... not acquired through teachings, how can a person focus on the welfare of his or her should and acquire that life of virtue that nourishes life? Socrates managed to acquire that virtue and wisdom because he strove for it, and actively searched for it. He said, "I know that I know nothing ... . Thus his wisdom is not knowledge and a particular skill in a specific field. Rather, due to his lack of knowledge of many impractical things, Socrates was able to focus on something more important that a "wealth " of knowledge, which is human virtue and the soul. This was his wisdom: ... the self-ac...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... "if you kill the sort of man I say I am, you will not harm me more than yourselves" (pg. 33,30c-d). By saying this, I believe Socrates was stating that so many people were unaware of how to find truth, and they would only hurt themselves by killing the one who could teach them how to do ... corrupting the youth unintentionally, the law requires one to take you aside to tell you, not take you to court(pg.29, 26a). This demonstrates how brave Socrates was because even though he knew he could possibly be killed, he proved the accuser Meletus wrong. Instead of trying to bargain or lie his wa...

• Word Count: 811
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• Grade Level: High School

... tougher, the fact remains that to commit injustice is in every case bad and dihonourable for the person who does it" (49b). And as Socrates also says, to live an honorable and just life (which he has already said is the only life worth living) one must never commit an ... been consummated upon them. Furthermore, Crito agrees that neither shall a man commit an injury on another, even if they have been injured themselves (49c). Socrates continues by proposing that "Both in war and in the lawcourts and everywhere else you must do whatever your city and your country commands, or else ... Whi...

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... it is the most blameworthy ignorance to believe that one knows what one does not know.' If we were to analyse this more closely, we would see that Socrates makes three arguments which leads to a conclusion. Firstly, he says that no one can be sure that death would not be the greatest blessing to a ... what one does not know, I would agree with his statement. However, as he used the word 'most', this renders his argument unsound. Another argument that Socrates puts forth regarding not fearing death is that "Whether to die be evil or good, I know not, though many think they know it to be ...

• Word Count: 1061
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• Grade Level: High School

... a hint as to why it is he is on trial and the reason for his unpopularity when he says, "For I have many accusers telling of one Socrates, a wise man, who speculated about the heaven above, and searched into the earth beneath, and make the worse appear the better cause." (20) While ... reputation for being a "wise" man, " I will endeavor to explain to you the origin of this name of "wise," and of this evil fame"(22), says Socrates addressing the court. " This reputation of mine comes from a certain sort of wisdom that I possess."(22) He continues with a story of how his friend Chaerepho...

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• Grade Level: High School

... good" but rather, of the emptiness and shallowness of life. The allegory of the cave illustrates the difference between the materialistic world and the intelligible world. Socrates describes a man with his arms and legs chained, and his neck in a brace, which only allows him to look at a wall with shadows. ... mind. Reality does not change, nor the things that are considered beautiful. They are always there; it is only a matter of discovering them. Socrates believes that if man does not transcend to the world of knowledge, then he really only knows the bottom and middle layer. Man will ...

• Word Count: 1591
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• Grade Level: High School

... world of shadows, which is based on appearances, rather than the world of light, which is based in thought. 2) How do we learn truth? Socrates believed that truth could be attained by questioning people and situations thoroughly. He developed a method of cross examining individuals who were supposedly wise, to show ... his thinking, as he believes that one can find the truth in tangible ways, not merely in thought. 3) Is truth accessible to everyone? Socrates was under the impression that any person could obtain the truth through dialectics. He often sought out common people, claiming t...

• Word Count: 1224
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... called Sophists these people received money to teach people how to argue. The sophists did exactly what Socrates was apposed to, they advertised that they had knowledge and claimed to be able to pass it on; Socrates seeks knowledge without possessing any himself. Sophists also only wanted to win arguments and not find the ... truth. Where Socrates wanted to find truth and to do that it did not necessarily mean the argument is ... says that to find truth you might find a presence of ignorance and it is necessary to find the presence of ignorance to find genuine knowledge of virtue. Socr...

• Word Count: 277
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• Grade Level: High School

... stated "the unexamined life is not worth living." (Apology, internet quote site) If one agrees with Socrates then he or she would believe that living the examined life is something that is of the utmost importance. This being true, one would want to gain the knowledge that ... . In looking for this knowledge one would come to agree with Plato in his belief that the ultimate goal of the soul is to grasp a true view of reality. (Phaedrus, Socrates 2nd speech) Upon delving further into this idea, he or she would begin to see that Thomas Gilovich was correct in his belief that humans have t...

• Word Count: 1308
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• Grade Level: High School

... religions see God as a lawgiver who creates laws for us to obey. This notion, later elaborated upon and coined the Divine Command Theory, was once pondered by the Greek philosopher Socrates. In a recorded dialogue, he posed what is considered to be one of the greatest philosophical questions in history: Is conduct right because God commands it or does God command it ... has created a very large philosophical puzzle. This question presents a major dilemma if we accept the theological conception of right and wrong. Say we are to take the former option of Socrates question and assume that ...

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... state. He rejected the sentences of prison or exile, offering instead to pay a fine. When the jury rejected his suggestions and sentenced him to death, Socrates accepted the verdict and said that no one but the gods know what happens after death and so it would be foolish to fear what one does not ... warned the people who voted against him that by silencing him rather than listening to him, they have harmed themselves much more than they have harmed him. Socrates opened his case by asking the jury to listen to him openly and to pardon him if he went into his usual style of speaking. Hi...

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... , people who pursue wisdom, believe that the soul is the most sophisticated thing of the human being. Like any other philosopher, in Apology Socrates defends himself from being sentenced to death by trying to persuade the jurors that he does not deserve a death sentence. The main idea is ... you in jail shows how important words are. Words itself have the ability to shake a whole system. That is what some people are afraid of, considering Socrates" beliefs and values. " I do live in a country where the authority and radioactive effect of words are demonstrated every day by the sanctions w...

• Word Count: 1271
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... Gorgias telling people exactly what they want to hear, and throwing dust in the eyes of councils of justice who hear them in the law courts. Socrates refutes this easily because it turns out that "oratory doesn't need to have any knowledge of the state of their subject matters; it only needs to ... would only be truly happy when he was punished for all the wrongdoings committed in his quest for power. Actually, the disagreement here between Polus and Socrates is rather controversial, as the two men are speaking of two completely different things. Polus speaks of Archelaus" happiness in t...

• Word Count: 978
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... makes them unhappy. I will try to explain my doubts through comparison to modern day religions and our uncertainty as to the discovery of the truth. In the allegory, Socrates describes a dark cave deep in the Earth. In the back of the cave there is a fire, the only light and the only way to see in the ... come to see the stars, moon and objects in the light of the sun; thus realizing he is in a better, more genuine place than in the Cave. Socrates explains that is if the escapee, the now enlightened thinker, were to ever try to return to the Cave and explain to others what he has seen an...

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... all Meno's questions. By doing so, Meno gets perplex and forces us to think. To defend the theory of recollection Socrates uses many examples such as the geometry problem with the slave boy. With each wrong answer from the boy, Socrates proceeds to lead Meno to the correct conclusion. At the end of the problem, the slave boy knows enough to not ... . This exercise proves that the exercise can be recalled. He has a general sense of equality and has acquired his true opinions through recollection. Meno is finally convinced of Socrates theory. Following the geometry exercise, Socrates discu...

• Word Count: 291
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... cognizant of. This experience highlights the notion Plato espouses: that learning the truth is the soul recollecting what it has learned before its human birth. Socrates says, "There is no such thing as teaching, only recollection."" (Plato, 1956, p. 130). In the article "Learning: From Speculation to Science ... learning to new events and settings. Plato takes on a similar approach, theorizing that learning is based on the student uncovering the truth. Socrates says, "And if the truth of all things always existed in the soul, then the soul is immortal, and one must take ... discover w...

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• Grade Level: High School

... , but the rest of the society is brainwashed into believing what the leaders want them to believe. All of these societies also are corruptions of Socrates" vision. First of all Fahrenheit 451 has a downfall. The society censors the views of the society, but a few still manage to know ... people think are equally important. Finally, in 1984 the society is a dystopia and a terrible place to live. These societies are all very similar to Socrates" society. This proves that his society will too have a fault. No society can be perfect. All of these societies address the question of either justi...

• Word Count: 627
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... some of my significant changes in my perception. This "Allegory of the Cave" is a dialogue or conversation between Socrates and Glaucan, where Socrates compares the issues appearance vs. reality and education vs. ignorance. The "Allegory of the Cave" Socrates sums up his ideas and puts it into a conversational from between him and his student Glucan. They express how people ... are in the darkness of ignorance. The cave is a symbolic representation of the world that we live in. Socrates describes a dark scene, a group of people are living in a cave since childhood. They have never seen ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... that artists understand little of what they are representing. Plato has three main objections to poetry – ethical, philosophical and pragmatic. The arguments made by Plato through the voice of Socrates are on the basis of critical thinking and do not consider the intrinsic values and purposes of the arts themselves, due to which his arguments are flawed in a fundamental manner ... . In the text, Plato represents his arguments as a conversation between Socrates and Glaucon. Socrates starts his denunciation of poets by comparing them to artists. He states that of any object, the absolute...

• Word Count: 1025
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... desire knowledge. A philosopher is a lover of wisdom. Lovers of wisdom desire not to posses merely a part of which they lover. They desire to possess the whole. Philosophers desire all wisdom. Socrates presents the true philosophers as having a different kind of mind structure. In my perspective, the philosopher king's ability to appreciate the whole makes them worthy of ruling. I would see it ... ." The Divided Line is split into four segments respectively: shadows and reflections, physical objects, mathematics and hypotheses, and lastly is first principles and forms. With the Divided L...

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... are, in reality, merely shadows. I think that Plato's Cave Allegory was very much influenced by his predecessor, Socrates. Socrates was the first philosopher to really "step out of the cave". Socrates was also ridiculed by his peers, like the prisoner, and was then rejected by them. Socrates was actually sentenced to death by his society. It shows that Plato's society, like ours today, does ... not value, or fears, those who think outside of the box. Athenian society saw Socrates as a threat to their beliefs, customs and traditions so they had him killed. He challenged the works of Hesi...

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... be able to ask the question, "is this right or wrong" either before or during the choice is presented to an individual. As Herrick tells the tale of Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, he explains who he was, how he was, why he was, and the reasons for his death ... . Socrates said, "The Unexamined Life is not Worth Living!" Herrick tells us how Socrates would go to the "agora" and question people casually "What is truth? "What is justice?", "What is the highest good ... ?" and my favorite, "Why do you believe that?" Socrates was advocating for the examined life, so in my mind the "Un...

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... , is because that's the "myth" we were exposed to when we were children. That is what we were taught to believe in. The first and greatest philosopher of all time, Socrates, didn't answer every question that was posed to him. What he did was challenge people to think for themselves, and most importantly, ask questions. From ... Socrates and onward, Philosophy grew and took off into a field of study that is used all over the world today. Is Socrates alive today, He most certainly is. We have Martin Luther King Jr., who died for what he believed in. Kenneth ... Star could be considered a ...

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... . I think when he refers to "what is" he is speaking of all things in general. Basically stating that a person who is all knowledgeable knows everything and anything ("what is"). Then Socrates says ignorance is the opposite of knowledge or the lack of knowledge of "what is". I think he means that completely ignorant doesn"t know anything about the world or anything else ... for that sake. Then he says there must be some intermediate between the two because nobody is completely ignorant or all knowing therefore there must be this concept of opinion. Socrates says that people see many thin...

• Word Count: 256
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... a synergistic effect on the moral agent; they allow the agent to make a desision.that is informed and ethical. The medical ethicists has the foundations established by Emanuel Kant, A.J. Ayres, and Socrates to allow him to delineate the many facets of a situation in terms of the Twins philophicalal traditions. The two traditions beget points of view which are ethical and easy to ... the mind. These truths of fixed immutable origins can be applied using deductive reasonning to situations. The catholic nature of absolute truth, as established by the early greek philosphers like Socrates v...

• Word Count: 2880
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• Grade Level: High School