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In arguably every construction of culture, religion, or society is the archetypical sage figure characterized by profound wisdom and enlightenment. The sage, the senex, or the wise old man, is depicted in folklore and literature often as a stock character, though is central to many ways of thought and religion. Saptarishi, the Seven Sages of Greece, Liu Ling, Wang Rong, and Zarathustra comprise only a portion of sage archetypes through history, representative of many cultures and traditions. Though the sage is generally similar throughout cultures, in each exists key distinguishing aspects. Classical philosophy derives sage wisdom from the ancient Greek term σοφός, or ho sophos; somebody who has attained the wisdom which the philosopher
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This construction is the ideal of tranquility and calm and has achieved full self-sufficiency in being virtuous. Those who are above everyday human life, are the gods, which Plato adamantly defends in Theaetetus in the following passage: “[Evil] must inevitably haunt human life, and prowl the earth to heaven; and escape means becoming as like God as possible; and a man becomes like God when he becomes just and pure, with understanding”. In Theaetetus, Socrates depicts the sage as one who becomes righteous and holy and wise, or Godlike in nature. The sage is depicted as being indifferent to the affairs of the city and is concerned solely with becoming as much godlike as possible, further elaborating on the dichotomy between civic morality and godlike distancing from civil preoccupations. Godlikeness requires a certain degree of withdrawal from earthly affairs and an attempt to emulate divine intelligence and …show more content…
For Plato, the pursuit of the philosopher should be that which the sage has already attained in their status as a “godlike philosopher”. In Phaedo, Socrates takes length describing the pursuit of philosophy as preparation for death. The account of Socrates’ death gives a portrait of man successfully detached from his body, allowing his soul to continue to its next phase of being. Plato however does not present this as a strict asceticism, but rather accounts that the philosopher should spend his life trying to detach himself from the needs of the body and earthly pleasures. Further, Socrates agrees with Simmias that philosophers must distance themselves from bodily pleasures including food, drink, sex, superfluous physical items, etc. The philosopher in turn exchanges all of these things for wisdom, the only thing of true value which leads to an exalted life among the gods. Their main goal is to transform their values through a greater reality of the forms and an ability to recognize the importance of distinguishing the one from the many—which in turn aligns themselves in a position to be ethically superior to unenlightened human beings with a greater degree of
In his philosophical text, The Republic, Plato argues that justice can only be realized by the moderation of the soul, which he claims reflects as the moderation of the city. He engages in a debate, via the persona of Socrates, with Ademantus and Gaucon on the benefit, or lack thereof, for the man who leads a just life. I shall argue that this analogy reflecting the governing of forces in the soul and in city serves as a sufficient device in proving that justice is beneficial to those who believe in, and practice it. I shall further argue that Plato establishes that the metaphorical bridge between the city and soul analogy and reality is the leader, and that in the city governed by justice the philosopher is king.
Socrates a classical Greek philosopher and character of Plato’s book Phaedo, defines a philosopher as one who has the greatest desire of acquiring knowledge and does not fear death or the separation of the body from the soul but should welcome it. Even in his last days Socrates was in pursuit of knowledge, he presents theories to strengthen his argument that the soul is immortal. His attempts to argue his point can’t necessarily be considered as convincing evidence to support the existence of an immortal soul.
In the ancient Greek city-state, a life of contemplation was considered to be the highest form of living. Philosophers were of more importance in the social hierarchy tha...
In the book “Phaedo,” Plato discusses the theory of forms with ideas that concern the morality of the form. There are four philosophers that are expressed which are Phaedo, Cebes, and Simmias regarding the execution of Socrates. Socrates is presented in “Phaedo” on the morning of his execution where he is being killed. He tells his disciples Simmias and Cebes that he is not afraid of dying because a true philosopher should welcome and look forward to death but not suicide. A man should never commit suicide. He says that we are possessions of the Gods and should not harm themselves. He provides the four arguments for his claim that the soul is immortal and that a philosopher spends his whole life preparing for death.
Solomon vs. Socrates: what they thought wisdom was, where it came from, and how it was taught.
In Plato’s republic, a philosophical account on the kallipolis (the beautiful city) is built on the perspective of Socrates and his discussion between his companions. In the republic, the city in which ones live in depends on the soul and the character of the city one lives in. In this paper the character of human nature and politics will be discussed in how a city is ought to be by the influence of human nature and politics. Firstly, the influence of human nature on politics will be looked at, for example according to Plato on behalf of Socrates; he claims that a just soul creates a just society, where it is human nature to be just, that influences in creating a just political system. Secondly, politics influences human nature, where in the republic when the discussion of guardians starts out between Socrates and the companions, there is political thought discussed between them, where Socrates wants to create the perfect guardians through specific training in all types of skills instituted to creating a perfect protector. Lastly, human nature is human soul if the soul is just the city is going to be just. It is the human nature which has created communities without any political thought put in place; it political thought that forms rules and laws. Thus, human nature is part of the individual understanding of its society that creates an understanding of how one ought to be, which in turns creates rules and laws that is essentially viewed as politics.
In his several dialogues, Plato contends the importance of the four virtues: wisdom, courage, self-control, and justice. In The Republic, he describes a top-down hierarchy that correlates to the aspects of one’s soul. Wisdom, courage, and temperance preside control over the rational, spirited, and appetitive aspects of the soul. It is when one maintains a balance between these aspects of his soul that he attains peace within himself: “...And when he has bound together the three principles within him...he proceeds to act...always thinking and calling that which preserves and cooperates with this harmonious condition (Plato 443c).” Wisdom and knowledge consistently remain at the top of his view of happiness. During the apology, Plato is asked what punishment is best suited for him. He sarcastically answers, “to be fed...(It is) much more suitable than for any one who has won a v...
Is it simply performing the will of the Gods and Goddesses, living justly and avoiding that which might corrupt the soul? To Socrates, though he recognizes that each individual can make choices in how they live their life, these individuals will be judged as the dead at Tartarus, their actions in life weighed out in full, punished or rewarded as seen fit. Further, Socrates feels that by ignoring the pleasures of the body, and learned more the pleasures of the mind, should be glad of his own soul. (Phaedo, 113d-114d) Of course, the punishments doled out for those deemed ‘incurable’ are rather terrifying to consider, especially taking into account that Socrates argues that our soul is immortal. That, he feels, is even further grounds to celebrate a man’s life if he lived well. I feel that this could, in some way, be Socrates reassuring not just Simmias, Cebes, Phaedo, and the others there, but he’s reassuring himself that he is justified in his actions as a philosopher. After all, Socrates is on being put to death for impiety, and the corruption of the youth of Athens. Surely, for a man so concerned with philosophy and his Gods, these crimes must have weighed on his mind in some fashion, though he “appeared happy both in manner and words as he died nobly without fear.” (Phaedo, 58e) Socrates, also, is a man who respects the laws of his country, not taking the opportunity to escape his
Socrates focuses his philosophy on life entirely on the discovery of knowledge and wisdom, ethics, and the soul. He was obsessed with seeking of knowledge and wisdom: he believed that they are the key to a good life. He went on to state that, “an unexamined life, is a life not worth living.” According to him, knowledge and wisdom correlate to ethical actions, ultimately resulting in a life of happiness, by
Throughout The Republic, Plato constructs an ideal community in the hopes of ultimately finding a just man. However, because Plato’s tenets focus almost exclusively on the community as a whole rather than the individual, he neglects to find a just man. For example, through Socrates, Plato comments, “our aim in founding the
Socrates attempts to make other people reason well and therefore be virtuous by performing their human function; I believe that this action inwardly reflects Socrates’s own virtue. For example, if a professor can effectively teach mathematics to his students, then he most likely holds knowledge of the subject within himself. In a similar way, Socrates instills virtue in other people, which shows that he himself is a virtuous being. Although some people criticize him, evidence of his positive impact is reinforced by the approval and support of his friends in the Apology. While promoting virtue when alive, Socrates wishes to continue to encourage virtue even after death. For example, at the onset of his death, Socrates asks the jurors to ensure that his sons are given grief if they care for anything else more than virtue (Plato and Grube 44). While Socrates could have been thinking about himself or other things at that moment, he is thinking of how to guide people towards living virtuously. Both his actions while living and his intentions after death reveal that Socrates wished to aid people in living virtuous lives, which highlight his own state of
In The Republic, a truly just state contains four cardinal virtues, which can also be found in a just individual. Justice is the fourth cardinal virtue, but can only be reached once three other virtues are achieved. The first cardinal virtue necessary for justice is wisdom. In an individual, wisdom stems from the prevalence of reason in one’s rational mind, which in turn leads to knowledge and a good sense of judgment. When extended to the just state, the members of Socrates’ utopian society who embody wisdom are the ruling class of philosopher kings (Plato, Republic, 428e). In fact, wisdom is so important to Socrates that he believes in a extremely rigid and structured education for these members of society, so as to develop the rational part of their brain (Plato, Republic, 428e). Courage is another virtue necessary for justice, and occurs when an individual’s wisdom is “backed up” by his or her spirit, unflinching in the face of “fears and desires”(Plato, Republic, 429d). Without courage, wisdom and reason will not be the dominant forces is one’s mind. This reasoning certainly applies to the importance of auxiliaries in a perfect society, where the values and beliefs integral to its well being are constantly imparted on public servants through education and training (Plato, Republic,
...is own desires rather than his subjects needs is not virtuous. Second, a person in the military, who is supposed to be courageous may desert his fellow troops in fear. Third, many common people commit crimes, and create conflict within the community. None of these people are virtuous. However, this is exactly what Plato was getting at. Plato believes that when each of these classes performs its own role and does not try to take over any other class, the entire city as a whole will operate smoothly, showing the harmony that is genuine justice. (ln 433e) What makes the Republic such an important and interesting piece of literature is that by examining what brings true justice and harmony to the world, we can therefore understand all of the virtues by considering how each is placed within the organization of an ideal city.
“…Those who are about their souls and do not devote themselves to the body disassociate themselves firmly from these others and refuse to accompany them on their haphazard journey…” (Phaedo, 82d). Socrates is talking about how others waste their time focusing on the body when the soul should be the focus. He refuses to go and do what everyone else is doing because God has commanded him on his journey of philosophy. These people do not devote themselves to the correct way of life. You need to gather knowledge and wisdom through questioning with the Socratic Method. Wisdom and knowledge is knowing you are ignorant and doing something about it by getting more in touch with the non-physical world. Asking others questions and seeking a wise person to ask questions is how you should attain wisdom. He says you should also gather knowledge from yourself and look inside yourself for answers and cultivate the soul through virtue. Philosophy is also essential to human life. Living your life through philosophy and using it as a guide to ask questions is the way to live
Plato states that to understand virtue is happiness. In turn virtue suffices for happiness and is necessary. Also he intuits that human reasoning prevails over spirited element or a person?s appetite.