The Soul and the Body The Writings of Plato - 1766 Words

The Soul and the Body Philosophy is an old profession going back to the beginnings of recorded history. Since the times of the Greeks and Romans, people have taken it upon themselves to question the reality of their worlds and to wonder what it is that causes people to behave the ways that they do and what it means even to just be human. Plato, one of the most famous of the ancient philosophers, was taught by another most famous philosopher, Socrates a man perhaps even better known than him. Unfortunately, Socrates was extremely critical of the social structure of his culture as well as established beliefs and thus subject to legal consequences for his public and highly objection-able criticisms of the regime then in control. Finally, the government decided to put Socrates on trial; he was found guilty and executed via poisoned drink, his choice of suicide methods. Through his experiences with his teacher Socrates, the thought processes of Plato were modified and modulated in everything, including in the concept of human existence and the human soul which are expressed in his writings, especially those which recreate the final moments of Socrates life and would serve to immortalize that mans ideas. The writings of Plato compare Socrates to various everyday beings which he represents. In the Apology tells the story of the trial of Socrates and the various people who testified to his being a danger to the society and that he was guilty of corrupting Athenian youth. InShow MoreRelatedThe Greek Philosophers And The Philosophers1422 Words   |  6 PagesThe Greek philosophers did not explain the world using Gods. Instead, they preferred to explain the world using principles. These principles were fundamental in how the philosophers taught their students. Three philosophers, Plato, Epicures, and Aristotle, used different principles to help them explain the world and the universe around them. In this essay, the principles of these three philosophers will be explained and then compared with each other. When the philosophers spoke of principles, theyRead MoreGreek Philosophy And The Greek Creation1593 Words   |  7 PagesC. to the 16th century is Plato. Plato was often thought as one of the most influential philosophers of all time. He was a Classical Greek philosopher, a student of Socrates (Father of philosophy the inventor of the Socratic method), a teacher to Aristotle, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and the founder of the Academy in Athens. Along with his mentor, Socrates,, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. Plato was born around 428 B.C. duringRead MorePlato Is One Of The Greatest And Well Known Philosophers1388 Words   |  6 Pages Plato is one of the greatest and well known philosophers of all time. Born around 428 BC, Plato grew up in Greece learning from Socrates, another well known philosopher. Later in life, Plato taught Aristotle who was also a well known philosopher. His works of writing and thoughts about life have significantly impacted the Western culture in numerous ways. In selected readings of Plato, he seems to place importance on wisdom, and how to attain wisdom. Plato argues that in order to attain pure knowledgeRead MorePhaedo by Plato1189 Words   |  5 Pagessensory experiences. Empiricist see the importance of sensory experiences in order to provide answers about the natural world. Each view has their benefits and drawbacks but each play a vital role in the discussion about knowledge. The philosopher Plato is considered to be a rationalist thinker. In Plato’s Phaedo, he shows the reader that the five senses are not what one should rely on. The senses do not provide us with truth. One’s surroundings are constantly changing thus, their senses must changeRead MorePlatos Views on Life after Death1388 Words   |  6 Pageshis writing he does demonstrate that there is in fact life after physical death, which is widely attributed to his notion of the soul. Plat always viewed the soul as an entity that was distinct from the physical body. Moreover, while the physical body was destined to die, the soul was enduring, interminable, and destined to go on somewhere in some state of being. In just what sort of way the soul would endure was a matter of question, in which at various points in his career as a writer Plato offeredRead MoreThe Philosophy Of Modern Day Psychology1401 Words   |  6 Pagestranslates as psuche which means the vital breath or the human soul. Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle have had great influence on the ideas of modern day psychology. There interpretations of the mind, soul, and behavior have a strong association with the thoughts and theories of psychologists such as Freud, Skinner, Pavlov, and others. Socrates is considered the founding figure of western philosophy. There are no writings by Socrates himself, much of what we know comes from Plato’sRead MoreThe Complicated Life of Socrates1183 Words   |  5 Pagesaccurately represented in the modern world. Since there aren’t any writings from Socrates himself, his life, beliefs, and philosophy has to be depicted through the writings of Plato, Aristophanes, Aristotle and Xenophon, with Plato being the most informational and dependable source. These writers that do mention Socrates in their writings aren’t always accurate and are sometimes very contradicting and inconsistent. In Plato’s writing, it is difficult to distinguish the ideas and beliefs of SocratesRead MoreAncient Greek Philosophy -Paper776 Words   |  4 Pagesconfidence in the power of the mind Greeks used observation and reason to determine why things happened, they opened up a new way of looking at human existence. During the time of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle it was a crime to investigate the things above the heavens and below the Earth. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were well known philosophers. Their research contributed to modern science and the development of Western political thought. Socrates, born in 5th century BCE, makes aRead MoreThe Influence of Platos Theories on Chrisianity1169 Words   |  5 Pagesdivine beings and demi-humans also played a significant role in the Hellenistic culture. The worship of these deities was the mainstream of religion during the Hellenistic period until the rise of the great philosophers. Amongst these philosophers, Plato emerged as one of the founding fathers of Western philosophy. Living from roughly 428 BCE until 348 BCE, Plato’s theories predated Christianity by at least four centuries. Because of this, it can be assumed that early Christian worshippers used Plato’sRead MoreThe Allegory of the Cave Essay1600 Words   |  7 Pagesa concept that demonstrates how humans are fearful of change and what they don’t know. Plato says that men are living in an underground cave and it is a situation. The Allegory of the Cave is Platos explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. Plato talks about being free, everyday life, knowledge, and essentially what he wrote to be true. I think that he was very unique with his writings because there are so many ways to look at the world and his way was just one. He was educated