...Political Science 201 November 12, 2013 Anna Umstead Plato and Aristotle, arguably two of the most influential Greek philosophers, discussed their differing views on virtue extensively throughout many of their works. Although they agree that virtue is a desirable characteristic that will lead to happiness, the ultimate good, there exists between the two philosophies salient differences. While Plato believes only philosophers are capable of true, inherent virtue, Aristotle believes all men can be virtuous with practice and dedication. GREAT. WAY TO GET TO THE POINT. BE SURE TO MENTION WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE ARGUING THAT VIRTUE IS INTRINSICALLY GOOD. HAVE IT SMACK ME IN THE FACE IT'S SO OBVIOIUS. (LIKE THAT TYPO). Plato’s Republic contains one of the greatest recorded discussions on the nature of justice. His definition of justice can be interpreted today as virtue, or the proper working of the soul. Plato argues in this work that virtue is inherently good only when it is manifest in the perfectly ordered soul of the philosopher. This philosopher is born just and inherently good, thereby making him the only individual capable of loving and seeking after virtue completely. …..... I'M GUESSING THIS ATTACHES TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH? AND I'M NOT SURE HOW I FEEL ABOUT “BORN JUST”. REMEMBER, IT ISN'T “INBORN” BUT IT IS NATURAL. YOU AREN'T BORN THAT WAY. YOU TEND TOWARDS IT, THOUGH. Only through virtue, or justice as he calls it, can a man receive happiness, and this hints at the inherent...
Words: 1667 - Pages: 7
...Nature vs. Nurture There is an issue that has been conferred upon by philosophers in the past and still so by scientists today. This issue is whether heredity or environment plays a greater role in the determining or shaping of an individual's behavior. It is known as the nature versus nurture debate. Numerous generations before us have deliberated on the reasons behind the development of human behavior. There have been many theories formulated to explain why humans behave the way they do. The surviving theories for behavior derive from physiological and sociological explanations. However, the two explanations have not always been compatible with each other. The famous nature vs. nurture debate over human behavior resulted from conflicting views between proponents of the physiological (nature) and sociological (nurture) explanations. Throughout history, research has swayed popularity back and forth between the theories. Yet, theorists have broken down the line separating nature and nurture. As of today, people utilize both explanations to explore human behavior. Way before our time, early philosophers endeavored to understand the human behavior. As early as 350 BC, such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle tried to understand behavior. The question of nature or nurture as the primary drive can be traced to these times. Plato believed behavior and knowledge was due to innate factors. Author Fiona Cowie states, "The claim that the character of our mental furniture is to...
Words: 1605 - Pages: 7
...of society, in demand to make just as many opportunities obtainable to this faction, as there are available to the ‘common white man.’ Perpetuated thoughts against this argument have branched from days as early as Aristotle and other celebrated philosophers. Times are progressing toward more equality in this area, however; in order to present these basic human rights to women, a specific law had to be put in affect. The passing of this edict also came along with many misinterpretations, which still inhabit stubborn minds today. Apart from this ordinance, many women partook an enormous influence on proving woman can actually compete and challenge men on the playing field, court, etc. From the beginning of time, women have existed right alongside with men. Many questions were conjured up as to why the physical existence is so distinct from each body. Many different philosophers constructed their own unique views on this matter. Aristotle believed that women are absolute subsidiary to men, thus establishing, anything women can do, men can do better, faster and stronger. Another world-renowned man, Rousseau, believed that men women existed with different capabilities, and women were here only to please men and carry out domestic and maternal duties. Also, as Aristotle claimed, Rousseau too contested that men stand above women. Similar to Rousseau, a philosopher by the name of Kant attested, women are to be wed, and therefore the servant of...
Words: 1323 - Pages: 6
...I wondered, how different would the education system be if we had follow Socrates way of teaching? Socrates is one of the most important people in western philosophy. I found it interesting that we have no writings from his own hand, from his two students Plato and Xenophon. I agreed with Socrates claim that appearance of the body is less important than how it functions and true beauty comes from spirit and character. I questioned if spirit and character is more important than the physical appearance, why do modern society judge an individual based on their physical appearance? Journal Entry 12. Chapter 6: the Theory of forms. Pages 144. Thursday, February 20, 2014. Knowledge Vs. Opinion Plato is one of the philosophers that interest me the most because of his search for knowledge outside his “comfort zone.” Plato left the Athens and wandered for twelve years and during that time he studied mathematics and mysticism. For me, as a math minor, it was interesting to see how mathematics influenced Plato’s philosophy and I wondered, does an individual’s knowledge in science and math affect their philosophy claims and theories? After he finished most of his writing he founded his academy “Academos.” I was fascinated how Plato lectured without notes for forty years. Does knowledge come from the heart and soul? In Plato’s work theory of Forms he attempted to provide a rational explanation on what knowledge really is and he wanted to identify...
Words: 1901 - Pages: 8
...Plato’s Allegory Plato is known today as one of the greatest philosophers of all time, allowing him a prominent place in the history of philosophy. To fully appreciate Plato's ideas and viewpoint, it is important to understand his contributions to rationalism and his perception of human knowing. It is also essential to know and appreciate how his Allegory of the Cave depicts rationalism and human knowing, and parallels Christian thought. Finally, comparing and contrasting Plato’s worldview with that of his students Aristotle will provide a broader understanding of rationalism and human knowing, and Plato’s allegory. Plato made many important contributions to philosophy as well as to the rationalist tradition. Rationalism is the philosophy that knowledge is acquired by reason without resort to experience (Princeton, n.d.). The first thing Plato taught was that our concepts and knowledge are gained independently of sense experience (Stanford, 2004). This teaching does not resonate with me, and I believe that while this may apply to some people, it does not apply to everyone—including myself. The second element he argued is that reason is superior to sense perception because sensation is incapable of providing the necessary elements which are present in knowledge (Nash, 1999). I partially agree with the reasoning of this element; however, I do believe that intuition—a sensory experience—can trump knowledge at times. Sometimes you may not have the knowledge to understand a situation...
Words: 1017 - Pages: 5
...Nature vs. Nurture vs. Tofu 2 Without conducting any research, I realize that I have never really thought about the subject of nature vs. nurture. By knowing a little of what the controversy is about, I am able to ask myself the right questions to complete my thoughts and come to a proper opinion. Usually I am an extremist by going with one side and not lingering with thoughts in the middle. However, this is a subject that does not deserve one end. By looking and observing those around me, many may notice that people share similar traits. Some traits are the result of nature and others are the result of nurture. There is no 50:50 ratio that is involved in the deciding factor of how much of each side contributes to the individuals we are today. Because biological factors and conformity are two different subjects, there is no scientific way to measure an accurate ratio of nature to nurture. Instead, I believe that each and every person is the product of 100 percent nature as well as 100 percent nurture. As my boyfriend and I are out to lunch, I throw my thoughts at him about nature vs. nurture and he makes me realize that tofu is a great example of both nature and nurture. He asks me how I am able to eat something so bland and tasteless. I tell him that tofu does have sort of a creamy nutty taste to it and is delicious plain uncooked. However, when tofu is cooked, it conforms to and picks up the flavor of the food or sauce that is being cooked with...
Words: 1274 - Pages: 6
...Dr. Katherine Heenan English 472 Spring 2007 February 20, 2007 Aristotle’s Life and the Rhetoric Books I and II Aristotle (384-322 BCE) • Aristotle was a student of Plato’s who disagreed with his mentor over the place of public speaking in Athenian life • born in Macedonia about the time Plato was opening the Academy in Athens • age seven went to Athens and entered the Academy--stayed on as teacher; left 20 yrs later on Plato’s death in 347 • Was ineligible to inherit Academy because he wasn’t Athenian • believed only scientific demonstration and the analysis of formal logic could arrive at transcendent truth • Dialectic and rhetoric form 2 major divisions in his view of human inquiry but they deal with subjects on which true knowledge isn’t available • Rhetoric: making persuasion possible • for Aristotle, rhetoric as the discovery in each case of the available means of persuasion--this discovery requires scientific investigation o in terms of speech situations, he focused on civic affairs • forensic speaking considers guilt or innocence—judicial speech centering on accusation and defense • deliberative speaking considers future policy—political speech centering on future policy • epideictic speaking considers praise and blame—ceremonial speech ▪ Aristotle classified rhetoric as the counterpart of dialectic o dialectic is on-on-one conversation; rhetoric is one...
Words: 3666 - Pages: 15
...Astronomy Notes: People & Accomplishments: Plato (428/7 B.C.E. – 328/7 B.C.E.) – Greek Philosopher, a student of Socrates, and teacher of Aristotle. Taught of the “World of Forms;” the idea that the material world (the earth) is made of nothing but imperfect copies of what was imagined to be perfect. Also, the perfect World of Forms (heavens) was where ideas, thoughts, concepts, imagination, reason, etc. exists. The seven planets ((in order; Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn) were intangible gods; therefore, they were part of the World of Forms. Plato taught that when people acted on perfect ideas (i.e., built stuff), the outcome, in the material world, must be imperfect. [Socrates taught of metaphysics, the study of what is real versus what we think is real but isn’t.] Aristotle (384 B.C.E. – 322 B.C.E.) – Greek philosopher and mathematician and a student of Plato. Credited when the early teaching of the scientific method (questioning, predicting outcomes, classifying/ organizing data, drawing conclusions founded in logic). Aristotle taught of the Universe existing in two realms. The Terrestrial Realm consisted of all material objects. All material objects, or matter, were made of combinations of the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water). Matter was classified by common physical properties (density, hot vs. cold, wet vs. dry). Comets were thought to be atmospheric phenomena, and part of the Terrestrial Realm (changes in the tail of a comet...
Words: 2081 - Pages: 9
...objects of knowledge epistemologically speaking. From the point of view of ethics and politics, they are the foundation of the right behaviour, and anthropologically speaking they are the base of Plato’s dualism and they even allow him demonstrate the immortality of the soul. Plato defends a clear ontological dualism in which there are two types of realities or worlds: the sensible world and the intelligible world or, as he calls it, the world of the Ideas. The Sensible World is the world of individual realities, and so is multiple and constantly changing, is the world of generation and destruction; is the realm of the sensible, material, temporal and space things. On the contrary, the Intelligible World is the world of the universal, eternal and invisible realities called Ideas (or "Forms"), which are immutable and do not change because they are not material, temporal or space. Ideas can be understood and known; they are the authentic reality. The Ideas or Forms are not just concepts or psychic events of our minds; they do exist as objective and independent beings out of our consciences. They are also the origin of sensible things, but although they are the authentic beings, Plato, unlike Parmenides of Elea, do not completely deny the reality of the sensible things; the sensible world, although ontologically inferior, have also certain kind of being which comes from its participation or imitation of the world of Forms. The task of Demiurge is to give the shape of...
Words: 11604 - Pages: 47
...quite perfectly for me. There was always a lingering question among the theories as their own separate entities, and so as a believer of a mélange of different ideas and philosophies, I must say that I do not believe that the epistemological gap can be bridged. Plato first began to tackle the epistemological gap by presenting the idea of “Forms”. He insisted that through love here in existence, we are pointed to the perfect forms above, with each step up being a step closer to the higher Forms. He believed that all things in existence participated in the perfections above us. For example, anything beautiful here on earth partakes in the bigger, higher Form of “Beauty” in the heavens. Plato gives the cave parable in his dialectical The Republic to further explain the pathway from denseness to clear. All people on earth view only the shadows reflected off the wall of a cave, while real life is going on outside in the mouth of a cave. Between mankind and the mouth of the cave is a cascading fire that casts the shadows of the real and true Forms outside. Plato mentions a divine creator Demiurge, who shaped the world from preexisting chaos, using archetypal Forms, in which the Forms provided the model for the world. Because Plato believed that the...
Words: 1817 - Pages: 8
...The School of Athens Artist: Raphael Year 1509–1510 Type: Fresco Dimensions: 500 cm × 770 cm (200 in × 300 in) Location: Apostolic Palace, Vatican City The Holy Trinity Artist: Masaccio Year 1425 Type: Fresco Dimensions: 667 cm × 317 cm (263 in × 125 in) Location: Santa Maria Novella, Florence I started this project by searching the paintings that I will be analyzing. In the internet, I found a great painting from Raphael named The School of Athens (1509-1510) and from the text book Prebles’ Artforms by Patrick Frank, I found a painting from Masaccio named The Holy Trinity (1425) Both paintings fit in the Renaissance period where painters in Italy specifically wanted to have a re-birth in art. Renaissance is a period in the art history used to describe the re-birth of ‘the glory of ancient Greece” (Prebles’s , 2011); it occurred between the 14th and 17th centuries. Artists incorporated a sense of light and colors using new mediums. Also the use of the space and perspective was a major innovation of the time. These new innovations caused your eye to see in there dimension. Art in this period was mostly realized for commission or religious motives. In the Renaissance period, many artist occupied different places in society since it was dominated by associations which helped trades in society. All of these religious groups where connected to a patron saint and linked to their fellows making sure all have decent jobs. The School of Athens is characterized...
Words: 1101 - Pages: 5
...Aesthetic Value vs. Catharsis Robert Rauschenberg was a young, abstract expressionist, artist in his twenties, who wanted to experiment with creating emptiness with drawling. He approached Willem De Kooning, a famous Dutch American artist, for one of his drawling’s. Rauschenberg then took the drawling and eraded most of it only leaving a ghost of the drawling that was previously there. He titled it “Erased de Kooning”. A Kantian viewer’s would judge the “Erased de Kooning” as a loss of aesthetic value compared to the drawling because the “Erased de Kooning” is content based. The “Erased de Kooning” was a drawling that provoked a lot of controversy about if the work of art should be considered a drawling or not and who the artist of the work is. Aesthetics and aesthetic judgment is a...
Words: 1338 - Pages: 6
...Epistemology PHL 215: Philosophy Methods and Applications November 21, 2011 Epistemology is a branch of study in philosophy that studies knowledge. “The broad definition accords the derivation of the term empiricism from the ancient Greek work empeira, “experience”.” (Empiricism, 2011) Epistemology consist of many elements surrounding justified belief such as what constitutes a justified belief; a belief could be justified because certain factors are present, or “what we experience through clusters of sensory impressions” (Moore, Bruder, 2011 pg.129) or a belief could be justified due to someone mental state. Epistemology distinguishes between adequate knowledge and inadequate knowledge. Copernicus during the 1600’s believed that theoretical knowledge was determined based on past events. Galileo fought with him in separating science from the church. Galileo claimed that individuals should be able to question and investigate matters which may be false in experience or reason. Galileo did not question the Church to rule in their domain, but matters which could be shown to be true or false in life’s observations should not be subject to scripture or justified only by scripture. “It is the separation of ethics from knowledge (of nature, history, etc), of the separation of science from the legitimate domain of the Church; he claimed the right of the people to investigate profane matters, questions which were capable of falsification in experience or reason...
Words: 704 - Pages: 3
...Kant. 4. Describe what is meant by a social contract. 5. Analyze a given situation and tell why it would be appropriate or inappropriate to lie. 6. Explain the views of Kierkegaard and contrast him from other existentialists. 7. Discuss the concept that ethics cannot be based on religion. 8. Explain the use of ethical reasoning and how it can be used in your professional life. Introduction The major ethical principles accepted in the western world follow guidelines and rules that must be universally applied in all situations. These ethical principles are established primarily on the basis of teachings set forth by philosophers throughout the ages, starting with the great Greek thinkers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. As you might expect, there have been many alterations 修改 to these moral principles throughout the years. What was considered ethically correct by some was rejected by others and replaced with their own concept of what constituted moral or ethical behavior. A Comment about Philosophy: Philosophy, unlike science, addresses issues that cannot be solved. In fact, some philosophers state that if a problem can be solved, philosophers will not even address the issue, feeling that it should be considered by other disciplines. One of the most notable examples of philosophical inquiry is the commonly quoted question posed by Bertrand Russell: “If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, will it make a noise...
Words: 2657 - Pages: 11
...the fall of Constantinople led to Greek classical texts being read and translated in Western Europe. Some of these texts conflicted with the scholastic philosophy based on the limited ancient texts (mainly Aristotle) previously available. A particularly important one was the work of Sextus Empiricus, who was a skeptic. Another important text discovered at this time was On the Nature of Things by Lucretius which advocated a mechanistic universe. 3) the invention of printing led to the rapid dissemination of new ideas; 4) the discovery of the Americas led to the further discovery of information difficult to reconcile with Aristotle. Maps before Columbus look like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_revolutionibus_orbium_coelestium Twenty-five years after the map above was printed we see the Waldseemuller map: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1272921/Ten-greatest-maps-changed-world.html . A whole new continent is added! Worse, in 1572 a new star appeared in the sky. Tycho Brahe’s careful observations showed that it was beyond the moon (Gingerich). According to Medieval Aristotelianism the celestial regions (beyond the moon) were unchanging. 5) Guns! The Knights were not so important as fighters and this again tended to raise the value of the common person vs, the noble. In the Battle of Castillon artillery was important in the final French victory of the Hundred Years War. The New Learning and newly discovered texts. The new classical texts that were discovered...
Words: 3122 - Pages: 13
