Philosophers

Socrates (469 – 399 BCE) was a classical Greek philosopher, known as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Socrates’ trial and execution in 399 BCE still remain controversial to this day and divides historians. If I was a member of the Athenian jury hearing the case of Socrates, I would vote to acquit Socrates. The basis of philosophy means to question. The people of Athens grew up being taught things and told exactly what to believe. Socrates gave a…...

Socrates was unlike most Athenians of his time. Socrates was morally radical and intellectual. During his trial for impiety and wrongdoing the youth Socrates felt that the people of Athens should concern themselves about their wellbeing of emotions rather than their family. Socrates ideas affected the views towards the knowledge politics and virtue of the Athenians society. He also believed that one should give attention on the growth of himself than on physical things and encouraged people to develop a…...

In “Plato, Defense of Socrates”, Socrates was in trial for his charges for not recognizing the gods of the city or that he was religious or an atheist. Socrates disputed that he is innocent of both charges; corrupting the youth and impiety. Socrates' defense is failed at the end and he is sentenced to death. He concludes that a simple man should have no concern when it comes to death. Socrates defends himself towards the costs delivered in opposition to…...

Socrates allows his enemies to win by staying and accepting his sentence. From the onset of the case, Socrates fails to put a strong defense on his innocence. Rather, he appears unconcerned about the case brought against him. He is rude, arrogant, and fails to empathize with the prosecutor and Athens’ society. As a result, he is unable to convince more than 50% of the jurist that he is innocent. In addition, he appears to be unconcerned with his first…...

The Trail of Socrates occurs in 399 BCE. This was shortly after the Peloponnesian War where Athens fell to defeat against Sparta. Athens’s government at this time was a democracy. Because of the young Athenians having different people impact their decisions Athens society went through a change. One main person who is a suspect for this change is Socrates. This is why he got the charge for corrupting the youth of Athens along with not worshipping the Gods of the…...

In Plato’s Apology, the reader finds much interesting information about the philosophic thought that is derived from Socrates’ defense speech. Socrates, Plato’s teacher, and friend is ready to defend himself. Socrates’ mission is to help people to better understand the meaning of life in order to change their lives, placing emphasis on virtue and souls. He says, It is the greatest good for a human being to discuss Virtue every day and the other things About which you hear me…...

What is “the good”? “The good” is defined as the ultimate place where everything makes sense and falls into place. In order to have a good life, a person must do something in their life. As Aristotle explains his views and thoughts on pleasure and why it is not good, he tends to be grey with his points (Curtis, lecture notes). According to Aristotle, he believed that pleasure is good but not “the good”. Aristotle’s views as to why pleasure…...

Aristotle outlined six main fundamentals of tragedy: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and music or song. He reflected on plot and character as the first two components or the primary components. In his Poetics, he explained the proper mix of these fundamentals using instances from various tragic dramas, specifically those of Sophocles, amongst other playwrights (Rizzoli, 3 - 6). Previous to reading Aristotle, Sophocle’s Antigone was similar to any of the previous stories I have read — the protagonist’s character…...

The cave taping that we listened to in class was a metaphor that contrasted real life and the things that we believe to be true. In the tape, Plato has Socrates describe a group of prisoners who are chained to a wall of a cave. They are facing a bare wall, watching the shadows that are cast from objects passing in front of a fire. The imprisoned people believe that the shadows are real and give them names. The named…...

Have you ever had the feeling where you are uncertain if you are awake or is still dreaming? Those are not phrases from a metaphysical book but perhaps a popular Hollywood film "The Matrix." Nevertheless, freedom is not about having a really good illusion, but about realizing it's all just an illusion. Furthermore, the philosophies in the movie and the truth borrowed from eastern philosophies from the great philosophers including Plato and Aristotle. There are several similarities between Plato's "The…...

In Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Socrates depicts a gathering of detainees being affixed to a divider watching these shadows which are truly individuals strolling behind them, making them believe them to be anything they desire them to be. They know nothing else with the exception of what they believe is their very own world. When one of the detainees is discharged he understands that what he thought was the truth, was extremely simply his own mind going on with…...

The cave taping that we listened to in class was a metaphor that contrasted real life and the things that we believe to be true. In the tape, Plato has Socrates describe a group of prisoners who are chained to a wall of a cave. They are facing a bare wall, watching the shadows that are cast from objects passing in front of a fire. The imprisoned people believe that the shadows are real and give them names. The named…...

According to Aristotle’s theory of tragedy, a tragic hero is a person with high social status and somebody who has a confidential flaw that could in the end lead to facing a downfall with courage and dignity causing the audience to feel sympathy. Generally, a tragic hero is a grievous legend that is seen as an honorable character. A tragic hero experiences a change from not bad to good, but from good to bad. To go moreover, the character Macbeth…...

What is a tragedy? A tragedy is an event that causes great suffering, destruction, and distress, sometimes a catastrophe. Aristotle\'s characterization of a tragic hero is through his ability to preserve his virtue, despite his flaws. Oedipus is considered a tragic hero because he is not perfect but has many tragic flaws. Oedipus shows many flaws and braveness throughout this story. A tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy in dramas. This tragedy shows where a person suffers from…...

From the time of Aristotle (384-322 BCE) , the notion of friendship and even the term friend have fascinated philosophers. Aristotle, a famed philosopher himself, opine that ‘Without friends, no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.’ (Aristotle, and Ross. 2016: 307) In elaboration, every man seems to be quite iffy when the term ‘loner’ is discussed at length. A loner is in his essence someone without any friends or even acquaintances and humans as species…...

“According to John Loke, the self is identified as a thinking, intelligent being that has the abilities to reason and to reflect”. (Chaffee, 2016). Self is an individual person as the object of his or her own reflective consciousness. Self is a reference by a subject to the same subject. In chapter 3 of the text, the author talks about “self” and the many different perceptions of it. I chose “The Self Is Consciousness and We Construct the Self. Locke…...

  Thus, though he asserts that women in general are not as capable as men in general, especially in physical strength, individual members of both sexes will be capable of performing all the functions needed by the city, including guardianship and philosophy. The only way to ensure that persons are assigned the jobs for which they are best suited is to asses the merits of each, independently of sex (gender)'. 4 The three primary types of desires are divided into…...

    If truth was objective then there would be absolute truth and there shouldn't be any dispute to this viewpoint. Truth should be evident based on fact according to people who believe that truth is objective. 15 However Sophocles had a different view to this and he portrayed this in his play called the 'Antigone'. 16 Creon was the ruler of the cit of Thebes. He wanted to leave the body of Antigone's brother Polyneices out in the open…...

The Marxist theory targets the flaws in capitalism where the bourgeoisie, who are rich owners, are able to control the proletariats (working class). According the Karl Marx, the bourgeoisie can control education, politics, media, etc due to their wealth. Due to the inequality, Karl Marx predicted that the proletariat would start a revolution. Karl Marx believes that capitalism leads to commodification where society only cares about impressing others and conspicuous consumption. Karl Marx believes that communism would make the bourgeoisie…...

“The Republic” is a work of “Plato” that talks about his “ideal society” (Plato et. al. , 2003, pp. 1 – 496). According to him an “ideal society” is: 1) one that is ordered/structured, just/reasonable, wise/sensible, courageous/spirited, temperate/controlled; 2) a society that is geared towards the well-being of the whole population and not just one class; and last but not least 3) a society that is ruled by the “philosopher-ruler” (Plato et. al. , 2003, pp. 1 – 496). Plato…...

Socrates’ take on justice was a rather controversial viewpoint for his era, in that he opined about virtues men should possess and strive for that they might otherwise have no desire to obtain. A just man strives to promote justice for the sake of justice in itself. He, as one who is good, seeks to further justice because it fulfills his daimon, or nature. The nature of man is therefore, naturally, to do the right and proper thing. Good, as…...

Socrates once said, “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. ” With this, he revealed that education should be thought about and questioned for curiosity and understanding rather than for memorizing facts and information without any deeper thought on the matter. Socrates’ metaphor, “filling of a vessel,” relates to our type of educational system and administration. It is often that teachers do not want students to ask questions they cannot answer; they do not…...

Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that only the general will, the will of all people together granted sovereignty. In his Book, 'The Social Contract', Rousseau highlights the need for a lawgiver. He considers the possibility that that the General will err, if it errs, it would simply not be the General will of the people. "The general will is always right and is always tends towards the public utility. However, it does not follow that the deliberations of the people always have…...

In his famous work The Social Contract Jean-Jacques Rousseau proposes an absolute rule of the general will (Melzer 1983, p. 633). He argues that the general will 'is always rightful and always tends to the public good' and that it can never 'err', i.e. that it never makes mistakes (Rousseau 2006, 1762, pp. 30-32). In my essay I am going to evaluate this statement. Firstly, I am going to outline Rousseau's vision of society and government which he described in…...

Introduction “The Declaration of Independence,” written by Thomas Jefferson, is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. “The Origin of Civil Society” is an article written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Jefferson writes about human rights because all men shall be equal and free; Rousseau writes about social contracts because by understanding the concepts of social contracts, the people will live with better security and significance. Understanding the concepts from previous generation of writers By analyzing these two…...

According to Augustine, the state has a purely relative and provisional value. Political structures aim to maintain earthly peace and security and civil authority is necessary due to the fallen nature of man. While the state can promote and maintain peace among the Fall, one cannot rely on the state, for it only addresses the conditions in which one lives. In other words, the state can help create an approximate just environment that makes it easier for Christians to live…...

The time of Pericles, Plato, and Aristotle During the time of Pericles, Plato, and Aristotle, Greece was divided into city-states with a wide variety of constitutions, ranging from Sparta's military dictatorship to Athens' direct democracy. Most city-states had about 300,000 people, each divided into one of three classes : citizens, metics, or slaves. The citizens represented a total of one - third the population. The members of this class participated directly with politics in the various institutions, and decisions were…...

Introduction to Philosophy Plato is one of the many philosophers who have had an influence on the ideas of humane thinking. Born in Athens, believed to be around 428 BC, Plato has expressed various works pertaining to idealism and the theory of forms. Plato has made many allegories and metaphors of life. One of his many famous writings would be included in his collected dialogues. The Republic, Book 1, is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato around his mid-life. The…...

The Greek drama Oedipus is clearly a Aristotle’s tragedy. It definitely meets the five main criteria for a tragedy: a tragic hero of noble birth, a tragic flaw, a hero‘s downfall, a moment of remorse, and a catharsis. Aristotle in his Poetics defines Oedipus as being a definite example of the form and purpose of Aristotelian tragedy. In tragedies the Greeks dramatized climactic events in the lives of heroes, and Oedipus story is no different. By using many different literary…...

The argument which I am focusing on is titled “No One Knowingly Does Evil” and is written by Socrates. This argument concludes that those who do evil things do them involuntarily. That is, people do not necessarily want to do evil things, but do them against their will. A very important point is presented by Socrates in that evil deeds are not done willingly. It is thought by many that some people are simply evil-natured and commit evil deeds because…...

Karl Marx and Max Weber offer two very different but valid approaches to social class in modern capitalist society. In a capitalist society the private ownership of the means of production is the dominant form of providing the things needed to survive. What distinguishes capitalism from other types of society is the emphasis on the rights of property and the individual owner’s right to employ capital, as she or he thinks fit. Karl Marx’s approach was, at first, the most…...

  Only winnable wars should be fought because it is worthless for a state to put her people's lives at risk with hopeless action and in futility that nothing is being changed. It is necessary to wage war as the last and the least preferred course before all sensible alternatives have been exhausted (Elshtain 1992: 29). Hence, irrational resort to force can be prevented. As mentioned above, it is lawful to kill aggressor. The limitation is that warriors are restricted…...

Name Course Instructor Day Month Year Justice through the Eyes of Plato and Hume The philosophic debate of justice goes back millennia with many points of view on what it actually is and why we have it. Both Plato and Hume had ideas on justice and both differed. Plato, in his Republic, searches for justice by building a city from the ground up in our imagination. He starts with merely five to ten people each with their own job and…...

For centuries political philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke, just to name a few, have been trying to find the best answer to the following question: 'How would it be to live in the state of nature?' The first of the aforementioned men tries to do so in one of his famous works, Leviathan. In this book he follows the topic of civil wars, its evils and anarchy which would accompany them (Wolff 2006, p. 8).…...

Throughout time speeches have allowed the ideas and the voices of people to be heard. It has allowed action to have started and awareness for others. Through a speech an underlying message is present and the distinctive voice allows this message to be heard. In this assignment I have talked about eight speeches and the way their distinctive voice reflected their ideas about various issues. Martin Luther King 'I have a dream' "I have a dream" are the famous words…...

In book 1 of the Politics Aristotle introduces a discussion of the household, which he views as consisting of three essential relationships: master and slave, husband and wife and parent and child. His consideration of slavery is based not merely on its utility but also in terms of its justification. For Aristotle, the instruments of the household form its stock of property. These instruments can be either animate or inanimate but are intended for action rather than production. The slave…...

This essay looks to explore Hobessian's theory of the 'state of nature'. I will begin with a brief explanation of the 'state of nature' then go on to explore different interpretations of the theory and how it has been received by other academics and critics. I then conclude my views of the theory as to whether it can be applied to the real world. The theory of the 'state of nature' was proposed by the political theorist Thomas Hobbes which…...

Aristotle’s view on becoming good by doing good things gives a very strong sense of nobility. However it is not as easy as it looks or sounds like. Unfortunately when a person tries to do moral or virtuous things, he instead finds himself sometimes wallowing in the mud of confusion. Some of the factors that contribute to this are the differences of cultures in the society and other beliefs which make it hard for an individual to identify how to…...

A brief definition of Confuciunism philosophy. Confuciunism is a philosophy vased on the teachings of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher/teacher. Confucius highly stressed ethics. It is thought the reason for this is because the China of his time was corrupt. Confucius thought the way to live with good ethics was to follow the five virtues: Jen; to do good on others, yi; rightsiosness by justice, li; religious and moral ways of acting , chih; wisdom and hsin; faithfulness. All of these…...

Compare and contrast Karl Marx's and Michel Foucault's analysis of the concept power. Karl Marx was a materialist philosopher who believed that all ideas came out of life, and its conditions not from any divine being or force, like the idealist philosophers believed(Hands,2000. P:11) This led him to present an analysis of power. According to Marx there was an underlying structure that determined social reality, and that must be grasped if social reality was to be understood. In his view…...