9 résultats pour "plato"
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Encyclopedia of Philosophy: THE THEORY OF IDEAS of PLATO
THE THEORY OF IDEAS of PLATO Plato's theory arises as follows. Socrates, Simmias, and Cebes are all called ‘men'; they have it in common that they are all men. Now when we say ‘Simmias is a man' does the word ‘man' stand for something in the way that the word ‘Simmias' stands for the individual man Simmias? If so, what? Is it the same thing as the word ‘man' stands for in the sentence ‘Cebes is a man'? Plato's answer is yes: in each case in which such an expression occurs it stands for the same...
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Encyclopedia of Philosophy: PLATO'S REPUBLIC
PLATO'S REPUBLIC Plato relied on the Theory of Ideas not only in the area of logic and metaphysics, but also in the theory of knowledge and in the foundations of morality. To see the many different uses to which he put it in the years of his maturity, we cannot do better than to consider in detail his most famous dialogue, The Republic. The official purpose of the dialogue is to seek a definition of justice, and the thesis which it propounds is that justice is the health of the soul. But that an...
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Encyclopedia of Philosophy: THE EUTHYPHRO OF PLATO
THE EUTHYPHRO OF PLATO After the trial portrayed in the Apology, there was a delay before sentence of death was carried out. A sacred ship had set out on its annual ceremonial voyage to the i s l a n d o f D e l o s, a n d u n t i l i t r e t u r n e d t o A t h e n s t h e t a k i n g o f h u m an life was ta b o o . P l a t o h a s re pres ente d t h e s e d a y s b etween conde m n a t i o n a n d e x ecutio n i n a pair of unforgettable dialogues, the Crito and the Phaedo. No one knows how m...
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Encyclopedia of Philosophy: THE PHAEDo of Plato
THE PHAEDo The dialogue with which Plato concludes his account of Socrates' last days is called the Phaedo, after the name of the narrator, a citizen of Parmenides' city of Elea, who claims, with his friends Simmias and Cebes, to have been present with Socrates at his death. The drama begins as news arrives that the sacred ship has returned from Delos, which brings to an end the stay of execution. Socrates' chains are removed, and he is allowed a final visit from his weeping wife Xanthippe with...
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Aristotle (384-322 BC)
Aristotle (384-322 BC) Aristotle of Stagira is one of the two most important philosophers of the ancient world, and one of the four or five most important of any time or place. He was not an Athenian, but he spent most of his life as a student and teacher of philosophy in Athens. For twenty years he was a member of Plato's Academy; later he set up his own philosophical school, the Lyceum. During his lifetime he published philosophical dialogues, of which only fragments now survive. The 'Aristote...
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Areté
Aretē A pivotal term of ancient Greek ethics, aretē is conventionally translated 'virtue', but is more properly 'goodness' - the quality of being a good human being. Philosophy came, largely through Plato, to recognize four cardinal aretai: wisdom (phronēsis), moderation (sōphrosynē), courage (andreia) and justice (dikaiosynē). Others, considered either coordinate with these or their sub-species, included piety, liberality and magnanimity. The term generated many controversies. For example, is a...
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Byzantine philosophy
Byzantine philosophy In Byzantium from the ninth century through to the fifteenth century, philosophy as a discipline remained the science of fundamental truths concerning human beings and the world. Philosophy, the 'wisdom from without', was invariably contrasted with the 'philosophy from within', namely theology. The view that philosophy is 'the handmaiden of theology', which the Greek Church Fathers derived from Philo and the Alexandrian school of theology, was not the dominant position in By...
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Aquinas, Thomas
Aquinas, Thomas (1224/6-74) Aquinas lived an active, demanding academic and ecclesiastical life that ended while he was still in his forties. He nonetheless produced many works, varying in length from a few pages to a few volumes. Because his writings grew out of his activities as a teacher in the Dominican order and a member of the theology faculty of the University of Paris, most are concerned with what he and his contemporaries thought of as theology. However, much of academic theology in the...
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Encyclopedia of Philosophy: THE CRito of Plato
THE CRito of Plato The Crito is a much easier dialogue to read. Socrates is now in prison, waiting for the execution of his sentence. A number of his friends, led by Crito, have devised a plan for him to escape and flee to Thessaly. The plan had a good chance of success, but Socrates would have no part in it. Life was only worth striving for if it was a good life; and life purchased by disobedience to the laws was not a life worth living. Even if he has been wronged, he should not render evil fo...