Professor: Alexander Izrailevsky
Student: Loi Thang Pham
Philosophy 1000
Philosopher: Plato
There are many philosophes around the world. Every philosopher has different ideas and
experience. In philosophy 1000 class, I was studied some philosophers. Almost of them lived in
western. And the particular is in Greek. They teach us how to live and how to work in science.
Their ideas were useful. Some of them were abstract. Some of them were little difficult to
understand.
Plato is one of famous philosopher in Greek. Plato is one of the most important founding
figures in Western Philosophy. His concept may be awesome to me. He helped to lay the
foundations of Western philosophy and science. Also, Plato’s dialogues have been used to teach
a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, and mathematic.
I will represent his concepts in what I was known. I will focus on four main points. First,
I will talk his ideas about the structure of reality. Second, I will try to explain the term
“epistemology” and what does it mean in his philosophy? Third, morality is also important part
of his teaching. The last one is political philosophy.
All his knowledge and ideas cover many aspect of life. It consists law, science, and moral
and life value. However, I like Plato’s argument about the political. He is always standing for the
right. His ideas are very realistic. They are not many ideas of religion.
Plato was in Athens. His nickname is Aristocles. He was born 427 BCE in aristocratic
family suspicious of new Athenian democracy. He had not married. He also had children. He
ever served in the Military in war of Athens against Sparta. He died in 348 BCE.
He was student of Socrates. He traveled widely to learn about the world and different
societies. Plato’s most influential work, The Republic, is also a part of his middle dialogues. It is
a discussion of the virtues of justice, courage, wisdom, and moderation.
His family had a history in politics, and Plato was destined to a life in keeping with this
history. He studied at a gymnasium owned by Dionysios, and at the Palaistra of Ariston of
Argos. When he was young, he studied music and poetry. Plato developed the foundations of his
metaphysics and epistemology by studying the doctrines of Cratylus, and the work of Pythagoras
and Parmenides. When Plato met Socrates, however, he had met his definitive teacher. As
Socrates’ disciple, Plato adopted his philosophy and style of debate, and directed his studies
toward the question of virtue and the formation of a noble character.
Plato divided reality into three levels. The highest level of reality is being. For Plato the
world of being was the primary reality because it is more certain. Being is spiritual. Being is
deep. Being is rational. Being is logical. Being is moral. Being is form.
For Plato’s metaphysics, the level of being consists of timeless essences called Forms.
Forms are transcendental because they depend on the assertion that there is a plane of being
outside our ordinary existence. Forms are independently existing, kind, types. Forms are the
essences of all things.
The next level of reality is becoming. The world of change, in which these particular
instances lived, had an intermediate status between being and nonbeing. For Plato, the material
world we see around us is less real than that which is the ideas because it is less knowable. The
objects and people we see in the world are merely images of ideas, or shadows of these images.
Only in the world of ideas can we find certain knowledge and true being. The level of becoming
is the world of the physical that we perceive through our senses. The world is always in
movement. Becoming is material. Becoming is physical. Becoming is emotional. Becoming is
immoral. Becoming is temporary.
The last level of reality is knowledge. Lacking knowledge, we have no way to determine
who is right or wrong. Without knowledge, we are at the mercy of luck and uninformed
preference. We are also act based on habit, tradition, personal preference, and impulse.
For Plato, morality is all about virtue. We must identify a thing’s function before we can
fully evaluate it. The fundamental moral values are not perfection. But they are discipline,
organization, loyalty.
For Plato, The society originates because no individual is self-sufficient. The ideal state
meets three basic categories of needs. The first thing is nourishing needs. This is almost
necessary needs for the human. If we don’t have foods, shelter or clothing, we will not survive
and were not better than animals. The second thing is protection needs. Almost people want to
have a peaceful society. But with jealousness and greedy of people will always have war, crime.
So the military and police were created to protect our life. The third need is ordering. The society
should need to have a high level to manage people or also direct people do how do the good
things. Knowledge of every people is different. Thinking and character are also different. If
every person has different ideas, they will not do a common rule. This leads uncontrolled and
unorganized society. So we need a government machine and leadership in order to have common
decision.
These above needs are best met by members of three corresponding classes of people.
The first class is worker. We all are worker. People have a job to do. He or she can be banker or
driver. For Plato, he can divide another worker kind which is warrior. The warriors are soldiers
or police officers. This class belongs to the protection need. They also work like as the worker
class. The only difference of this class works for the government protecting people of their
country. For Plato, he said that the guardians are corresponding class to leadership and
government of ordering needs. I point out that he is right. Knowledge of philosophy teaches
many things of life. Its knowledge covers many areas of life which are science, political,
religion. We need philosopher-kings like Plato who can understand and manage many classes
level of society.
The Republic reveals Plato’s view that a good life can be lived just in a good society
because no one can live a truly good life in an irrational, society. Nor can one live a truly good
life without having social activities, obligations, and concerns.
Plato also believed that the Republic he proposed as ideal should be ruled by an elite.
These elites are the philosophers who, alone of all the people in the world, have knowledge
because they contemplate the world of ideas. There would be three levels of society. The
peasants, slaves and people who do not have to think formed the lowest level. The soldiers were
in the middle level. And the philosophers are on the top. Because of their knowledge, the
philosophers would tell everyone else what to do.
In Plato’s idea, everyone loves Democracy. They point that Democracy is freedom and
equality, justice and human rights. Our current culture is Democratic in so many respects. Many
of us view Democracy as the ideal form of government giving any other possibilities serious
consideration.
For Plato, he did not like Democracy. He said that Democracy was bad. He argued that
Democracy grows out of a type of government called oligarchy. The chief aim of the oligarchs is
to get rich. They create a constitution and type of government that encourage the acquisition of
property. Plato points out that having property is not enough. The seed of Democracy are the
love of property and riches. In order to preserve their wealth, oligarchs must encourage trading in
real estate, heaving borrowing and lack of self-control. To Plato, it is to be clear that love of
money and adequate self-discipline in its citizens are two things that cannot co-exist in any
society.
In conclusion, Plato is one of the most influent philosophers of the ancient world. His
concepts analysis clears about life and change of life. This helps us more understanding about the
rule of life. Plato rejected democracy as unjust because rule by the majority usurps the rightful
role of the guardian class.