What’s up with that myth, Plato?
Unlike Plato, I believe being honest is important. I decided to bring up the Myth of Er in Friday’s discussion because I was writing an essay on the subject; I got stuck, so instead of doing the thinking myself I just brought my question to the discussion so you guys could do the work for […]
Some Overdue Confusion
I’ve written this up a few times and it only seems to get more and more confusing so I’m ditching formality. I can’t seem to wrap my head around Plato’s idea of morality or perception (which are so heavily reliant on each other). Okay, so to start off, we need to consider Thrasymachus, the only […]
Plato’s Republic of Contradictions
It is without any doubt that Plato has thought deeply about his theories on the formations of personal constitutions, social structures, and political landscapes. While some of these theories seem to have genuine investment, others are contradicted in his practices. According to Plato, we cannot fully understand the true forms at the level he does. […]
What is closer to present-day education
Owing to the fact that I am from a traditional and time-honoured Asian country, reading Plato’s philosophic thinking is no doubt harder than other books which contain plots such as Greek tragedies or Shakespeare’s plays. However, the part of education … Continue reading →
Tainted With Superiority
My experience reading Plato’s Republic was a frustrating one. The entire work felt like Plato giving himself a huge pat on the back because he thinks that being a philosopher makes him better than everyone else. Regarding one of the … Continue reading →
Socrates’ Inconsistency
Plato’s Republic is considered a keystone work in the development of western philosophy. Interestingly enough, the famous dialogue is not concise and cohesive — on the other hand, it often contradicts the very arguments that it provides. In the attempt … Continue reading →
Creating the Kallipolis
In Plato’s Kallipolis, power is held by an elite class of guardians who are a perfect synthesis of both the roles of the philosopher and the statesman; someone who is able to understand the Form of the Good that underlay … Continue reading →
The Flaw in Plato’s Republic
Plato’s ideal polis requires the parents to corporate and give their children to the state. Thus allowing the molding of the children from an early age, to become model citizens. However, Plato does not explore the possibility that they will … Continue reading →
Kallipolis: Is Plato for Real?
In trying to define justice and injustice, Plato creates–in theory–a “good” or “just” city, the Kallipolis. This city in his mind expands as the dialogue goes on, with a class structure, education, a constitution (or, as Plato details later on, … Continue reading →
The dynamic of justice and injustice : Why such a tough debate?
One of the many challenges in the debate of justice and injustice is to find evidence that one is desirable over the other. Plato uses several examples, such as the shepherd and the sheep analogy, in which he argues that … Continue reading →