Philosophical Works essays

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Plato’s Understanding of the Human Body in Phaedo: Critical Analysis

3 Pages 1165 Words
Throughout history, we have endlessly questioned the nature of our reality- whether or not we feel comfortable in our own skin so to speak. Prior to being awakened at birth to our version of reality, we enjoyed an existence of intelligent design- pureness created to allow for a limitless existence. It is, therefore, by that same design that the body...

My Reconstruction of Crito, Meno, and Phaedo: Reflective Essay

3 Pages 1595 Words
The story of Crito is held in the prison cell of Socrates, where he waits for his prison sentence. His old buddy Crito, who had negotiated to sneak Socrates out of prison, visits him. Crito is a 70-year-old guy who is very rich and well-known for having a good reputation. Socrates seems quite ready for his inevitable execution, so Crito...

Impact of Plato's Book Euthyphro on Society: Argumentative Essay

2 Pages 1137 Words
No matter how we view our upbringing, morality stems from a higher power. Philosophers question rather this higher power comes from God or somewhere else. When reading religious books, they speak about God and the ten commandments which lay down the laws about right and wrong. Therefore, religious people are more conscientious about their actions. Yet we have the naturalist...

Examples of Socratic Method in Euthyphro and Meno: Analytical Essay

2 Pages 724 Words
To Destroy, Humble, and Lead Socrates of Athens was famous for his never-ending questioning in search for knowledge and wisdom with the belief that he knows nothing and his method of doing so. This questioning method of Socrates would start off with Elenchus, or “belief destroyer.” Socrates would go around Athens and talk to everyone asking questions and puzzling them...

Relationship between Mind and Body in Socrates' Phaedo: Analytical Essay

2 Pages 1094 Words
I’d like to preface this paper with the following quote, not because it is directly relevant to my thesis or point, but because I find it “awesomely hilarious.” “Take what has to do with the body to the point of bare need, such as food, drink, clothing, house, household slaves, and cut out everything that is for reputation or luxury.”...

A Platonist Critique of Confucius and Socrates' Phaedo: Analytical Essay

3 Pages 1525 Words
The two seminal philosophers, Confucius, and Plato whom we have known as the “father of philosophy” in their respective cultures, though separated by thousands of kilometres and half a century apart, still arrived at similar answers to complex questions. In this essay, I will be discussing the similarities between Socrates as presented by Plato and Confucius in their common pursuit...

Reflective Essay on Philosophical Works: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito

2 Pages 1049 Words
Euthyphro Response Formulation 1: Euthyphro identifies piety or holiness as “what he is doing”(prosecuting a murderer, his father) This is met with rebuttal from Socrates telling Euthyphro that he needs actual definitions not examples so that he can apply them to other occurrences in life. Formulation 2: Piety is described as, what is dear to the gods and impiety as...

Euthyphro': An Analysis of Piety

3 Pages 1278 Words
This essay is designed to examine Plato’s “Euthyphro,” and to discuss the ideas of piety which are presented through an elenchus between Socrates and Euthyphro. Throughout Plato's critique and review of philosophical dilemmas, it often seems as though he speaks through the voice of Socrates' himself. A further example of Plato's thought experiments being verbalized by his muse, Socrates, is...

The Portrayal of Socrates' Beliefs in The Apology and Clouds

5 Pages 2083 Words
In the Apology and in Clouds, we are shown two very different depictions of Socrates’ beliefs on the gods of Athens. In the Apology, we see a version of Socrates that is fairly unconcerned with the discussion of the gods, and more interested in the discussion of the public good. In contrast, the Clouds shows us a picture of Socrates,...

The Republic': Ideas for Building an Ideal Society

2 Pages 990 Words
In describing the ideal society, Plato cited abstract values and concrete systemic reforms. Abstractly, Plato described the republic through the virtues of justice, courage, temperance, and wisdom. This also came in how one’s soul must be ordered, reflecting the society as a whole, with reason and spirit controlling the appetite for pleasure. This laid the groundwork for the guiding principles...

Nicomachean Ethics' Main Ideas

2 Pages 985 Words
The word happiness in the Ethics is a translation of the Greek term eudaimonia, which carries connotations of success and fulfillment. For Aristotle, this happiness is our highest goal. However, Aristotle does not say that we should aim at happiness, but rather that we do aim at happiness. His goal in the Ethics is not to tell us that we...

Analysis of 'The Apology' by Plato

2 Pages 950 Words
Plato wrote The Apology in 400 B.C. chronicling Socrates’ trial in Athens. Socrates is speaking to the court on the good will of his actions. Socrates introduces himself to the court as a man of good character and addresses the claims against him. Socrates explains to the court that the persuasive words of his accusers “almost made [him] forget who...

Meno': Summary

4 Pages 2007 Words
One of the founding documents of Western philosophy, Plato’s Meno recounts a dialog on the nature of virtue between Socrates and his pupil Meno, a rising star among the leaders of ancient Greece. They discuss how virtue can be recognized, where it comes from, and whether it can be taught. Plato, Socrates’s most famous student, wrote down his recollection of...
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Nicomachean Ethics: Overview

2 Pages 872 Words
All human activities aim at some end that we consider good. Most activities are a means to a higher end. The highest human good, then, is that activity that is an end in itself. That good is happiness. When we aim at happiness, we do so for its own sake, not because happiness helps us realize some other end. The...

The Republic': Philosophy of Education

2 Pages 905 Words
In 'The Republic' Plato uses the main character, Socrates to explore various issues that societies face and ways in which they should be confronted. For Plato, education was a fundamental to his idea of what it meant for a society to be proper and simple. Ahead of his time, he laid the foundation for various education practices that then and...

The Symposium: Overall Summary

1 Page 475 Words
Apollodorus relates to an unnamed companion a story he learned from Aristodemus about a symposium, or dinner-party, given in honor of the tragedian Agathon. Socrates arrives at the party late, as he was lost in thought on the neighboring porch. After they have finished eating, Eryximachus picks up on a suggestion of Phaedrus', that each person should in turn make...

Euthyphro': Analysis and Themes

1 Page 573 Words
The Euthyphro is a paradigmatic early dialogue of Plato's: it is brief, deals with a question in ethics, consists of a conversation between Socrates and one other person who claims to be an expert in a certain field of ethics, and ends inconclusively. It is also riddled with Socratic irony: Socrates poses as the ignorant student hoping to learn from...

The Republic': Overview

2 Pages 1133 Words
Plato’s strategy in The Republic is to first explicate the primary notion of societal, or political, justice, and then to derive an analogous concept of individual justice. In Books II, III, and IV, Plato identifies political justice as harmony in a structured political body. An ideal society consists of three main classes of people—producers, auxiliaries, and guardians; a society is...

Symposium': The Educational Theory

3 Pages 1267 Words
The possibility that eros is simply the motivator to sublimation and fulfillment is worked out further in the Phaedrus. In spite of the fact that the cozy connection between the two exchanges is commonly recognized, the Phaedrus is usually viewed as a lot later work. For in addition to the fact that it accepts the Republic's mental teaching of a...

The Idea of Critical Thinking in Plato's Apology

1 Page 599 Words
There is a reason we question the things around us, as we are naturally curious people. Life is so much more than just being on earth, life is about finding and creating yourself, it is creating bonds between people and things. We are constantly searching for something to make us feel like life is worth living, that we have something...

Plato’s Symposium: Love and Philosophy

2 Pages 813 Words
Plato is regarded by many as the world’s greatest philosopher. In his dialogues, he examined everything from the nature of reality, to ethics, to beauty, to the state. The Symposium, which you can read in full here, is the summation of Plato’s ideas on love, and have proven very influential. The main character in the dialogues is the great philosopher...

Phaedo': Overall Analysis and Themes

1 Page 614 Words
The Phaedo stands alongside the Republic as the most philosophically dense dialogue of Plato's middle period. It contains the first extended discussion of the Theory of Forms, four arguments for the immortality of the soul, and strong arguments in favor of the philosophical life. It also contains Plato's moving account of Socrates' final hours and his compelling myth about the...

Nicomachean Ethics': The Importance of Temperance

1 Page 595 Words
It is extremely hard to avoid the attractions of worldly pleasures in today’s world. There are many distractions that can deviate us from our goal of happiness. According to Aristotle, temperance is necessary for happiness because balance indulgence and insensibility. I intend to explain why temperance is problematic, and extremely hard to achieve in terms of Aristotle’s definition. Throughout the...

Fearing The Unknown: Death in The Apology

3 Pages 1194 Words
Novelist Rossiter Worthington Raymond once said, “Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.” A horizon, by definition, is no more than the range of one’s knowledge or experience. With this explanation in mind, death is no longer a destination to be feared, but...

Phaedo': Summary

1 Page 515 Words
In the remote Peloponnesian township of Phlius, Echecrates encounters Phaedo of Elis, one of the men present during Socrates' final hours. Eager to hear the story from a first-hand source, Echecrates presses Phaedo to tell what happened. A number of Socrates' friends were gathered in his cell, including his old friend Crito and two Pythagorean philosophers, Simmias and Cebes. The...

A Contrast Between Apology and Crito, Two Works by Plato

4 Pages 1894 Words
In both of Plato’s works Apology, and Crito, Plato portrays his mentor, Socrates, as he goes through trial, and thereafter in which he refuses to escape his punishment. In ancient Athens Socrates is on trial for corrupting the youth, which in reality is a crime that he did not commit. During the trial Socrates gives an incredible speech on how...

Causes and Consequences of Toxic/Abusive Relationships and Relapsing

5 Pages 2226 Words
“A life that has for so long been controlled by manipulation and fear, So many times left broken and in tears. Broken bones and bruises followed by promises allowed to heal, Names and accusations, confusion at the appeal. Was its appeal, or just a distorted view?” (Ashley P.) This poem exhibits the act of an abusive relationship showing how the...

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