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A Brief History of Plato
Born in Athens in 427 BCE Disciple of Socrates Plato’s philosophy was influenced by
Socrates Founded the Academy, to train leaders in
philosophy, in Athens in 387
Plato’s Dialogues
Early Dialogues Middle Dialogues Later DialoguesApologyCritoLachesEuthyphroRepublic, Book 1
GorgiasMenoEuthydemusHippias I and IICratylus
SymposiumPhaedoRepublic, Books 2-10TimaeusLaws
•Most of Plato’s philosophical writing is in the form of dialogues
•Total of 42 Dialogues
•Socrates is used in all of Plato’s Dialogues
Early Dialogues
Wrote them before he had a philosophy of his own
Socrates is portrayed historically accurately Mainly critical of the moral views of others
Middle Dialogues
Begins coming up with his own philosophy Develops some metaphysical (philosophical
principles) and epistemological (nature of knowledge) positions.
Begins introducing his theory of the forms into his writing
Late Dialogues
Socrates is used purely to advance Plato’s own views
His approach is constructive—used mainly to develop his own mature philosophical system
General Ideas
Inherited Socrates’s philosophy Attempted to complete it by adding a
foundation in metaphysics Believed philosophy must render man
morally better
The Socratic Philosophy
The only real wisdom is knowing that you know absolutely nothing
The highest good is the improvement of the soul—the care for wisdom and truth– Virtue does not come from money, but money come
from virtue Virtue is knowledge
– Evil and wrongdoing come from lack of knowledge or ignorance
The Concept of the Philosopher-King
Plato initially thought revising the Athenian constitution would end the moral degeneration of Athens
Then realized philosophy was the key Only kings that knew philosophy or
philosophers that were kings would know what true justice was.
Plato’s Metaphysics
There is a distinction between “things” and “forms”
This must be understood before being able to understand Plato
“Things” are what we can perceive with our senses
“Forms” are eternal and static
Theory of Knowledge
Understanding (Science and Mathematics)
Forms of Science and Mathematics
Belief (Perception)
Things, Objects
Reason (Dialectic)
Higher Forms
Conjecture (Imagination)
Shadows, Images,
Reflections
ObjectsThought
KnowledgeIntelligible
World
Visible WorldOpinion
Imagination or ConjectureLevel 1
Imagination is the lowest level on the divided line of knowledge
Mental activity is at a minimum– Awareness of shadows, optical illusions, and
the like
BeliefLevel 2
Begins to have common sense Perception of concrete objects occur at this
level– Recognition of things such as three-
dimensional visible objects Classification and organization of perceived
objects begin at this level
Rational Understanding or IntellectLevel 3
The crossing of the line represents the change from the knowledge of a plumber to the knowledge of a civil engineer
Perception of abstract objects occur at this level
The Theory of Two Worlds
Sensible World World of the Formsappearance (seems real) reality (is real)
immanent (within space and time) transcendent (beyond space and time)
becoming (ever changing) being (eternal and unchanging)
particular and imperfect absolute and perfect
many instances (copy; imitation) one essence (archetype)
perceived by senses known by reason
subjective (dependent upon my perception)
objective (exist independently of my mind)
Examples: a computer, a person Examples: Justice, Goodness
The World of the Forms
The world of Forms is the “real” world Forms are abstract Things that can be perceived by the senses
can be derived from Forms. The world of Forms consists of eternal and
unchanging abstract concepts such as Justice and Beauty
The Sensible World
The Sensible world is a shadow or imitation of the world of Forms– The shadow represents a concrete object
It is impossible to derive a Form from a Sensible thing
Sensible things only exist because of participation A book comes into being because it is
participating in the form of Bookness.
Significance of the Two World Theory
Why would Plato need to develop such a complicated metaphysical system?
Plato used this system to counteract the Sophists’ relativism
The Sophists believed that true and false, good and bad, were merely opinions.
This would have led to the death of philosophy
ReasonLevel 4
Highest level of knowledge Mind uses the method of dialectic
– Dialectic is the crown-science of all sciences Dialectic identifies all of the forms A philosopher can attain the knowledge of
dialectic through love of truth, which enables him to reach the Idea of the Good, the supreme form– The Idea of the Good gives truth which makes the
forms intelligible
The Tripartite Soul
Man is made of 3 elements– Ability to use language and reason– Bodily desires and needs– Emotional drives such as anger and sorrow
Justice in the Soul
Justice for a man is functioning in accordance with his form, the three parts of his soul
Reason may know good, but it is in conflict with bodily desires
The Soul as Organism
The dysfunction of any of the three elements causes the soul to lose its well-being
Neither a life devoted to bodily desires nor a life devoted to denial of bodily desires would be functional
Conflict Within the Soul
Reason comes into conflict with the bodily appetites
The third element, emotional drives, serves as a mediator of conflicts– It can act on behalf of either reason or the
appetites
The Theory of the Three Types of Souls
The person dominated by reason seeks wisdom
The person dominated by emotional drives seeks success and fame
The person dominated by bodily appetites seeks material wealth
Ethics: The Good Life
Pleasure is not the highest good for humans Pursuing pleasure as the highest good will
destroy you Highest good consists of fulfilling all three
elements in the proper order– First, reason– Then emotional drives– Last, bodily appetites
The Harmony of the Soul
The three elements of the soul form a harmony like a musical harmony
The good life is the harmoniously balanced life, which satisfies all three elements
This is the Good Life, the life of human happiness
Government
When a society called on itself to fulfill its needs, Plato had a social structure:– The philosophers direct the state; – The warriors defend the state; – The producers must attend to the material production of those
things that are needed by the state. • Divided further by skills and jobs
Plato is strictly aristocratic– Philosophers direct the state because they are wise and they know
of the Eternal Forms, the constant forms of Knowledge.– Also, they know the essence of the state and show the other two
lower classes the way that must be followed in order to attain the end of the state
Bibliography
www.rit.edu/~flwstu/plato.html Book of Knowledge Encyclopedia www.philosophypages.com/hy/2f.htm#memo www.philosophypages.com/hy/2g.htm#jui www.philosophypages.com/hy/2h.htm#women www.radicalacademy.com/adiphilmetaphysical2.html From Socrates to Sartre: the Philosophic Quest
Author: T. Z. Lavine