Plato‚ student of Socrates‚ and Aristotle‚ student of Plato‚ two of the most influential philosophers to have ever walked the earth‚ take two completely different approaches whilst talking about the formation of city states and epistemology itself. Plato primarily defined the nature of things in theoretical terms through metaphysics‚ in contrast to actual terms. Thus by looking to the ’higher forms’ he aimed to explain the function of existing knowledge and understandings in the search for the ’absolute
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Western Theories of Justice Justice is one of the most important moral and political concepts. The word comes from the Latin jus‚ meaning right or law. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the “just” person as one who typically “does what is morally right” and is disposed to “giving everyone his or her due‚” offering the word “fair” as a synonym. But philosophers want to get beyond etymology and dictionary definitions to consider‚ for example‚ the nature of justice as both a moral virtue of
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is today‚ one of them being Plato. In addition to being an outstanding philosopher‚ he was also a mathematician and a writer. One of Plato’s biggest inspirations was his very own teacher Socrates. Socrates never wrote down a word of what he said‚ but thankfully Plato was able to record it all down for him and wrote many dialogues about Socrates words and teachings. One of Plato’s most famous works was his dialogue‚ The Republic which was written in 380 BC. The Republic consists of ten books total
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alteration; as a foreign seed sown in an alien soil is wont to be overcome and die out into the native growth‚ so this kind does not preserve its own quality but falls away and degenerates into the alien type. - Plato‚ Republic 497 c I. Introduction In the sixth book of the Republic‚ Plato describes a philosophic soul as an exotic seed planted in strange soil. Because the soil is foreign to the seed‚ its growth is stunted‚ if not overwhelmed‚ by the forces alien to its nature. The context of
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Western ethical theory has been deeply influenced by Plato’s Republic‚ Eastern ethical theory has been deeply influenced by Confucius’s Analects. David Haberman describes the Republic as ‘one of the most influential books of all time’ (86). And Bryan Van Norden compares (with considerable fervor) the Analects to ‘the combined influence of Jesus and Socrates’ (3). On the surface‚ there are many similarities between Confucius and Plato. Both taught through means of dialogue‚ and both expressed reticence
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Unlike the idealistic ancient philosophers such as Plato‚ who discusses politics in “the context of things above politics” (Machiavelli vii)‚ the modern philosophers‚ Niccolò Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes‚ take a realistic approach in explaining political actions and outcomes. Considered to be among the first social scientists‚ they both try to delve deep into the nature of mankind and its relationship to politics. In the course of doing so‚ both authors seem to believe that virtue and morality‚
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Hobbes Leviathan Chapter 13-18 Chapter 13 Of the Natural Condition of Mankind‚ as concerning their Felicity‚ and Misery Chapter 14-16 Chapter 14: Of the first and second Naturall Lawes‚ and of Contracts Chapter 15: Of other Lawes of Nature Chapter 16: Of Persons‚ Authors‚ and things Personated A law of nature is a general rule that is discovered through reason. o Natural and inherently known by all because it can be deduced by innate mental faculties (reason‚ philosophy). Horrors
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Book X‚ Plato claims that most poetry of necessity contains evil men (in order to produce interest and pleasure)‚ and this too forms a basis for a wide-ranging condemnation of poetry. That imitation has harmful effects is a complex matter; Plato’s argument rests on several crucial assumptions concerning the effect of poetry on an audience. In Book II he claims that “a young man must not be allowed to hear that he does nothing strange when he commits the most shocking offenses” (Republic‚ II‚ p25)
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Trevor Gillette 6/16/2011 Paper #1: Machiavelli and Hobbes These two famous philosophers‚ Machiavelli and Hobbes‚ lived a century apart from one another‚ but both still had to live during difficult times. Machiavelli the writer of The Prince was from Italy‚ where as Hobbes who wrote the Leviathan came from England. Because both lived in hard times you can see why they would have similar political views‚ however due to the fact that they were a century apart and came from different cultures
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Assignment #1 February 26‚ 2014 In Plato’s The Republic‚ the author has to use rhetoric because of its controversial content. In order for Plato to create his idea of a perfect society‚ he makes the argument that censorship is essential for the benefit of the society as a whole. Though his idea opposes the fundamental beliefs of his audience‚ Plato creates a rhetorical strategy that disputes the case in which there must be censorship within the Republic. Plato also argues that monitoring what the children
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