The Philosophies of Plato - Essay Example

The Philosophies of Plato School The Philosophies of Plato The philosophical teachings of many deep and critical thinkers have survived fornumerous years and have been passed down through history, philosophy, and literature for generations. One of these infamous philosophers is Plato. Plato’s teachings have been discussed, analyzed, and even criticized for hundreds of years making him a legendary philosopher. Of all philosophers, Plato is one of the most widely read and also one of the most familiar. As a student of Socrates and Aristotle, other influential philosophers, he also was deeply influenced by Homer and Pythagoras. Plato was a mathematician but was one of the most essential people in the development of modern day philosophy (Vaughn). Plato was believed to have been born approximately 427 B.C., making his ideals, concepts and theories well over 2,000 years old. Plato lived and died in Greece in approximately 348 B.C. making him about 80 years old. However, with little historical accounts of these dates, they are approximations but it is also believed that he was born unto a very political family that was also wealthy and it was his father who ensured that Plato received the top education by distinguished teachers during this era. It is during those approximate 80 years, mostly in Athens, where he developed many ancient philosophical concepts which contributed to western philosophy and his teachings were often considered Platonism (Vaughn). With Socrates as Plato’s teacher, as well as another of Socrates’ famous students, Aristotle, they laid the groundwork of developing higher thinking in the foundations of Western science and philosophy in the western world. Plato even founded an Academy in Athens which was considered to be one of the first of its kind to teach higher learning topics that included numerous topics and it was years later that his nephew (his sister’s son) would be the successor of being the head of the Academy. Some of these topics that were part of Plato’s dialogue, writings, and teachings were based not only on philosophy but also ethics, rhetoric, logic, mathematics, and even religion. Many of the themes behind his work included the theory of forms, innate knowledge, the five regimes and Platonic love. Many of these unique perspectives on what is considered abstract ideas led to Platonism, which is considered a school of thought (Vaughn). During the times of his life, many of these ideas were unconventional but after a couple of thousands of years, they are influential. It is believed that Plato’s teachings were deeply influenced by Pythagoras and this group of scholars were often considered the Pythagoreans who were a community of like-minded thinkers who were closely tied together. Some evidence points to Plato utilizing some of the mathematical ideas of Pythagoras to help build on philosophical thoughts. Orphism may have also been an influence and Plato and Pythagoras were both those who looked for what is mystical to attempt to find its place in the world (Vaughn). Many of Plato’s writings are never written from his perspective and disregards the use of “I” or “me” and instead he considered that there will never be writings of Plato. Instead, he believed that his dialogues were to only be those of a new Socrates. Plato, however, was a much more critical thinker of what was beyond the environment and natural world, he instead looked beyond the common range of a person’s understanding (Vaughn). When looking at some of Plato’s teachings, it was evident that he believed that the foundation of society was education. The students of the then and now were what would promote a happier and healthier society with better leaders for the future. One of the dialogues that Plato used to describe education as a basis of society was in a dialogue called “Republic” written approximately in 375 B.C. and while it is not about a democracy, instead it describes an ideal city. Democracy would not have been a portion of an ideal society but he did greatly describe righteousness and he had a thesis that the righteous man, a follower of Dharma, would be a happy one. However, people would have instead viewed that a righteous man would be an unhappy one because others would treat him badly and Plato argued through his own theology that was simply not true (Vaughn). Education, however, was part of this ideal city and that education would guide children to build a stronger intellect (Vaughn). When Plato discusses education, some of the two common components that he also includes is gymnastics and music for the body and the soul. During his time in ancient Greece, music encompassed all artistic, moral and spiritual education rather than just well-organized melodies and sounds. However, it is not just education of young children which is important but he was a huge promoter of higher education for critical thinking but he does attribute that all things good could be attributed to God (Vaughn). Plato was an opposition to a Materialist view of the world which states that the only things that can be actually proven are the only ones that exist to matter. This left out any account of any consciousness or spirit. Instead, he blended politics, philosophy, ethics, metaphysics and moral psychology into one realm of philosophy (Vaughn). One of Plato’s dialogues was the Platonic Realism theory where he acknowledged that universals exist and they can be at more than one place at the same time. These things were often concepts, not necessarily physical but often abstract. He discussed a solution about universals that thought they do exist, they are not tangible objects and do not exist in the same way but instead they often are not seen and otherwise, people may come into a sensory contact with the universals. Plato discusses form as a universal which is an original model of an object and they possess the closes kinds of reality because they do not change. This was based on intuition rather than human perception that applies to objects but on the contrary of objects which could be flawed, knowledge and intelligence to grasp the concept of forms was true and that forms were one of the most pure of all. However, he even argued against himself saying that if something in particular was just like a form, then there must be another possession which is also alike and that they actually mime the forms (Vaughn). Platonic Realism is the denial of the reality of the material world around us. There are ‘things’ within a person which are based on intuition and knowable and then there is that which is real and tangible. Platonic Realism, hylomorphism, and the Theory of Forms are all part of the perfect, unchangeable universals which surround people. Plato believed states that knowledge instead is innate within a person and though the senses never actually give a person a knowledge of true beings, or forms, these can be found within oneself and sometimes a person’s immortal soul remembers the Forms and that learning is actually discovering these ideas that are within the soul (Vaughn). The ethics that Plato discusses are based on virtues and the knowledge of good and evil. They are used to reach happiness and the ultimate good in order to reach human desires. Plato acknowledges that there are three parts of the soul that are ruled by three virtues. Reason, spirit, and appetite are ruled by moderation, wisdom and courage. Justice, rules above all of these in order to develop a proper function within Platonic Ethics (Vaughn). Plato also discussed that natural sciences such as biology, astronomy, chemistry, and physics, along with the creation of the universe. While medieval theologists believed that creation was by God, he believed that Demiurge created the universe. Demiurge, according to Plato’s beliefs, did not create a universe out of nothing but instead the cosmos already existed and chaotic series of elemental matter became aligned and also were an imitation of the eternal Forms of his previous theory. Under the concept of natural science, four elements of earth, water, fire, and air, were composed of various triangles and developed compounds which then created the Boyd of the Universe (Vaughn). Another concept under the theories of Plato was Platonic love which is a love that is non-sexual but is still a feeling and emotion. His discussion was the two types of love, also termed as Eros and called them Vulgar Eros which was earthly love and then Divine Eros which was divine love. Vulgar Eros was attraction and lust for the use of pleasure and even reproduction. Divine Eros is instead a transcendental journey to love for Supreme Beauty and it is that Divine Eros which is termed into Platonic love. Platonic love is when there is an affectionate relationship without a sexual element (Vaughn). With 35 dialogues and 13 letters, called the Epistles, which have been written by Plato (Vaughn), this is the history but yet also the foundation of the present philosophy. Deeper thoughts are beyond what is tangible and that was his first acknowledgment. Without his theology, there would be no abstract thinking. While these may have been practices, Plato was one of the philosophers who actually gave these actions or behaviors names. He identified topics ranging from emotions to mathematical theories. Throughout all of these dialogues and letters, it is these philosophical theories which could be analyzed for years but even to touch on the mere basis of them is to only start to understand all of the underlying philosophies Plato discussed. References Vaughn, L. (2014). Living philosophy: A historical introduction to philosophical ideas. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More