ipl-logo

Plato's Values Of Life

1391 Words6 Pages

Plato’s Values Plato’s values of life are very different than the values that most people have. From Plato’s writing, one can imply that his values are not placed in worldly attributes. Plato has a tendency to think deeper into the traits of humans than what most people would. For example, Plato talks about beauty and how we perceive it. We can see beauty as physical or we can see it as beauty itself. The same is true about how he views truth, wisdom, and justice. Plato places his values of life in the soul and not the body. Central to Plato’s worldview is that there is more to life than what the material world has, because he believes that the soul is far more important than the physical body as a whole. It is within the soul that humanity can see true beauty, know what real truth is, learn the difference between knowledge and wisdom, and define justice. Plato believed that there is such a thing as beauty itself. Beauty itself is not the physical realm, but rather being able to view beauty as beauty itself (Republic, 507b). Beauty itself is something far more complex than what most people would perceive it to be. To see beauty itself is to see the good that lies within an object (Republic, 505d). This goodness it what connects us all to each other, because we are all created beautifully. It is ridiculous for anyone to be able to say a specific feature is beautiful or ideal if that person does not know why it is beautiful (Republic, 506b). Beauty is within all people, and

Show More
Related

  • Euthyphro: Plato's Argument

    272 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Euthyphro, Plato’s method of arguing obliviously proves the point that evidence and a clear thought out explanation is needed when trying to describe and explain the difference between two things—especially when involving right and wrong. Although it helps to prove it and make you truly think about the definitions as well as how to describe it, for the person, in this case Euthyphro, on the other side of the argument it can be very annoying; because you explain one thing and then are questioned and have to explain more or then you being to questioned on your own thinking making you have to restart. It is in a way similar to now how little kids go through a phase were they ask “why” to anything and everything; typically the one being questioned

    Read More

  • The Good Life In Plato's The Apology

    1902 Words  | 8 Pages

    In Plato’s “The Apology,” Socrates is defending himself before the Athenian government on charges of heresy and corrupting the youth. Socrates’ introspective reflection on pertinent issues and his own life are ruled wrong by Athenian State. As a result, he faces charges from this decision to pursue a life full of philosophical exploration, and this is what leads him to be brought before the court. However, once the trial begins, instead of repenting and likely being able to walk away with a nonfatal punishment, he claims, the good life is an examined life, and ultimately, an unexamined life is not worth living to defend himself. Socrates believes in this claim with such sustenance; it is what ultimately causes him to lose his life, by not willing

    Read More

  • Plato's Closet Personal Statement

    271 Words  | 2 Pages

    I’m currently a senior at the University of North of Texas. I’m majoring in Merchandising, along with a minor in marketing, and I also have an associate degree in Arts. I worked at a clothing company called Plato’s Closet, which I spent a year at the company. I started off as a sales associate, and then I got promoted as buyer. When working at the clothing company, I really gained a lot experience with working with apparel.

    Read More

  • Jim Henson's Nostalgic 1982 Film The Dark Crystal

    452 Words  | 2 Pages

    I have grown to believe that beauty can not be limited to one definition, but it’s a concept which manifests all over the world, inspiring me to share my perspective every day, Along with this, it has led me to continue exploring more themes and concepts to incorporate in my

    Read More

  • Who Is Socrates Corrupted In The Apology

    1353 Words  | 6 Pages

    Basically, love inspires people to seek wisdom, knowledge, and goodness, ultimately driving them toward the ideal form of beauty. Socrates’ commitment to philosophical questions may be illustrated as a declaration of his affection for Athens, as he believes that through his relentless questioning and examination of ideas, he can lead others to self-reflection and personal growth. Socrates believes that by taking part in philosophical talks and challenging societal norms, he can help Athens to better comprehend justice, truth, and virtue. In other words, he accepts that a truly just society can only be accomplished through the development of wisdom and moral virtue. Hence, Socrates considers himself to be a servant of the city, driven by a feeling of duty to contribute

    Read More

  • Theme Of Beauty In Burke's On The Sublime

    870 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beauty is reflected in what a women’s worth, both their past and present. I chose these two different insights from both writers as a relation to our days. Both writers define something beautiful when they feel very passionate or love towards something or someone and doesn’t matter how it may appear to another person. People can automatically refer to beauty as fitness and utility. Fat is ugly and skinny with fair skin is beautiful.

    Read More

  • Exemplification Essay: Plato's View On Death

    1005 Words  | 5 Pages

    Arguing to the jury that death may not be as bad as people believe, he suggests that death can be a couple of things: Firstly, death can be nothing, and therefore it cannot be harmful. Secondly, death can be a change and a movement of the soul. He imagines himself together with other injustice acquiesced men, with who he can talk and who he can examine. Thirdly, death can be an eternal sleep, what he doesn’t think is bad at all. Hence, Plato doesn’t see death as something harmful or bad.

    Read More

  • The Criticism Of Democracy In Plato's Republic

    1841 Words  | 8 Pages

    In Plato’s Republic he offers several critiques of Democracy believing it is inefficient and leads to these known bad forms of government such as tyranny and oligarchy. Plato drives hard on Democracy’s excessive freedom and inherent class tensions, which both lead to issues within the state. These critiques Plato reveals will provide a persuasive case considering the well-known Democracy as an actual inherently bad form of government. Plato had a large problem with the tensions Democracy would bring to the city. Plato believed in a hierarchy principle more so then feeding into our desires.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Socrates Recollection Argument

    1190 Words  | 5 Pages

    Life is reduced to recollecting what we already know and nothing else, making our lives simply a nostalgic remembering. Why couldn’t some of our learning be gained with the body instead of through recollection? Why couldn’t we define beauty by simply comparing all the objects we have known in our lives and figure out what overall characteristics are more valuable or trigger our emotions? Socrates could answer this question since he implies that we cannot set our own standards as they would be based on our sense-perception. There is another possible loophole in Plato’s argument.

    Read More

  • The Allegory Of The Cave, By Plato

    1152 Words  | 5 Pages

    It never changes and yet causes the essential nature of things we perceive in the world. These two perceptions are what Plato describes as the divided line or the journey of self discovery. This progression of the spirit, that can never be reached, becomes the ideal. Plato’s discussions include the involvement of the soul. It is clear, that the main reason for dealing with the soul is to achieve this state

    Read More

  • The Lover Of Wisdom In Plato's The Republic

    924 Words  | 4 Pages

    In The Republic, Plato writes about his thoughts on good, justice, and how we can achieve it. He starts off by stating that for human happiness and to live the best life philosopher-kings are needed. Not everyone can become a philosopher; certain people simply are non-philosophers also called lovers of sights and sounds. Plato makes the distinction between lovers of wisdom(philosophers) and lovers of sights and sounds clear using beauty as an example. Non-philosophers see ''fine tones and colours and forms and all the artificial products that are made out of them''(476b) but are unable to see or to understand absolute beauty.

    Read More

  • Plato's Concept Of Happiness And Happiness In Plato

    1048 Words  | 5 Pages

    In all of Plato 's dialogues, Socrates ' main goal is to achieve happiness, although friends and foes alike present him pathways that could lead to pleasure, but not true happiness. Moreover, in Crito, Socrates pursues happiness by obediently following the Athenian law, whereas, Crito tries to lure him into committing an unjust action so that he can obtain the pleasure of having a friend and keeping a good reputation and so that Socrates can still have the pleasure of life on earth1. One can know that happiness and pleasure are different due to the fact that happiness is a state of being eternally fulfilled, but pleasure provides a person only an immediate and short-lived image of fulfillment. If happiness is being eternally fulfilled, then it would not be of this world because this world has many flaws and is mortal.

    Read More

  • Three Classes And The Soul In Plato's The Republic

    1442 Words  | 6 Pages

    Joseph Daunis Three Classes and the Soul In Book IV of Plato’s The Republic, Socrates draws a comparison between the classes evident in their fictional city to the human soul. Socrates clearly defines the three forms he finds in the city as being the appetites of mankind, or in other words, all human desires, such as pleasure, comforts, and physical satisfaction. The second form discussed by Socrates is the spirit or the component of the soul which deals with anger and perceptions of injustice. The third and final form is the mind or reason, which analyzes and rationally weighs options and solutions to problems. Socrates compares these three forms of the soul to the three classes in the city: producers, auxiliaries, and guardians.

    Read More

  • Cultural Self Reflection Report

    828 Words  | 4 Pages

    If I were to praise this concept of beauty, this would be like saying that everybody should have surgeries and as such to make themselves beautiful. This is what people would understand from my opinions about the concept of beauty. Everybody has their own definition of beauty. It is a concept that varies with place to place or even time to time.

    Read More

  • Umberto Eco's Essay: The History Of Beauty

    741 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, what one may see as beautiful may not be so through another’s gaze, which leads me onto my next point about beauty and desire. Beauty & Desire Firstly, if something is considered good, it does not mean that it is beautiful or that there is a desire for it. As Umberto Eco states, we can enjoy something for what it is and not desire it. Therefore, beauty and the good are subjective, clarifying that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, a term coined by Margaret Wolfe Hungerford in her text Molly Bawn from 1878.

    Read More

More about Plato's Values Of Life

Open Document