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...

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...

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...

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 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 ...

Crito By Plato Plato's Crito takes place after Socrates is condemned to death and sitting in his jail cell. Crito is Socrates' good friend and has come to visit Socrates in the hopes of convincing his old friend to escape. But Socrates logically refutes Crito's argument. Crito begins his arg...

Crito By Plato Plato's Crito takes place after Socrates is condemned to death and sitting in his jail cell. Crito is Socrates' good friend and has come to visit Socrates in the hopes of convincing his old friend to escape. But Socrates logically refutes Crito's argument. Crito begins his argu...

At the elderly age of seventy, Socrates found himself fighting against an indictment of impiety. He was unsuccessful at trial in the year 399 B.C. The charges were corrupting the youth of Athens, not believing in the traditional gods in whom the city believed, and finally, that he believed in othe...

The recent blackout this past August, in which a major portion of the northeastern coast of North America was without power for several hours, and some for a few days, was nothing short of astonishing. It engendered a lot of debate about regulation versus market forces with regards to the ...

Three Great Philosophers What makes a civilization great? It depends on the tools, the laws, class structures, religions, and government. However, it also depends on the way an individual thinks and how their way of thinking could contribute to improving society. In ancient Greece, there lived thre...

When society thinks of philosophy, Plato's name will come to mind almost immediately. As a whole we must remember that Plato had a teacher, a mentor, someone to guide his journey into changing history for the better. Plato's teacher forced people to call everything into question using ...

In Plato's Apology, Socrates was tried and executed for, in my opinion, doing nothing wrong. Socrates did not deserve to be put to death as a punishment for being himself and trying to learn from others. If I were on the jury for Socrates' trial, I definitely would vote to acquit Socrate...

The argument of principality is a deep issue discussed in The Crito. Socrates was a solid and true believer in morality and the role that it plays in discovering principle. The argument put forth is that principle creates an honorable, or in more plain terms, an incorruptible life. We as human be...

Contract Argument I am not impressed with Socrates' "arguments of the Laws", particularly the contract argument. While it is true that there is a certain type of obligation, or contract present between a citizen and the state in which he is a part of, that does not give the state...