So far in the book Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen, Brian is stuck in the forest for the winter, and is adapting to the cold atmosphere that is the forests of Canada, and by this food become scarce for Brian and it becomes extremely difficult for him to find food, and then kill it as well, along with food being more scarce and the pond slowly beginning to freeze up. Brian also needs to build a new shelter for multiple reasons. One reason is because of how his food is situated along with the fire he is burning to cook it a bear one day approached the food and fire, and it was right next to Brian and he at one point attacked the bear in order for Brian to protect his food, but the bear attacks Brian, leaving bruises and scrapes throughout his body so he needs to restart his food placement,
I will also discuss how they all express Plato’s conception of what is involved in living philosophically, and how they all relate to the cave allegory. In Plato’s dialogue, the cave allegory, I am given a story about a prisoner and allowed to depict an image of what the cave looks like. Inside the cave are prisoners, a fire, a rocky path, and people who carried various artifacts that project shadows on the wall in front of the prisoners. The fire represents the sun, the rocky path symbolizes the journey of the soul, the prisoners represent us, the shadows were what they believed to be the truth, the people carrying the artifacts symbolize influences in life for example parents or teachers.
One of Socrates’ friends, Chaerephon, asked if there was anyone wiser than Socrates, to which the oracle replied, “no one” (21a, 85). Socrates, knowing he was not very wise, sought to investigate the claim (21b, 85). Already, the reader can begin to understand how an examined life, is a good life. Socrates is unwilling to accept something as truth, just because it is said by a person in a position of power and respect. He chooses to investigate the claim, to find an understanding of how it can be that someone believes he is the wisest person.
(20c) Socrates mentions that it was human wisdom and nothing more that has allowed himself to know what he knows. (20d) Socrates even mentions
1) In the allegory of the cave, Plato’s main goal is to illustrate his view of knowledge. A group of prisoners have been chained in a cave their whole lives and all they have ever been exposed to were shadows on the wall and voices of people walking by. The prisoners in the cave represent humans who only pay attention to the physical aspects of the world (sight and sound). Once one of them escapes and sees the blinding light, all he wants is to retreat back to the cave and return to his prior way of living. This shows that Plato believes enlightenment and education are painful, but the pain is necessary for enlightenment and it is worth it.
His goal was to make the court understand his beliefs prove which type of knowledge is worth knowing. When talking about the wise man he examined, Socrates said, “Neither of us actually knows what Beauty and Goodness are, but he thinks he knows, even though he doesn’t; whereas I neither know nor think I know.” This shows that Socrates proved he was more wise than the titled wise man because instead of faking the knowledge, that wasn’t too important, he accepted that he did not know which would result in him then seeking for
Knowledge is the key to success in our everyday life. From Plato’s Meno, Benjamin Jowett, trans, where Meno and Socrates are both discussing if they know what virtue really stands for. When they both decide to see if the slave boy is aware of knowledge, Socrates ask geometric questions from the slave boy. The boy was born and raised in Meno’s house and he has never been to a school or anywhere where he could learn geometry. Socrates thinks that the boy is the best person to be asked.
Socrates was one of the greatest philosophers and teachers of this time, however, he wasn’t known to record his teachings hence why Plato is the one writing this conversation. This was also a period of great revelation; multitudes of scientific and philosophical ideas were being spread throughout Greece and Rome and so it makes sense why Plato would write an allegory about changing beliefs. He is saying we should not be set in our ways if ideas are constantly shifting and we should try to come closer to the truth even if it is not a conventional or comfortable
The existence and continual study of Socrates’ philosophy regardless of differing accounts is astonishing in itself since it survived not through the specific philosopher, but through other people. Which is a testament of the impact that a man, such as Socrates, can make. When we think of Plato, who is regarded as a father of western philosophy, we are quick to think of his major work The Republic, his student Aristotle, and his writing on Socrates. (We think of his writings on Socrates as mere footnotes in philosophical thought without examining them.) “Nothing comes from nothing,” Parmenides proudly claimed, and this philosophical doctrine applies to Plato’s thought.
Socrates in the dialogue Alcibiades written by Plato provides an argument as to why the self is the soul rather than the body. In this dialogue Alcibiades and Socrates get into a discussion on how to cultivate the self which they both mutually agree is the soul, and how to make the soul better by properly taking care of it. One way Socrates describes the relationship between the soul and the body is by analogy of user and instrument, the former being the entity which has the power to affect the latter. In this paper I will explain Socrates’ arguments on why the self is the soul and I will comment on what it means to cultivate it.
They have attained the true and highest knowledge of the forms and are internally balanced. As such, these ‘philosopher kings’ are truly intelligent, wise, and uniquely qualified to manage society through the proper channels. In conjunction with law-making, Guardians were also responsible for the society’s educational matters. Plato believed that the education of young children should be equal across the board and void of any outside influence that could corrupt the three parts of the soul. Without outside influence, it would become apparent which aspect of the soul was dominant in the child and eliminated the possibility of incorrect placement of citizens in the proper areas of society.
Plato’s theory, ‘The Allegory of the Cave’, aims to explain the nature of reality and human perception. With this theory of his, he aims to answer questions like ‘why are we here and what is reality?’ He explains this theory as a conversation between his mentor, Socrates and one of his students, Glaucon. Plato claimed that the knowledge gained through our senses is not real knowledge. In fact, real knowledge is the knowledge that is gained through deep philosophical reasoning.
It never changes and yet causes the essential nature of things we perceive in the world. These two perceptions are what Plato describes as the divided line or the journey of self discovery. This progression of the spirit, that can never be reached, becomes the ideal. Plato’s discussions include the involvement of the soul. It is clear, that the main reason for dealing with the soul is to achieve this state
Plato claimed that virtue is a type of knowledge since qualities are only beneficial when they are accompanied by knowledge. Virtue is always beneficial, thus, it must be a form of knowledge. If virtue is knowledge, vice – being the opposite of virtue – must be the lack of knowledge. As with every ethical system, Aristotle’s theory is subject to some criticism.
The ultimate goal of human life for Plato is to know and understand the truth or the “eidos” of the “good”. The only way for us to see this truth is through our minds. The truth is not accessible in the physical world but in the intellectual realm. For us to be happy or for use to know the truth is only when we are beyond our physical sense it is a totally different level. So according to Plato, “knowledge” and “virtue” are corollary meaning that as long as one exists the other will follow.
