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Plato's Protagoras Analysis

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Plato’s Protagoras is a dialogue of much debate that allows for the readers to look further and to bring into question the argument on virtue for themselves. It is not something to be taken whole-heartedly since Plato is throwing different theories about virtue around in this dialogue. Socrates, one of the main characters was always fixated on virtue, especially the concept of defining and teaching virtue, and whether or not it can actually be taught. However, one must keep in mind that Socrates is not Plato and this is a work of fiction. Since in this writing the character of Socrates is inconclusive and contradictory, the reader becomes under the impression that virtue may actually be taught and in order to understand virtue one must know …show more content…

In the Protagoras, this question about virtue takes the form of a lengthy attempt by Socrates to prove that what are commonly thought of as separate virtues—courage, temperance, holiness, justice and wisdom—are in fact simply different names for the same thing (Plat. Prot. 329c). Virtue is a single thing, namely teachable wisdom concerning pleasure and pain or good and bad. The good life is marked by …show more content…

Eisele in his article ‘Must Virtue Be Taught?’ he states that indeed it can because even though the main theory is that virtue is knowledge and that it may be taught, there is no one to fully comprehend and define what virtue is and share the understanding of it with others. Eisle presents an insightful new theory that Socrates knows what virtue is and how to teach it because he is the best example of it. With virtue being equivalent to excellence, Eisle argues that Socrates ‘performs excellence in his incessant questioning and questing’ (Eisle, 1987:

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Comparing Plato's Apology And Crito

691 Words | 3 Pages

After reading Plato’s Apology and Crito, I can conclude that according to Socrates human virtue is knowledge (wisdom). In this paper I will present two disputes that’s Socrates uses to prove what human virtue is. In Apology, one argument Socrates makes is that he is not wise. Socrates starts this off by explaining how Chaerephon went to the god Delphi, and Delphi asked if he knew any man that was wiser

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Socrates And Euthyphro Argument

1310 Words | 6 Pages

Religion and profound quality, in his view, are so firmly related that neither one of the ones can exist separated from the other. Dissimilar to the Sophists, who were familiar with think about the requests of ethical quality as just the wants of the general population who planned them, Socrates has faith in a standard of profound quality that is something more than the human conclusion. He distinguishes it with

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How Does Socrates Corrupt Youth

1092 Words | 5 Pages

In the Greek literary work Apology written by Plato, Socrates was convicted for refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state, introducing new divinities and corrupting the youth. It is believed by many critics that Socrates knew he was going to be sentenced to death so, he was able to use his defense as an opportunity to clear his reputation, confront his accusers, but most significantly instruct the Athenians. He wanted them to look into themselves and seek virtue and wisdom before looking into personal interests. We notice throughout Socrates’ defense that there is a continued theme of wisdom and teaching towards the Athenians.

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Thucydides And Plato: A Comparative Analysis

800 Words | 4 Pages

Thucydides and Plato have a clear set boundary in their writings as to what type of assertion they are fabricating. Thucydides sets a very narrow view with his piece of The Peloponnesian War that holds more weight in solid evidence of what a “good life” is demonstrated as. Plato, on the other hand, has several writings that go into depth of weighing what someone’s soul ought to have within itself. The statement of Thucydides making empirical claims, with Plato making normative claims, is supported with evidence in their respected works.

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The Final Argument Of Plato's Phaedo

411 Words | 2 Pages

The final argument of Plato’s Phaedo was created to prove souls cannot perish. Plato does so by arguing how a soul cannot die nor cease to exist on the same fundamental grounds of how the number three can never be even. For the number three holds the essence of being odd, without being odd entirely. Similarly, a soul holds the essence of life through immortality, however the soul is not immortal itself and only participates in immortality, just as the number three participates in being odd. Additionally, an essence or form cannot admit to the opposite of itself just as small cannot be large simultaneously, and hot cannot be cold.

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Socrates: A Threat To The Athenian Society

912 Words | 4 Pages

Making enemies and becoming the topic of conversation, the Athenians began to view Socrates as a threat to their beliefs and way of life and sought to end it. In order to end this, Socrates was accused of blasphemy (Mod1SlideC7). Socrates’s accusers took him to court and after Socrates did not play their game by asking to be sent into exile, and in the end, he was sentenced to death. After reading the textbook and Plato’s writing influenced by Socrates, I realized that in the period of his life Socrates was indeed truly a threat to the Athens society, because he looked for answers that no one else bothered to find which challenged their culture.

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Analysis Of Socrates: Four Dialogues, By Plato

1595 Words | 7 Pages

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Alcibiades Plato Analysis

1013 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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Going on a search with Socrates for the meaning of virtue would be “the best move in the

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Virtue is defined in many ways. Some say that it comes from the Latin word ‘virtus’, meaning virtue or courage, which comes from the other Latin word ‘vir’, which means man, meaning that virtue is the qualities of a man, such as courage. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines virtue as, “conformity to a standard of right [and/or] a particular moral excellence” (Merriam-Webster 899). With all these definitions floating around, it is hard to determine what virtues really is and what it really means to have virtue. In Plato’s Meno, Socrates and Meno discuss the definition of virtue and whether it can be taught.

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Virtue Ethics Subjective

1163 Words | 5 Pages

The idea of virtue ethics was first introduced to the world by Aristotle over 2,300 years ago in 325 BC (Rachels 173). Virtue ethics operate on the belief that people develop good character by looking at the virtues they admire in other people and emulating them. In order to do this, a person must ask themselves what kind of person they want to be and focus on choosing characteristics not specific people to emulate. Unfortunately, virtue ethics were quickly overshadowed by other perspectives on ethical theory as Christianity gained popularity and values changed. As time went on people stopped asking themselves, “What traits make a good person?”

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1246 Words | 5 Pages

How Socrates (2000) mention above that wealth does not create a wise person, but a wisdom creates the good deeds for people. (p.10). Consequently, his meaning about excellence and wealth is correct because excellence is wisdom, justice, and virtue and these things can not be bought for money. Firstly, one of the different types of excellence is a wisdom.

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Act Utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham

1716 Words | 7 Pages

1a. Act Utilitarianism. The creator of utilitarianism was Jeremy Bentham in the late 1700s. It was said he was the contemporary of Kant’s, additional Jeremy’s godson John Stuart Mill was most famous and influential of the utilitarian. Jeremy said that morality is based on “net utility”, which means creating the greatest good/happiness for the ample amount of people.

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1839 Words | 8 Pages

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.

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984 Words | 4 Pages

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