Free Essays on Plato to Get Inspired & Learn by Example

About political unity and its role in establishing the Polis, there are varying ideologies and hypotheses on the required level of harmony within a state for it to be the ideal city. From the rulers to the citizens, political unity demands social cohesiveness achieved by everybody in it fulfilling their given responsibilities. Plato’s “Republic” attempts to describe the perfect government while Aristotle’s “Politics” criticizes and attempts to modify the former’s ideologies. As a result, the final product, which one can perceive as a joint effort between the two minds, looks at the pros and cons to Continue reading...

The Apology is a piece of literature written by Plato. Plato’s’ Apology is the interpretation and reminiscence of Socrates trial. Plato writes about life and trial of Socrates. In the apology, Socrates defends himself and his conduct, and does not apologize for his actions. The apology begins with Socrates giving an account of charges brought up against him in court. Socrates defended himself in the court and gave reasons why he followed his philosophy, but in the end, he was sentenced and executed. Among the charges leveled against Socrates that Plato writes about are teaching people not to Continue reading...

Aristotle Vs Plato: Or, the Varieties of Philosophical Idealism and Realism

In this paper, the metaphysical worldviews of both Aristotle and Plato will be examined and discussed. Plato’s metaphysical worldview is that there is a more perfect world than the world we live in now. Aristotle’s metaphysical worldview is that this is the real world, the world of our immanent reality. Plato’s idealism is that reality exists dependent on the mind’s ability to understand reality as a unity. Aristotle’s realism is simply that reality exists independently of our capacity to understand it, but we can know reality the way that it is through reason and Continue reading...

During the Greek classical period, having the skill to speak cleverly was an essential tool to possess. Clear speech was an important tool for individuals. The sophists possessed this skill and rhetoric teaching was essential in their search for knowledge and democracy. Gorgias takes a look into the nature of rhetoric and touches on issues such power, justice and art. Plato’s own positions on the issues are represented through Socrates, who was his teacher and as usual with Plato, he aimed at underlining his definition of respectable and most acceptable human life.
The first portion of the dialogue Continue reading...

Describe the general structure of the ideal state as Plato presents it in the Republic. What are the cardinal virtues and how do they relate to Plato's theory of the ideal state?
“The Republic” is Plato’s most renowned work on its comprehensive philosophical viewpoint. It is a full file of the most fundamental behaviors and principles in human life. Plato described his ideal state and its common structure. He included the value and characteristic of justice and the accompanying virtues as they materialize jointly in the constitution of society in unison with the individuality of a human being.
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William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and Plato’s “The Myth of the Cave” are very different stories in almost every way. Faulkner wrote about the physical and mental decay of an upper class woman from a bygone generation, and Plato wrote about philosophical knowledge versus worldly needs in the governing of society. The stories were written thousands of years apart and the elements of the stories illustrate the passage of time between them. A comparison of the theme, setting, style of writing, and characters display how different the stories are; however, both stories include descriptive imagery that Continue reading...

The Main Features of the Philosophical Soul: Plato vs. Machiavelli

Introduction
The concept of the soul and the characteristics of a ruler differ from the early time philosophers. The view of Plato into the aspect of the soul differs from how Machiavelli views it and how they both expect a leader to act and handle different situations. As such, these differences continue to attract different scholars who seek to understand the ideal character of a leader or ruler. In this case, the writer explains why it is better to have the form of leadership advocated by Machiavelli. In this perspective, Plato highlights three main traits that a soul should Continue reading...

The Allegory of the Cave, written by Plato, is one of the great philosophical documents of Western civilization. The allegory describes people chained to a wall, facing a direction where all they can see are reflections of reality. The Allegory of the Cave addresses the key issues of what is real, and how does one find the truth in a world full of people who “follow the shadows.” Plato’s message is still applicable today. The idea of figuring out true meaning for oneself, instead of relying on the patterns and behaviors of others, is still hard to do Continue reading...

Plato – The Republic

‘The Republic’ is one of the most famous Plato’s dialogues which were related to the height of his creative activity around 380 BC. It was created over the years. ‘The Republic’ absorbed all the concepts of the thinker’s doctrines, including his idea of justice, art and art education, as well as the project of the ideal state as the implementation of the ideal of justice, the theory of ideas and a number of the consequent specific conclusions; the concept of free knowledge which was developed in Neo-Platonism. There are ten parts or books and many actors in ‘ Continue reading...

The significance of Descartes’ (1596 - 1650) Meditation is that he offers a unique perspective on the relationship between mind and body. However, Plato (427 - 347 BCE), in his Symposium speaks about the nourishment of soul and body. The objective of this assignment is to think about the problem of Descartes’ dualism, and how he attests that mind and body are distinct but work together. However, for an ethical argument for the soul — which the Greeks thought of as the mind — and the body, we must turn to Plato. First, in this paper the issue of mind and Continue reading...