Report: Socrates and Plato from Kenya Terry Section 8

Kenya Terry

Philosophy

February 29, 2012

Plato and Socrates

            Plato compared to any other philosopher before or after him was the brightest of all.  His ideas are still used today in our government and society.  He made sure that his teaching along with Socrates, his alter personality, teaching would forever be remembered now matter what year.  And he was right because most of what is believed today goes along with what Plato and Aristotle have brought to the world.  Although Socrates did not live long enough to help Plato with anymore ideas he was a big part in helping Plato come up with ideas and putting together what he thought things should be like and why they are that way.

            To start off I will tell you a little history and how he became the great philosopher he was known for.  Plato was born in Athens BC 428-427and died 348-347 BC he was 80 when he died. He gave more insight on western philosophy and that is why his philosophy is so important to this day. His views were influenced by Homer, Hesiod, Aristophanes, Aesop, Protagoras, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Orphism and mostly Socrates.  Although he may have had a lot of people to influence him, but he influenced almost every philosopher after him and they have all had uses of Plato’s philosophy.

            Plato was a classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues and founder of the Academy in Athens.  He was the student of Socrates and Aristotle was the student of Plato and they all learned from one another to come up with their own ideas.  The central idea in Plato’s philosophy was his theory of forms.  He was basically combining Heraclitus and Parmenides “two-world” cosmology in which our world is full of change and that the other world isothermal and unchanging like Parmenides wanted it to be. Plato decided that the two cross each other and they aren’t two different world but all together. 

            Plato mostly talks about a father and son relationship and questions whether if the father has a relationship with their sons depending on how well they turn out.  I do not think that a father should have to decide whether to deal with his son or not just because if they end up bad or not.  They should want to deal with them because they are their sons and that they love him.  Granted some fathers do not deal with their sons because they do not turn out well.  Do they ever wonder t hat if they spent more time with their sons and had more interest in them rather than letting them face thing alone that they would turn out fine.  Fathers have a deeper bond with their sons if they spend time with them because they want the best for their sons and they want them to be like them.

            Socrates disagrees he was not much a family man and he thinks that fathers that spend so much money on their sons just so they will end up right is stupid.  He does not see the point in getting tutors and coaches so that your son can be the best at any and everything.  I somewhat to an extent agree with Socrates and I also disagree with him.  Fathers should not have to pay people so that their sons can be the best at everything.  If they want their son to be good at something spend time with them and try to get to know what they like.  Just paying people to make your son into something that they don’t want to be is pointless and then if they are not good at anything then what.  You are going to disown your son because you don’t have the same interest and that he would rather play chess than be athletic.

            Socrates questions human’s ability to think that they have to grasp something for it to be real.  He thinks people like him find anything that can inspire them and make them do something more than what reality has in for them to be real.  Some people are not like and are completely happy with the material things that they attach themselves to be real. They don’t have muses like him where as he can believe in something and know in his own knowledge that it is real.  In most cases I believe that to be true.

            Just because you do not see something or cannot physically touch it does not mean it is not real.  What you consider real and fake to be depends on how much you believe in it and how much you know in your own knowledge it is to be true.  Just because God isn’t right in mean face where I can touchy him and know that he is physically here does not mean that he is not real to me.  I have gotten to the point where my muse comes from Him knowing that I believe in my God and know that he does things for me in his own way makes it real enough for me. I do not need proof nor do I need to go and prove it to someone else that what I know is true.

            Reality is so stuck on things that you can feel and touch that people don’t see any reason to believe in anything else.  To go beyond the limit that you have put yourself in and have a muse as Socrates does is much more.  He found happiness in other things that he didn’t have to prove to anyone one else was real. That where all his ideas come from the knowledge of looking at something material and going beyond what lies behind it.  Finding a reason as to why something is and why it is important to him brought him happiness.   Socrates says true reality is unavailable to people who just use their senses to find out what is real to them and that is what is stopping them from going on.

            Getting back to Plato whose philosophical views he believes that “philosophy kings” should rule because to rule a country right you have to have reason and wisdom.  A large part of the Republic that Plato has come up with is the educational system so that “philosopher kings” can be raised properly.  Socrates on the other hand says that the Republic contains farmers, merchants, craftsmen, and wage-earners. The Republic in Socrates eyes contains no philosopher kings or material things that people can get attached to quickly. Socrates focuses on making the right kind of human one that is hard working and not bound to material things able to go beyond what they think is reality.

            Plato’s Republic argues that for a good Republic you need “philosopher kings” justifies their personal beliefs.  Although Socrates and Plato had different views on the Republic they agree that philosopher have to be open to new ideas, has to have love for wisdom, and have the courage to act on your ideas according to wisdom.  If you cannot stick to your own ideas and follow through with them how to expect other people to see your side of things and respect your decisions.  I agree with both Socrates and Plato because both of those views have important essentials you need to run a good country.

            You need a good government who can be wise about the decision they make and be able to stand behind their decisions no matter what wrong turn they may take. You also need people who know how not to be selfish and work hard for what they want out of life.  You need people that can go beyond their boundaries and past material things so that can accept what true reality is.  You can be content with the things you already have but you can be better if you can learn to accept all of the little things around you.  Understanding how both the government has to work together and how the people have to work together and be open to new things is important in a society as well.

                 All of Plato’s ideas are very good has been used widely throughout history from the time of the philosopher after his death to the philosophers today.  He had help from Socrates who had a different view of things but mostly agreed and spoke for Plato. They worked together and Plato learned a lot from Socrates until his execution.