Discussion of the Pre-Socratics
Socrates is easily one of the most well known names in the history of philosophy. He is even portrayed via the magic of Hollywood time travel in the popular movie “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and was more recently quoted inaccurately on a t-shirt as saying, “I drank what?” Despite his fame, Socrates was not the first philosopher by far, and certainly not the earliest to make meaningful contributions to the field of philosophy. Some of the great “Pre-Socratics” include Anaximenes, Parmenides, Xenophane, and Democritus. The philosophical issues of their days were significantly different from the popular discussions today, though no less relevant, and provide ample fodder for the cannon of philosophical consideration. The issues in consideration here that may benefit from discussion are the problem of the one and the many, the distinction between phusis and nomos as regards the nature of god(s), and distinction between appearance and reality. Appropriate and thorough discussion of these topics in the pre-Socratic context is certain to yield insight into the connection between these three issues.
The problem of the one and the many consists of two parts that are quite evident in the one and the many. The one is used in referring to that which is a unifying force in many theories of the universe; it is that from which all things are made and that to which all things return, most theories consider it an indestructible non-creatable substance infinite in existence at least but on occasion infinite in diversity. Sometimes philosophers use the one to explain a theory of Arche, which refers to the originating order of all that is. The many refers to that which ...
... middle of paper ...
... nomos and appearance versus reality. Finally, it can be seen that all of these concepts are intermingled; the reason that the pre-Socratics found these topics so intriguing was their search for an “arche” or originating order. All of these issues need to be addressed in order for a society to answer its questions about its roots. Perhaps the most intriguing fact of this matter is that these philosophers have not provided the final answer, if they had we wouldn’t still find the questions and our search for “arche” so interesting today.
“It is proper that you should learn all things, both the unshaken heart of well rounded truth, and the opinions of mortals, in which there is no true reliance.” (Parmenides, Fragment 1)
Citations
Baird, Forrest E. Philosophic Classics Volume 1 Ancient Philosophy Third Edition Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ; 2000
Plato, and G. M. A. Grube. "Phaedo." Five Dialogues. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub., 2002. 93-
`Why on what lines will you look, Socrates, for a thing of whose nature you know nothing at all? Pray, what sort of a thing, amongst those things that you know will you treat us to as the object of your search? Or even supposing, at the best that you it upon it, how will you know it is the thing you did not know?'
Long, A.A. & Sedley D.N. The Hellenistic Philosophers. Trans. Long & Sedley. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
During this essay the trail of Socrates found in the Apology of Plato will be reviewed. What will be looked at during this review is how well Socrates rebuts the charges made against him. We will also talk about if Socrates made the right decision to not escape prison with Crito. Socrates was a very intelligent man; this is why this review is so critical.
Socrates (470-399 BC) was a credited philosopher born in the city of Athens to father Sophroniscus and mother Phaenarete. Despite his world-renowned contributions, he did not leave any written accounts of his life. His story was taught through the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, along with Aristotle and Aristophanes in various forms of dramatic texts and histories. Among others, Plato wrote many dialogues that quoted Socrates’ exact words. Much of what we know comes from this greatly influenced student. However, Plato being a literary artist, leads many to think that he brightened up Socrates’ teachings as a result of his positive bias. For this reason, much of his history remains uncertain.
The issue of stem cell research first began on the scientific scene in November of 1998 when researchers first reported the isolation of human embryonic stem cells. The discovery, made by Dr. James A. Thomson, a biologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, offered great promise for new ways of treating diseases through stem cell use. The stem cells, which are derived from several-day-old embryos, can theoretically differentiate into virtually any type of human cell, ranging from blood cells to skin cells (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011). According to the American Medical Association (2013), a stem cell is an immature cell that has the potential to become specialized into different types of cells throughout the body. There are two basic types of stem cells: adult stems cells and embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are produced when a newly fertilized egg begins...
Epictetus. "Encheiridion." Ancient Philosophy. 31 Ed. Philosophic Classics, vols. 1. Baird, Forrest E., and Walter Kaufman. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000.
One of the facts that make stem cells so important and such a great asset to healthcare research is that stem cells are not differentiated. Within our bodies, the cells that make up our bodies are programmed to become all of the specific structures in our body such as blood cells or muscle cells. Stem cells do not have this intrinsic programming. They can therefore become any type of cell. When a sperm and egg combine to create a zygote, the zygote rapidly divides which will eventually develop into an embryo and, of course, eventually a human being. The cells that the zygote divides into are the first of these stem cells and develop into the cells that make up the body. When a baby is born, these excess stem cells are in the amniotic fluid and umbilical cord of the baby. However, stem cells still exist within adults, but are usually dormant for the rest of a person’s life. Stem cells remain spread around the tissues, muscles, bones, and blood. Although there is a lot that scientists do not know about stem cells, these stem cells can be activated by various factors like disease and can serve to repl...
"Ancient Greek Philosophy." Ancient Greek Philosophy. The Academy of Evolutionary Metaphysics, 2005. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
A stem cell is a cell that does not have a specific job, function or structure and are known as undifferentiated cells which have the potential of becoming many different cell types within the human body. Embryonic stem cells are taken from embryos and are known as pluripotent because they can become all cell types of the body. After development, adult stem cells are found to multiply by cell division to replace dying cells and restore damaged tissues. They are known to be limited to differentiating into different cell types of their own original tissue origin. Embryonic stem cells are taken from three main sources in a human including from cell lines that already exist, spare embryos left over from fertility treatment and from custom made embryos. Adult stem cells can be found in organs and tissues like brain tissue, bone marrow, blood vessels, gut, liver and more. Scientists are now trying to discover how some tissues and organs contain a small number of adult stem cells and how these stem cells help to maintain the tissues and organs.
They are isolated by breaking open an embryo and removing the inner cells. This process necessarily destroys the embryo. This procedure is usually performed on a two-year-old embryo following the division of the fertilized cell into eight different blastomeres. Embryonic stem cells could be extracted from blastomeres, but usually harvesting such stem cells necessitates the destruction of the embryo. Embryonic stem cells can, however, perform all the wonders claimed for them in tissue regeneration and differentiation. One author describes the wonders of embryonic stem cells as “apparently limitless growth in the lab dish.” Many tests have been proven to demonstrate that embryonic stem cells can form many different tissues that are functional. In a peer reviewed article written by Ole Johan Borge, the use of embryonic stem cells in the clinic is described. He says, “Stem cells are currently only being used to a limited extent in routine clinical practice. However, there is considerable hope that stem cells can be utilized in the treatment of a wide array of human disorders by replenishing lost or unfunctional cells. Diseases like Alzheimers, Parkinson, immune deficiencies, anemia and type I diabetes are all candidate diseases potentially suitable for stem cell-aided therapy.” So far there is evidence that embryonic stem cells cultured in the lab is extremely beneficial. There have been studies performed on animals that
My paper takes as the starting point for its argument the traditional interpretation (and classic criticism) of Platonic metaphysics as a two worlds view of reality: one world, that which includes this room of people, i.e., the here and now which is characterized by change, disorder, conflict, coming to be and passing out of being, corruption, etc.; and another world, located who knows where, but certainly not identical to what we see around us at present, the realm of changelessness and order, ontological perdurance, harmony, unity: Plato's "plain of Truth", the residence of the forms. In light of these two worlds, the Platonic philosopher's wisdom, whatever it may be, must be a wisdom not of this world. Indeed, did not Plato's Socrates himself say that his life— the philosophical life— was the art of practising death? Should that Socrates— or anyone who professes to be a Platonic philosopher— show up at, let us say, the World Congress of
By Characterizing himself –Socrates- as both ignorant and wise, he presents us with one of the most striking paradoxes. Like so many of the other philosophers, is provocative in that its apparent self-contradiction hides an important idea for us readers to discover. Though out this text Socrates ignorance results from his belief that he has no knowledge of moral idea, or moral properties, such as justice, virtue, piety, and beauty. He asserts that, if only he knew the relevant definitions, he would be a moral expert who could answer philosophical questions about moral properties- questions such as is a certain action just? Or is it truly good for a man to be virtuous? Socrates believes that only someone that is “truly wise” would know these essential definitions and be able to provide such expert answers. It is important to determine whether Socrates does, in fact, accept priority of definition principle and, if he does, whether he is committed to a false and problematic principle that subjects him to catastrophic results. A textual analysis will be a philosophic inquiry into Socrates’ conception of knowledge, considering what he believes knowledge to be, how the knowledge of definitions fits into his epistemology, and whether or not his conception of knowledge is philosophical compelling.
It is important to be able to distinguish scientific, philosophical, religious, and speculative explanations and causes apart from each other. To be able to discern the four apart we need to first understand what they are and what their purpose is.
However, it is notoriously difficult to say what an ever-changing universe has to do with an unchanging Reality. Additionally, the contingent world we know is morally and aesthetically imperfect, to say the least. It follows that Reality, by contrast, must be supremely good and beautiful. This strand goes right back to Plato, and the idea that there exists a world that is more ‘real’ and more ‘true’ and the ‘so-called’ real world we inhabit in our embodied state. This is the world of the perfect Forms, but their relation to the particulars of which they are the Forms is difficult to describe adequately. How can two things that have absolutely nothing in common be related to each other in any way