activity or profession, whereas an analogy compares two things that are alike in some way. In addition, a democratic system is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives (Merriam-Webster, 2003). Nonetheless, this paper will focus on a debate that deals with the opposite and agreement that involves; governing a craft the same way as medicine or shoemaking and the implications it has on democracy. However, in the republic by Plato, Socrates uses craft to illustrate various ways of justice and virtues. Also, Socrates views the craft of analogy as comparing two different kinds of activities …show more content…
Hence, when one governs a democratic society the person has the right to choice a vast majority of careers in order to enhance and strengths his or her virtue and goal.Although Jesus Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit display different skills, virtues, and end goal, they both act as one person. Furthermore, there are some people that have different talents, and can still operate and govern a craft the same way as medicine or shoemaking. Thus, an individual needs education and skills in those tasks. For instance, a butcher decides to sell his or her meat in the marketplace, in order to achieve his or her end goal and make profits. Suddenly, things fall apart when the butcher notices that the customers are not buying his or her animal meat in the marketplace. Instead, the customers decide to buy shoes, medicine, land, and attend different restaurants. The butcher has no choice but to discard the job and pursue another career such as shoemaking or medicine in order to get profit, virtue, and attain his or her end goals. Moreover, in the democratic society the butcher would not be condemned because he or she has the right to …show more content…
He claims that a person who is a guardian (rulers) should not divert into a warrior or craftsmen because craft is about knowing the entire governing and it is difficult for a person to know everything about the craft. He prefers that one ought not to ponder into several career fields if the person has not acquired the skills and education. Furthermore, in the biblical scripture in 1 Corinthians 12:28: “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.” Likewise, one needs time, planning, implementing, analyzing, patience, and gradual process, to develop a
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-...
Socrates: A Gift To The Athenians As Socrates said in Apology by Plato, “...the envy and detraction of the world, which has been the death of many good men, and will probably be the death of many more…”(Philosophical Texts, 34) Throughout history, many leaders have been put to death for their knowledge. In Apology, Socrates- soon to be put to death- says he was placed in Athens by a god to render a service to the city and its citizens. Yet he will not venture out to come forward and advise the state and says this abstention is a condition on his usefulness to the city.
By studying a variety of events and people involved in the Peloponnesian War and the Theban play Antigone, it becomes noticeable that many of these events and people can be explained through Platonic terms. Throughout the Republic, Plato conveys his philosophical thoughts about democracy, justice, and education in a society through his main character Socrates. As Socrates encounters many enlightened people of his time, he questions them on rhetorical issues dealing with society and human nature. As these issues begin to unfold, events and people in the past seem to illustrate many of the main concepts in the Republic. After looking at Socrates' discussions throughout books I, IV, VI, and VII we will notice that they relate to many events that happened prior to the writing of the Republic such as the Sicilian Expedition, the debate at Sparta in 432, and Creon's implementation of justice in the Theban play Antigone by Sophacles.
Plato’s The Republic discusses the effects being uneducated prisoners would have on humans and how we may have reacted to the “real” world. Applying Socrates’s theory to life today, and how children perceive the world will prove how we are the uneducated prisoners.
Socrates was one of the wisest people to walk the earth, and he didn’t even know it. His questioning, reasoning, and expertise in the Apology convey the amount of wisdom he endowed. Through his statements, Socrates sounds like he contradicted himself, but rather, both statements made about obeying law and breaking the law are correct. Socrates said that he would obey the commands of the city, only if the commands were just. He should not be on trial, because he did nothing to invoke injustice upon himself. He committed no crime; therefore, he will continue practicing philosophy no matter what the consequence.
I am going to attempt to show that although the argument that Socrates makes in The Republic by Plato is valid, it is not sound. I am going to explain his argument and challenge a premise that he has made to support his argument.
Socrates was a revolutionary thinker. He brought new ideas and processes of thought to Athenian society and his work still has its place in the world today. However during his time, his ideas were not always thought of as a good thing. Many viewed him as a corrupting influence on other people and accused him of forcing his ideas upon others. Perhaps most frequently the center of controversy was his thoughts on theocracy and piety as seen in the Plato’s Euthyphro. Socrates also appears at the butt end of Aristophanes’ comedy Clouds, where he is satirically ridiculed and seemingly corrupting the youth of Athens in his school, the Thinkery. Although virtually completely seen as a positive influence now, in ancient times, Socrates may have done more harm than good for his society.
Many of the lessons that my family taught me deal with the idea of freedom. My father, mother, and brother taught me to always be myself, and to do what I want to do. Both of these ideas follow the concepts of a democracy, which we live in. In a democracy, the “good” is freedom, and the “just” is tolerance of diversity. While these are the values that shaped my fathers and brothers teaching, they are not correct. Freedom can be a bad thing, especially too much. Socrates says,” For extreme freedom probably cannot lead to anything but a change to extreme slavery, whether in a private individual or a city” (564a3). I may believe freedom to be the “good” and the way to happiness, but that is because I am stuck in the cave, believing the images
There are times in every mans life where our actions and beliefs collide—these collisions are known as contradictions. There are endless instances in which we are so determined to make a point that we resort to using absurd overstatements, demeaning language, and false accusations in our arguments. This tendency to contradict ourselves often questions our character and morals. Similarly, in The Trial of Socrates (Plato’s Apology), Meletus’ fallacies in reason and his eventual mistake of contradicting himself will clear the accusations placed on Socrates. In this paper, I will argue that Socrates is not guilty of corrupting the youth with the idea of not believing in the Gods but of teaching the youth to think for themselves by looking to new divinities.
Plato defines Athens as a democratic society that “treats all men as equal, whether they are equal or not.” Therefore, believes that there are those that are born to rule and others that are born to be ruled. Plato presents the argument that democracy does not achieve the greatest good, giving four main objections to democracy. Firstly, he identifies that most of us are ruled by passions, pleasure, sentiment and impulse. Hence, th...
Plato’s “Defense of Socrates” follows the trial of Socrates for charges of corruption of the youth. His accuser, Meletus, claims he is doing so by teaching the youth of Athens of a separate spirituality from that which was widely accepted.
This week in Senior Symposium we have been working with a book that seems to be unavoidable as a college student attending a liberal arts institution, Plato’s Republic. Specifically Books 1 and 7 of this well examined text. This text written as a play, and in this play a young Socrates is the protagonist. During the lecture relating to the reading for this week speaker Dr. Thomas Brickhouse (2016) brought up a very intriguing question early on in his discussion of this work of Plato. How good of a job does Plato’s republic do of representing the historical Socrates (Brickhouse 2016)? Finding a truly accurate interoperation of any historical figure is nearly impossible, but Brickhouse (2016) seemed particularly convinced that Plato took exceptional liberties with the actions and words of Socrates in The Republic using him as a character or talking piece,
How would you feel if someone called you a sophist? Before you answer, it's important to know how the meaning of this word has evolved. "During the fifth century, sophists were teachers, speakers, and philosophers who were paid to use rhetoric (Mardner 1)." But many people opposed their style of teaching. Socrates was a philosopher who disagreed with the Sophist's point-of-view. The main differences between the Sophist and Socrates were their views on absolute truth.
Socrates was an insightful philosopher who had an opinion on all the basic fundamental questions. He had very strong beliefs that he willed others into believing through questioning and proving ignorance in others beliefs. He has particular views on every fundamental question and particular views on how people should live their lives. He says God has spoken to him about philosophy and says that it is his destiny and it is his calling in life. Through philosophy he searches for answers to the fundamental questions and gains wisdom and knowledge. The fundamental question of condition is the question of what, if anything, has gone wrong with the world? The question of solution is what can fix the problem? Then there is Death which asks what happens
Philosophy can be defined as the pursuit of wisdom or the love of knowledge. Socrates, as one of the most well-known of the early philosophers, epitomizes the idea of a pursuer of wisdom as he travels about Athens searching for the true meaning of the word. Throughout Plato’s early writings, he and Socrates search for meanings of previously undefined concepts, such as truth, wisdom, and beauty. As Socrates is often used as a mouthpiece for Plato’s ideas about the world, one cannot be sure that they had the same agenda, but it seems as though they would both agree that dialogue was the best way to go about obtaining the definitions they sought. If two people begin on common ground in a conversation, as Socrates often tries to do, they are far more likely to be able to civilly come to a conclusion about a particular topic, or at least further their original concept.