Ancient Greece: Socrates and Plato and Great books: Plato’s Republic
Socrates
Socrates was one of the few philosophers there ever was in Greek. He was a son of a midwife and a sculptor and in his past, served in the army in Athens when there was a crash with Sparta. Socrates was a married man but he had a quire tendency of liking the young men and in particular the young soldiers whom he worked with in the army (Skoog, 2014). Much of what is discussed about Socrates is according to his friend Plato who wrote about Socrates since Socrates had no ability to read or write but blessed with a good mind. During his early years specifically at the age of 17, Socrates was already renowned for his talent in the mastery of philosophy. Socrates was always very comfortable with wines and having conversations which eventually led him to be described as one of the best philosophers. With his curiosity of wanting to know any other philosopher, he visited the young men, older men, and women and tried to hide his identity just to gather what they had in mind (Kastely, 2015). In the conversations, he used to ask very simple but critical questions which required too much thinking. In the process, he would listen to the ideas of others and use them to twist their thinking until they cannot defend their ideas anymore (Gingerdiva19, 2008).
Socrates in many cases was not fond of the sophist who had the tendency of teaching logics which basically had the aim of getting the self-centered terminals and what they always termed as being relative to the other. He was very interested in nothing but the truth which he envied and loved by all means. At one particular time, he got on the road bare footed and shabbily dressed and stood by for almost a whole day just thinking of the same spot. His students were burdened with writing about Socrates since he was not any good in writing. He in many occasions say that he was not a fun of teaching but a server just like the mother who took care of others by being a midwife and who loved the truth at all times (Skoog, 2014). The questions and answers he provided his students with served as a way of meaning that knowledge is a dialect. Once found guilty of engaging in activities that the members of the public did not like, the judges sentenced him to death for his beliefs. Although he died out of his believing in the truth and what is just, Socrates was an influential man to most youths.
Apology of Socrates
During the trial, Socrates makes an apology to the judges after he was found guilty of not giving the required respect to the gods who were recognized by the society and the laws, causing the youths to be defiant and bringing in new ideologies. The speech made by Socrates was never an example of an apology but rather a sort of defense speech to the case against him. In the conversation, Socrates is very clear but lacks the experience of dealing with issues to do with the law according to the speech. He feels very proud of himself and says that what he does is since he is the wisest man alive so he has no apologies (Skoog, 2014). On being asked to prescribe a punishment for himself, he jokes about the issue and this makes the jury sentence him to death. In his response, Socrates gives himself courage that the only thing after death is the gods and so there is nothing which can make him afraid any longer.
Plato
Plato was one of the highest valued students of Socrates. He was from a family which was wealthy and very powerful and his real name was known as Aristocles but people knew him as Plato. At a tender age in his early 20s, the spell of Socrates attracted him to his philosophies and this made Plato love being a philosopher. After the death of Socrates, he took it to himself and roamed around Greece and in the Mediterranean where he was captured by pirates. Plato’s friends tried to rescue him from the slavery by raising money but Plato was released without having to pay anything and the money was used to start an Academy in the late 386 (Kastely, 2015). The Academy acted as a meeting jointly for the rich kids meets to learn mathematics, law and the main subject of philosophy. Studying was free as long as the donations kept running the school. Plato also allowed the women to study along and the school was used by the Greeks for a millennium.
Great books: Plato’s Republic
Plato’s Republic basically deals with identifying the best strategies to deal with how justice can be formulated in a given state. The essence of this republic is to know the various laws and what the law demand from the general citizens. Plato prepared the book as a way of solving every situation mankind experiences in the society. During the war that took place before Christ, Plato just watched as the democracy of their country being misused by the invaders (Kastely, 2015). The conversation begins with Socrates and a group of other people who engage in a conversation. The conversation is initiated by Socrates who wants to know how one can live a long life with the already acquired amounts of money. One of the eldest men also engages in and this forms the basis for the talk to continue to the late night. Cephalus, also among the people present responds that living that long assist a person to make quality and decisive decisions. In his response, having escaped the age of being a youth is very advantageous as it allows one to always be truthful and being wealthy is just an advantage of enabling a person to pay his debt on time. Every man has the capability of living a good life and also gets the deserved justice. The cave by Plato is presented by this great philosopher by the name Plato basically in the republic which is meant to be a comparison of nature and the education (Gingerdiva19, 2008).
Allegory of the Cave
This was a dialogue between Plato’s brother and one of his mentors according to the latter. Socrates describes a group of people who were living in these areas and who were always chained to their walls which were blank. They all have been chained to a wall such that the legs and the necks are very immobile making them look straight forward to the walls. The fire has been lit behind the prisoners and in between the prisoners and the fire, there is a walkway which has been raised where people can walk. The passersby are carrying some objects which possess the shapes of animals and human figures and the items used on a daily basis. The individuals who are there watching images forming the walls start to give them names. In the real sense, the shadows present a reality of the prisoners. Socrates identifies these as the philosophers who have just been freed out of the caves and who come to learn that the images on the walls do not signify the reality since he can identify the reality instead of getting it from shadows been seen by the prisoners (Gingerdiva19, 2008).
Socrates with his intellectual mind reverses the question to the same participants to listen to their views. Socrates asks what would happen if, among the many prisoners, one was allowed to look behind at the fire. In any case, the fire and the flames would hurt the eyes just like the shadows. The disorientation could be seen as more severe if any prisoner was freed from the cave into the light of the sun (Kastely, 2015). Occasionally, the prisoner would eventually be in a position to see after spending some time in the open day light. The dimensions and any reflections would be seen from the waters after the eyes have adjusted. On entering into the reality, the prisoner was in a position to see how indifferent the colleagues were while in the cave. In the case the prisoner was sent back to the cave where the others are and there is a discussion on the images formed, he would not praise the kind of knowledge they possess. This is so since he has already experienced more than what the others in the cave have in relation to images.
References
Gingerdiva19 (2008). plato's republic part 1. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0qZfsFo2RI Gingerdiva19 (2008). plato's republic part 2. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alWfQ7mZXzw Gingerdiva19 (2008). plato's republic part 3. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af2EKUT0HaA Kastely, J. L. (2015). The Rhetoric of Plato's Republic: Democracy and the Philosophical Problem of Persuasion. University of Chicago Press. Lindblom, K. (2015). Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. English Journal, 104(5), 92. Plato, P. (2015). Republic. eKitap Projesi.Skoog, S. (2014):The Trial of Socrates: Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=380KSdkV6zY
Williams, Phil. (2008). Plato's Cave (animated version). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2afuTvUzBQ
