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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

Meno's paradox is an argument in the form of a question. As it is written, Meno asks, "How will you look for something when you don't know what it is.. or even if you come right upon it, how will you know that what you have found is the thing that you didn't know?" Socrates states it more simpl...

The origins of Western philosophy lie with a set of men whose extraordinary contributions date as far back as 600 BC. Frequently, they are identified as Presocratics because these truth-seekers are predecessors of Socrates, the gifted Athenian thinker who greatly influenced the course of Wes...

In my opinion, Socrates seems to display two strategies when he is engaged in discussions within his dialogues. The first is to show that he interlocutor has contradictory beliefs and the second is for the other to appear ignorant. These methods cause two dilemmas, the first being one of ignoran...

The concept of "good" is evident within The Republic of Plato (Bloom,). Socrates demonstrates the concept of innate good through a variety of descriptions and actions while also providing guidance to others during his trail. This idea of "the good" provides an "end in itself" and becomes...

1. First, Euthyphro suggests that holiness is persecuting religious offenders. Socrates finds this definition unsatisfying, since there are many holy deeds aside from that of persecuting offenders. He asks Euthyphro instead to give him a general definition that identifies that one feature that all ...

Apology By Plato In Plato's Apology, Socrates is on trial, being prosecuted on the charge of impiety. His accusers, Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon, wanted Socrates punished for "enquiring into things under the earth and in the heavens, and making the weaker argument the stronger, and teaching these s...

Apology By Plato In Plato's Apology, Socrates is on trial, being prosecuted on the charge of impiety. His accusers, Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon, wanted Socrates punished for "enquiring into things under the earth and in the heavens, and making the weaker argument the stronger, and teaching these s...

Although there are various definitions of the word "rhetoric," we can say that it is the art of persuasion. This includes written as well as spoken persuasion, and would include propaganda, advertising, etc. Originally, however, it referred to spoken persuasion. By "classical" it is meant the time...

A Man of Honor? Socrates was an incredible man of mystery. He was one of the first philosophers who had strange but knowledgeable beliefs. He was ridiculed for his thoughts and was taken to court by Meletus on account for not believing in the Gods, which the city believed in, and for corruptin...

Socratic philosophy has two divine sources because it questions the meaning of a conventional Athenian god. This questioning makes two opposing sides, the diamonic voice vs. Apollo's oracle. Socrates begins his defense speech justifying the fact that he will tell the truth "by Zeus...

Descartes and Socrates -- What Knowledge Is Two Approaches to Knowledge The concept of knowledge, what it is, what it means, and how it is gained, has been debated for literally centuries. Philosophers, historians, social scientists have questioned the components of knowledge and its acquisiti...

Socrates is a noteworthy and important historical figure as a philosopher, because of his and his pupils' influence on the development of the philosophical world. His teachings, famous arguments, and ideas began the outgrowth of all later western philosophies. Born in 469 BC just outside of Athens,...

Plato uses the myth of the cave to address several important concerns of philosophy, the role of the philosopher and his journey to Knowledge. The story presents a group of men living in an underground cave. They are chained to a wall such that they can only see the back wall of the cave. There is...

Plato's Meno "Can Virtue be Taught?" In Webster's New World College Dictionary virtue is defined as, "general moral excellence; right action and thinking; goodness or morality" . It appears, by Websters' standards, that virtue can easily be defined. However, the true questio...

Crazy Old Men According to Plato, one studies philosophy in order to pursue happiness. Other alternative goals that a philosopher might have are to worship and place yourself in a right relationship with God. Through the study of philosophy, one can also reach personal autonomy, by becoming full...

Ancient and Medieval Review 1. arche-why things are the way they are, the beginnings a. anaximander- arche is the indefinite, it has no definite nature, The "opposites" are, we have seen, at war with one another, and their strife is marked by "unjust" encroachments on either side. The warm commits...

Many of Plato's exchanges in Gorgias are full of anger, misunderstanding, and cutting rhetoric. The intent of these exchanges are to distinguish rhetoric from philosophy. According to Socrates, the difference between the two is that rhetoric is a verbal performance meant to create praise or blame, v...