The methods of argument used by Socrates in the works of Plato focused on actual knowledge. This method, known as the Socratic Method, is unconventional. It is not a means of argument through persuasion or opinion, but rather a tool of view through question and challenge. The method considers knowl...

Plato's Phaedo makes a lot of interesting arguments that are worth contemplating about. One of the primary arguments deals with Socrates' views on Suicide. Socrates and his friends, Cebes and Simmias, discuss whether it is wrong to kill oneself. Socrates begins by saying that it is wrong t...

St. Anselm's ontological argument for the experience of God. God's existence may vary from philosopher to philosopher, but according to the late St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury there was absolutely no doubt that God's presence is certain, and yet the philosopher desir...

Consider the various proofs offered by Plato for the immortality of the Soul. Give a brief account of what each was and discuss their effectiveness. In what respects does the final proof in the Phaedo differ from the others there offered? The idea that the soul is immortal is one that Plato argu...

In my life on this planet I have come to question many things that many take on as blind faith. We all know that someday we will 'physically' die, Yet, we continuously deny the forces working inside ourselves which want to search out the true outcome of what may or may not come after death. It's fa...

Rene Descartes asserts that our most fundamental beliefs are uncertain, and consequently, all beliefs resting on these basics are also uncertain. In his First Mediation, he sets out to determine which beliefs are certain and which are doubtful. Descartes applied illusion argument, dreaming argument,...

In Plato's dialogue "Apology," Socrates is forced to defend his actions and beliefs to a jury against both official charges brought against him by Meletus and unofficial charges, which Socrates argues throughout the trial. Before the jury, Socrates attempted to justify himself ...

Closing Arguments offer the last chance for the lawyer to speak to the court, and represents an effort to impress upon what is important to the jury members before it deliberates. Closing arguments review the evidence presented and sum up for the court what the case has been about and why the case ...

Like many people today, Plato held the belief that the human being was both dualistic in nature, namely comprising of two separate entities; body and soul, and possessing a soul that would survive its embodied state. Plato saw the soul as immortal through being cyclical in nature and having this cy...

Martin Luther King Jr. was sent to jail on April 16, 1963. During this short time in prison he wrote a lengthy letter in response to a public letter from a group of eight clergymen who opposed the non-violent demonstrations that King had lead. The letter, more commonly known as the "Letter f...

Sophocles' play "Antigone" illustrates the conflict between obeying human and divine law. The play opens after Oedipus' two sons Eteocles and Polyneices have killed each other in a civil war for the throne of Thebes. Oedipus' brother in law Creon then assumes the throne. He ...

Gorgias October 9, 2001 Ethics 112 Grier Socrates is obsessed with the idea of justice, especially as it pertains to knowledge. In the Gorgias, justice is discussed as it pertains to oratory as well as what constitutes greater injustice, committing or suffering, and punishment and just...

Alex Tzenos In "The Trial and Death of Socrates", when Crito is trying to get Socrates to escape from prision Socrates makes two arguments on why he shouldn't escape. The first argument is the state as parent analogy and the second argument is the implicit agreement. While I agree with both of...

Socrates and Sophist Plato's Sophist is one of the only dialogues in which Socrates isn't the main character. This makes for an interesting question: why? Why would Plato stray from the norm of making his teacher the main focus of this dialogue? As I've thought about t...

One of the areas of greatest disagreement between Plato and Socrates was on the issue of incontinence and how the idea manifests itself in people's lives. This was one of the first areas in which Plato made a point of disagreeing with his teacher. As a consequence he develops a very differen...

Descartes' 'Cogito Ergo Sum' (I am, I exist) argument is a complex one. In many ways, he constructs a convincing argument for the existence of the self, and for the process of the thinking being, the essence of that self. In this meditation on his philosophy, Descartes on numerous ...

Part One: In the "Fifth Meditation" by Rene Descartes, he makes a case for the existence of God. He goes on to give reason to prove his argument that to exist is to believe in God for without God we would not exist. Descartes gives the analogy of a mountain and a valley, pointing out that if a p...

Part One: In the "Fifth Meditation" by Rene Descartes, he makes a case for the existence of God. He goes on to give reason to prove his argument that to exist is to believe in God for with out God we would not exist. Descartes gives the analogy of a mountain and a valley, pointing out...

In Book I of Plato's Republic, Thrasymachus makes the argument that the life of an unjust person is better than that of a just. He then abandons the argument in the beginning of Book II; nonetheless, Glaucon does not accept this desertion. Glaucon wants to be truly convinced that Thrasymachus' vie...

Plato argues to Meno that all knowledge is already present in our immortal souls. By this he suggests that learning is simply a matter of recollection and not teaching. Socrates goes on to prove his point to Meno through the illustration of having a slave boy perform steps of geometry that no one ha...

In the Meno, Plato justifies the possibility for one's mind to uncover knowledge. Knowing one can obtain knowledge motivates the mind to gain more knowledge. Plato explains the theory of recollection by first questioning what virtue is, then demonstrating the process through the questioning of...

The Republic The "Republic" of Plato in which he outlines his conception of the ideal human society analyses the meanings of "justice" and "partiality" and their place in governing a "city". Plato confronts concepts of the "Individual" ag...

Response II: The Crito As I read The Crito it seems to me a confusing and somewhat muddled dialogue. The difficulty Plato faced in composing the dialogue was to somehow justify Socrates' decision to stay in prison rather than try to escape after his wrongful conviction. Plato had to draw out a d...

Socrates' Search for a Definition In this paper I will first show why Socrates thinks Euthyphro can explain the essence of piety. I will explain why it is important for Socrates to have a definition of piety. Then the paper will go into why it is not enough to just know an affect or qualit...

Up to the Task? In the beginning of the second book of The Republic of Plato, Glaucon and Adeimantus both issue challenges to Socrates regarding justice. The first challenge issued is Glaucon's. Glaucon asks of Socrates that he prove that, "it is in every way better to be just than ...