Essays on Philosophers

495

Symbolic Meaning of Sun in The Stranger by Albert Camus

3 pages / 1717 words

Introduction In his novel "The Stranger," Albert Camus uses the relentless Algerian sun as a metaphor for the awareness of reality that pursues his main character, Meursault, throughout the novel. The plot is fashioned around three deaths: those of Meursault's mother, the Arab, and Meursault...

Albert Camus The Stranger

496

Aeneid: a Study of a Platonic Soul

4 pages / 1759 words

While many scholars are of the belief that Vergil penned the Aeneid to provide the Roman people with a propagandized epic glamorizing their own history, there is great evidence for Vergil’s intending the Aeneid to be something vastly more valuable: a parable on the powers...

Plato The Aeneid The Republic

497

A Poetry Critique in The Republic by Plato

3 pages / 1523 words

After much deliberation and many intense arguments, Socrates finally reaches a definition for justice and claims that leading a just life is worthwhile both for its consequences and for its own sake. Although these conclusions summarize the main dispute of the Republic, Socrates ventures on...

Plato Plato Republic The Republic

498

The Unfairness and Misery of The Dictator in The Republic

3 pages / 1253 words

In Book VIII of Plato’s Republic, Socrates details the degenerative process of regime change, which transitions from kingship to timocracy to oligarchy to democracy to tyranny. Each regime has its analogue in the soul of man, which is structured in the same manner as the...

Plato Plato Republic The Republic

499

A Battle Between Art and Decency in The Republic

3 pages / 1450 words

The role of art in society has always presented a battle between freedom of expression and decency, as is clearly presented in Book III of The Republic. Plato argues that the purpose of the arts is to promote the virtues of wisdom, justice, courage, and...

Plato Plato Republic The Republic

500

Advantages and Disadvantages of Morality in Plato's Republic

2 pages / 1175 words

Very early in Plato’s Republic, Thrasymachus argues that “In any and every situation, a moral person is worse off than an immoral one”. (343d) Furthermore, that a moral person is a simpleton, while an immoral person exercises sound judgement. (348c-d) Socrates is faced with a...

Plato Plato Republic

501

A Study of The Relationship Between Plato and Socrates

3 pages / 1553 words

Socrates was the first of three major philosophers in ancient Greece. He was born in the golden age in Athens. Socrates believed that there was a ‘universal truth’, and that every citizen should be searching for it. He was told he was the smartest person...

Plato Socrates

502

The Building Blocks of The Republic: a Deserting of The People in The Republic by Socrates

4 pages / 1929 words

“[H]ow it would come into being, if it ever were to come into being, you have, in my opinion, Socrates, stated well” (The Republic, 510a). The possibility of the Republic coming into being is the issue which sets the earlier Dialogues apart from The Republic....

Band Socrates The Republic

503

Analysis of Plato's Concept of The Forms

3 pages / 1304 words

Plato’s Concept of the Forms stems from his dialogue ‘The Republic’, written in 380 BC. In this he discusses his use of ‘a priori’ knowledge – truth gained through logical and tangible thought. Instead of observing the world at face value, Plato was a rationalist...

Plato The Republic

504

A Critical Analysis of The City-soul Analogy as Illustrated by Plato

4 pages / 1955 words

Analysis of Plato’s The Republic, City-Soul Analogy In an elaborate effort to comprehend individual justice, Socrates engages in a lengthy debate which explores intricate details, structures, and overarching principles of a just city. This analysis will explore the City-Soul analogy through three separate human lenses....

Plato Plato Republic The Republic

505

Doing Away with Gender Roles in The Republic and on Liberty

4 pages / 1745 words

Although Mill’s On Liberty and Plato’s The Republic both advocate the abolishment of gender roles, their respective justifications and resulting ideologies differ saliently. The inception of these differences arises from the basic moral premises from which these ideologies are derived; justice is of fundamental importance,...

Plato The Republic

506

A Righteous City as Depicted in The Writings by Alfabi and Plato

2 pages / 1196 words

The concept of the virtuous city is central to both Plato’s and Alfarabi’s treatments of political science. The respective analyses of Plato and Alfarabi bear many similarities, but their final goals differ radically. Plato’s description of the republic is both an ideal towards which cities...

Plato The Republic

507

The Unspoken Rebuttal of Socrates by Plato in The Republic

4 pages / 2144 words

Plato’s Republic utilizes a political approach to answer what is essentially a moral question. In attempting to identify justice in the individual, Socrates takes an unmistakable turn toward the direction of political philosophy, describing the formation of his ideal city Kallipolis. It can hardly be...

Plato Socrates The Republic

508

The Views of Plato and Aristotle on The Nature of Goodness

5 pages / 2164 words

The nature of goodness is distinctly disparate between Plato and Aristotle. Plato argues for a higher form of goodness, while Aristotle argues back with a societal form of goodness. Aristotle’s view of goodness is far more realistic to the actual world, and it disproves Plato’s...

Aristotle Plato The Republic

509

A Critique of Plato's Republic by Aristotle

2 pages / 972 words

In book two of Aristotle’s Politics, Aristotle defines his ideal state by criticizing the values put forward in Plato’s The Republic. In doing so, Aristotle censures Plato’s idea of state unification through sharing as much as possible, including wives, children, and property. Aristotle counters that...

Aristotle Plato The Republic

510

The Sun's Shadow: a Study of The Loopholes in The Platonic Political Theory

4 pages / 1975 words

Plato and Aristotle both reject the moral relativism of the sophists and address the question of how man can achieve absolute virtue. In The Republic, Plato constructs an existence proof, a kallipolis that produces philosopher-kings who grasp the eternal Good and rule benevolently. Aristotle discusses...

Aristotle Plato The Republic

511

Gender Equality from Plato's Perspective

1 page / 750 words

Plato employs a meritocratic logic in his proposal for gender equality in Book V of The Republic. In his ideal community, the kallipolis, comprised of producers, guardians, and rulers, Plato advocates a specialization of employment and status based on inherent nature and not on gender-typing....

Gender Equality Plato The Republic

512

Plato's Democracy as The 4th Best Constitution

3 pages / 1487 words

In his Republic, Plato enlivens the character of Socrates with his own views of how a just and virtuous city would grow into existence. In describing his ideal city-state, a society ruled by an aristocratic Philosopher-king, Plato also makes note of the four other possible...

Plato The Republic

513

Understanding Plato's Forms and The Concept of Philosopher-kings

2 pages / 1133 words

According to Plato, true knowledge originates in the realm of the Forms, or universal, eternal, constant, and absolute truths that only the mind can access, such as the Form of the Good or the Form of the Just. Forms are not part of the visible...

Plato Plato Republic The Republic