To Be or to Become…That is the Question
The philosophical view of being as opposed to becoming
Throughout the ages, the philosophical vantage points of the various philosophers have often debated the simplest of questions of human existence. These questions, though simple in nature, are complex; filled with large rabbit holes for others to dive into and become immersed in a largely hollow world needing to be created and argued into formation. The arguments swing in directions of “what is good” or “where do we find justice” and then swing back towards more developed questions of the “soul” and how do we know if it exists. The goal of philosophy is to explore knowledge in search of the truth; which is the basis of wisdom. Assuming
…show more content…
In a sense, these seem to be a paradox, not unlike the chicken and the egg or whether of not a circle has a beginning or an end. Specifically, Plato uses the Allegory of the Cave to describe how one might find the light, to see the world in its many forms or in its truest form (3). While this seems like a spiritual journey of awakening, this could also just be a way for him to recognize the long and arduous path by which one takes to become complete or to just be. Aristotle's explanations of virtue might seem to more clearly define what it means to be virtuous but Plato, again, shows us the path while Aristotle places the direction signs to finding the light. Aristotle is defining clearly the means and the way to achieving what Plato has exposed during the Republic. In this context, Aristotle wants to simply be, but realizes the difficulty of being, so proposes the only way to be is to become. Aristotle, like Plato and Socrates, also has a penchant for the metaphysical realm. While the argument is set in a way that Aristotle represents all that Plato is not, both seem to understand that there is a world beyond that of human perception. Plato would argue that it is beyond the senses and Aristotle would say that only trained senses can contemplate pure form