Plato s A Good Life - 1393 Words

Plato’s book can be fun however difficult to comprehend, Plato prefers to write in the form of dialogue. Socrates was Plato’s teacher and he seemed to have a theory that â€Å"we ought to lead a moral life whether or not such life leads to happiness.† However, Plato didn’t seem to agree with Socrates on that, he argued that â€Å"the righteous life is not only good in itself but also necessary condition of a happy life† The book Plato’s republic discusses about several important and fascinating theories of topics. Plato spends most of his time discussing about the â€Å"good life†, he appears to believe that a perfect life has to be managed under the perfect conditions. When you have a perfect life managed under the perfect conditions you end up getting a perfect society, then that perfect society would have to include justice within it. Once the book begins to talk about justice it gets less complicated, the definition of justice would be that the people who are just are only just, because they are afraid that they will get punished if they were unjust. He then uses the story of the Gyges ring as an example. The story was that there was a magical ring and if a man would turn the ring would be turned inward he would turn invisible, and when outward he would reappear and he would be able to do all the unjust things he wanted to. The story of the ring of Gyges is stating that those who want to be just are only just because they find it necessary, not because they truly want to be just andShow MoreRelatedThe Good Life : Plato s Apology And Emerson s Self Reliance2243 Words   |  9 PagesThe Good Life In Plato’s Apology and Emerson’s Self Reliance, the belief of the definition of a good life expresses in both pieces. In Apology, Plato tells a scene about a philosopher Socrates who is held for trial because his accusers accuse him of being an evil-doer, claim that he corrupts the youth, and a curious person who makes the worse appear better. Socrates of course disagrees with the accusers and claims that his accuser’s aren’t wise and are investing their time by spreading rumors ofRead MoreKant And Kant s Philosophy On Ethics970 Words   |  4 Pagessame question. A dictionary describes ethics as-moral principles that govern a person s or group s behavior. Is there a universal ethical behavior ? Are all countries ethical ? Theses very same questions many philosophers have tried to figure through time from Socrates to Immanuel kant (and to this very day for the matter!). While comparing two great eathist Plato and Immanuel Kant I, the writer argue that K ant s ideological views on ethics were far superior to Plato’s due to several factors. ForRead MorePlato s Interpretation Of Utopia1630 Words   |  7 PagesPlato and Aristotle shared many differences despite also sharing a teacher student relationship. This essay will strive to establish their understandings of reason and the role reason plays in their comprehensions of politics, differentiating between the kinds of reason and politics produced as a result. Plato is regarded as the first writer of political philosophy while Aristotle is recognised as the first political scientist. Plato’s interpretation of Utopia is founded upon the existence of threeRead MoreThe Philosophical Perspectives Of Plato And John Dewey1176 Words   |  5 Pagesgreater good in life. In metaphysical discussions over time thinkers have continually questioned what the greater good means in today s world, and how to achieve it. Looking at the philosophical perspectives of Plato and John Dewey, they both discuss the various ways they believe the greater good can be achieved. In this paper I will analyze both Dewey and Plato s perspectives to present key ideas in order to portray how these texts have impacted my understanding on what the greater good is, andRead MoreStudent Teacher1669 Words   |  7 Pagesrelationships such as Socrates-Plato, Plato-Aristotle etc. It is beyond the scope of dubiety that teachers, since ages, have played a major role in the life of an individual and his/her overall upbringing. Teachers are the beacons of light that lead people to success and glory. They are the ones who recognize the talents of their students and encourage them to move further and assist them in reaching the zenith of their potential. Let us dedicate this Teacher s day to all those teachers who,Read MorePlato, An Ancient Greek Philosopher1458 Words   |  6 Pages Plato, an Ancient Greek Philosopher by Carly Rittenmeyer Bible and the Ancient World Spring 2015 Plato, a Greek Philosopher, is known for his writings that impacted people in the Ancient Greek society. He was a free thinker and lived in a free city, Athens. He was taught by multiple teachers including Socrates who was frequently mentioned in his writings as the central character. Plato’s novel, The Republic, influenced the idea of government and showsRead MoreEssay about Morals and Ethics1134 Words   |  5 Pages Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Nietzsche all had their own ideas for which one could reach happiness in his/her life. All have similarities in there reasoning except Nietzshe, who contradicts the others entirely. 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. Aristotle?s arguments relate with Plato, but he builds more to it and finds his ownRead MoreThe Great Philosopher728 Words   |  3 Pages2017 The Great Philosopher Plato Plato is known as one of ancient Greece’s greatest philosophers. Plato was born in Athens, Greece during 428 BCE. Some people believe that Plato s real name is Aristocles, if in fact this is true he would have received this name from his grandfather. Historians believed that Plato had two full brother, one sister, and one half brother. They are unsure if Plato was the eldest. They believe that he was since he inherited his grandfather s name, and tradition was thatRead MorePlato s Ideas For Making Life977 Words   |  4 Pagesthe yeah it is the perfect place to be at the time. This is also home to the world s first true and probably greatest philosopher: Plato. He born into a prominent and wealthy family in the city and devoted his life to one goal: helping people to reach the state of Eudimonia (fulfillment). Plato is often confused with Socrates Socrates, he was an older friend whom taught Plato a lot, but didn t write any books. Plato wrote lots of them, 36 full dialogs be autifully crafted scripts of them imaginaryRead MorePlato s Euthyphro And Apology893 Words   |  4 Pagesto no surprise, highlight one of such debate: the human characteristics of wisdom. Though Plato was one of the earliest philosophers, the topic of wisdom is still debated by modern philosophers today, contemplating questions such as â€Å"What are the classifications of ‘wisdom’?† According to Plato’s two dialogues, the characteristics of wisdom have a strong correlation with the characteristics of â€Å"being a good person†. This concept highlights the values of virtue and selflessness and at the same time

Biography of Girolamo Savonarola

Savonarola was an Italian friar, preacher and religious reformer of the late fifteenth century. Thanks to his struggle against what he considered a corruption of Catholicism infesting Florence, and his refusal to bow to a Borgia Pope he considered much the same, he was burnt, but not after ruling Florence in a remarkable four years of Republican and moral reform. Early Years Savonarola was born in Ferrara on September 21st, 1452. His grandfather – a mildly famous moralist and trusted physician - educated him, and the boy studied medicine. However, in 1475 he entered the Dominican Friars in Bologna and began to teach and study scripture. Why exactly we don’t know, but a rejection over love and a spiritual depression are popular theories; his family objected. He took up a position in Florence – home of the Renaissance - in 1482. At this stage he wasn’t a successful speaker – he asked the guidance of famed humanist and rhetorician Garzon, but was rudely rejected – and remained bitterly disaffected at the world, even the Dominicans, but soon developed what would make him famous: prophecy. The people of Florence had turned away from his vocal shortcomings until he bought an apocalyptic, prophetic heart to his sermons. In 1487 he returned to Bologna for assessment, failed to be selected for academic life, perhaps after disagreeing with his tutor, and from after that, he toured until  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Lorenzo de Medici secured his return to Florence. Lorenzo was turning to philosophy and theology to stave off a darkening mood, illness, and loss of loved ones, and he wanted a famed preacher to balance the hostile views of the Pope to Florence. Lorenzo was advised by the theologian and preacher Pico, who had met Savonarola and wanted to learn from him.​ Savonarola becomes the Voice of Florence In 1491 Girolamo Savonarola became Prior of the Dominican House of S. Marco in Florence (set up by Cosimo de Medici and reliant on family money). His speech-making had developed, and thanks to a powerful charisma, a good way with words, and a very effective grasp of how to manipulate his audience, Savonarola became very popular very quickly. He was a reformer, a man who saw many things wrong with both Florence and the church, and he spelled this out in his sermons, calling for reform, attacking humanism, renaissance paganism, ‘bad’ rulers like the Medici; those who watched were often deeply moved. Savonarola didn’t stop at just pointing out what he considered faults: he was the latest in a line of Florentine would be prophets, and he claimed Florence would fall to soldiers and their rulers were it not better led. His sermons on the apocalypse were hugely popular. The exact relation of Savonarola and Florence – whether its history affected his character more or less than his demagoguery affected the citizens – has been much debated, and the situation was more nuanced than just a man of words whipping people up: Savonarola had been deeply critical of Florence’s Medici rulers, but Lorenzo de Medici may have still called for Savonarola as the former was dying; the latter was there, but might have gone of his own accord. Savonarola was drawing huge crowds, and attendance at other preachers was falling. Savonarola becomes Master of Florence Lorenzo de Medici died two years before he, and his fellow rulers in Italy, faced a major threat: a French invasion which seemed on the verge of great conquests. Instead of Lorenzo, Florence had Piero de Medici, but he failed to react well enough (or even competently) to keep power; suddenly Florence had a gap at the top of its government. And at this very moment, Savonarola’s prophecies seemed to be coming true: he and the Florentine people felt he had been right, as a French army threatened a slaughter, and he accepted the citizen’s request to head a delegation to negotiate with France. Suddenly he had become a leading rebel, and when he helped a Florentine agreement with France that saw a peaceful occupation and the army left, he was a hero. While Savonarola never held any office himself beyond that of his religious career, from 1494 to 1498 he was the de facto ruler of Florence: again and again, the city responded to what Savonarola preached, including creating a new government structure. Savonarola now offered more than the apocalypse, preaching hope and success for those who listened and reformed, but that if Florence faltered things would get dire. Savonarola did not waste this power. He began a reform designed to make Florence more Republican, rewriting the constitution with places like Venice in the forefront of his mind. But Savonarola also saw a chance to reform the morals of Florence, and he preached against all manner of vices, from drinking, gambling, to types of sex and singing he didn’t like. He encouraged ‘Burning of the Vanities’, where items deemed inappropriate to a Christian republic were destroyed on mighty pyres, such as lewd artworks. The works of the humanists fell victim to this – although not in as great quantities as later remembered - not because Savonarola was against books or scholarship, but because of their influences from the ‘pagan’ past. Ultimately, Savonarola wanted Florence to become a true city of god, the heart of the church and Italy. He organized Florence’s children into a new unit that would report and fight against vice; some locals complained t hat Florence was in the grip of children. Savonarola insisted that Italy would be scourged, the papacy would be rebuilt, and the weapon would be France, and he kept allied to the French king when pragmatism suggested a turn to the Pope and the Holy League. The Fall of Savonarola Savonarola’s rule was divisive, and an opposition formed because Savonarola’s increasingly extreme position only increased people’s alienation. Savonarola was attacked by more than enemies within Florence: Pope Alexander VI, perhaps better known as Rodrigo Borgia, had been trying to unite Italy against the French, and excommunicated Savonarola for continuing to support the French and not obeying him; meanwhile, France made peace, abandoning Florence and leaving Savonarola embarrassed. Alexander had tried to trap Savonarola in 1495, inviting him to Rome for a personal audience, but Savonarola had quickly realized and refused. Letters and orders flowed back and forth between Savonarola and the Pope, the former always refusing to bow. The Pope may have even offered to make Savonarola a Cardinal if he’d fall into line. After the excommunication, the Pope said the only way to lift it was for Savonarola to submit and Florence to join his sponsored League. Finally, Savonarola’s supporters grew too thin, the electorate too against him, the excommunication too much, an interdict in Florence threatened, and another faction got into power. The trigger point was a proposed trial by fire proposed by a rival preacher which, while Savonarola’s supporters technically won (rain stopped the fire), it had introduced enough doubt for his enemies to arrest him and his supporters, torture him, condemn him, and then publically hang and burn him in Florenco’s Piazza della Signoria. His reputation has endured thanks to a group of passionate supporters who remain, five hundred years later, convinced of his Catholic belief and martyrdom, and wish for him to be a saint. We don’t know whether Savonarola was a clever schemer who saw the power of apocalyptic visions or an ill man who experienced hallucinations and used them effectively.

Comparing One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest and The Crucible...

Power and control are the central ideas of Ken Kesey’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. There are examples of physical, authoritative and mechanical power in the novel, as well as cases of self-control, and control over others. Nurse Ratched is the ultimate example of authoritative power and control over others but R.P. McMurphy refuses to acknowledge the Nurse’s power, and encourages others to challenge the status quo. The other patients begin powerless, but with McMurphy’s help, learn to control their own lives. Many symbols are also used to represent power and control in the book, such as the ‘Combine’, ‘fog’, and the imagery of machines. Arthur Miller develops themes of power somewhat differently in his play The Crucible. Because†¦show more content†¦In The Crucible, Miller too created a character that would stand against authority; John Proctor. When Proctor is questioned as to why he has not been to church in so long, he admits that he has ill feelings towards Parris and the way that Parris gives sermons. Proctor does not like authority, and since Parris talks as though he is an authority figure, Proctor has an issue with this. Proctor is very critical over representatives of authority. Proctor changes from a timid character held in bondage by his sin, to a strong, righteous man who will die for the truth. This drastic change in his character is the basis of his significance to the outcome of the play. When faced with the prospect of either confessing to something he didn’t do, or dying, he tells judge Danforth that he cannot have his confession and name nailed to the church door because it would be tray his friends who have already died for the truth. When Danforth refutes this, John says, â€Å"Beguile me not! I blacken all of them when this is nailed to the church the very day they hang for silence!† (143). Proctor seizes the power back from those who are misusing it, simply by refusing to be a part of the false confessions. The unyielding faith of Proctor’s wife, the influence of the people who share his beliefs and his triumph over an inner struggle help him make a decision that he believes will finally set him free from his past. Kesey’s character against power is Randle Patrick McMurphy.

The Ku Klux Klan free essay sample

The Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan was started as an underground terrorist group against the civil rights movement that freed the slaves after the American Civil War. (sun. menloschool. org) The Ku Klux Klan or commonly referred as the KKK would define themselves as a political party, one that they also call the White Rights Movement. Whites, according to the KKK are giving up their lives in a sacrificial manner for those who are not white. (sun. menloschool. org) The KKK was made up of both men and women. Having the first and second Ku Klux Klan affect society and the Freeman’s Bureau that would protect the rights of former slaves would impact society for years to come. The first Ku Klux Klan was an organization that thrived in the South during the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. The first branch of the Ku Klux Klan was established in Pulaski, Tennessee, in May, 1866. We will write a custom essay sample on The Ku Klux Klan or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page (www. encyclopedia. com) One year later an organization of local members were established in Nashville in April, 1867. During the next two years Klansmen wearing masks, white cardboard hats and draped in white sheets, tortured and killed black Americans and sympathetic whites. Although the Klan was often able to achieve its aims by terror alone, whippings and lynchings were also used, not only against blacks but also against the so-called carpetbaggers and scalawags. (www. encyclopedia. com) The second Ku Klux Klan was a nationwide organization that flourished after World War I and was founded by William J. Simmons. The new Klan had a wider program than its forerunner, for it added to white supremacy. † (www. encyclopedia. com) Subsequent groups calling themselves the Ku Klux Klan sprang up in much of the South after World War II and in response to civil-rights activity during the 1960s. (www. encyclopedia. com) The effects that this group has had on society, however is grossly non debatable. There are all aspects on how this group tries to impact the society. Crimes are the first thing that people will associate with the KKK. They justify that the people who do these crimes are people of hate, who joined for vengeful purposes, and who are not members. (sun. menloschool. org) Known crimes associated with the KKK are burning of black churches, beatings, hanging a noose above people’s doors, or burning crosses on non whites lawns. The Ku Klux Klan has had a large impact on society since World War I. They tortured people who did not have the same background or culture as them. The effects the KKK left on society caused the Congress to create laws to protect others. To this day, everyone is supposed to be treated equal and acts such as those of the KKK are not acceptable. Bibliography http://sun. menloschool. org/~sportman/ethnic/individual/kkk/ http://www. encyclopedia. com/topic/Ku_Klux_Klan. aspx http://www. spartacus. schoolnet. co. uk/USAkkk. htm {draw:frame} In the picture above, you can see by the feet that both men and women were active in the KKK.