Philosophy 10 Questions

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Euthyphro's second answer to Socrates' basic question is: "what is dear to the gods is pious, what is not is impious." What are two reasons why this answer is not satisfactory?

1. Since the gods were often in disagreement with each other, how can we say that all gods would agree upon whether an act is pious or impious. In fact it is the question whether an act is just or unjust; that the gods most likely disagree with making most acts both god-loved and god-hated. 2. It brings to question whether the action makes the subject, or the subject makes the action? In terms of piety; is the pious being loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is being loved by the gods. One gives only a quality of piety but no definition, while the other gives a definition of piety but not why it is pious.

What is democracy? What are its two basic principles? Why are these principles defective? What is the character of the democratic person?

A democracy is where power is exercised by the whole citizenry. Its two principles are: every man will arrange their whole manner of life to suit his pleasure and that you are not obliged to; be in authority, or to submit to authority. This is defective because so much freedom is attractive, and makes a lot of variety; and this variety damages the state's integrity and making it degenerate into "an agreeable form of anarchy". The democratic person 'contains the same fine variety of pattern that we found in the democratic state and this person will set all pleasures on a footing of equality, denying none its equal rights, and allowing each in turn, to succeed, as if by the change of the lot, to the government of his soul until it is satisfied.

When is life worth living for a citizen of Plato's commonwealth? What follows from this claim concerning the practice of medicine?

A life worthy living is one which is healthy and not often ill; which comes from a life with emphasis on simplicity and avoidance of licentiousness. Treatment should not be wasted on a man who is useless to society, he is better off dead. According to this claim, medicine should only have a small role in a well-ordered commonwealth. This is because each man should have his appointed task which he must perform, no one has leisure to spend all his life being ill.

What does it mean to say that "the work of the artist is at the third remove from the essential nature of the thing"?

A painter who makes a painting of a bed is copying a spatiotemporal bed made by a carpenter, which in turn is only a poor approximation to the Form of the bed. He can reproduce the image of whatever the craftsman makes, but in fact has no knowledge of what he represents. Painters can only make a bad copy of a bad copy.

What does Socrates think the aim of a true politician ought to be?

A true politician should disregard pleasure altogether, and direct all of his efforts to the engendering of justice in the souls of his fellow citizens and eradication of injustice, the planting of self-control and the uprooting of uncontrol, the entrance of virtue and the exit of vice. Politician who are successful in gratifying the crowds but are not concerned with improving them will not make people better but in fact will often make them worse.

Give a brief account of the parable of the Cave and of its meaning.

According to Socrates, the progress of the human mind from the lowest to the highest stages of cognition can be represented by a parable that proceeds through 3 parts. (1) The caves arrangement starts with prisoners locked in chains and facings a the back wall in a cave. Behind these prisoners are puppets which who move and can be seen by the prisoners as shadows which and shown on the wall because of a fire directly behind the puppets. (2) A prisoner is freed to ascend out the cave, but goes through a painful adjustment to the light so much so that it is hard to make out the objects he sees. He starts by looking at the shadows of the objects but as his sight adjust he can see things for what they are; and one point can even see the sun which illuminating all. (3) The freed prisoner returns to the others but is met with a painful adjustment to the dark and he loses his appreciation to make out the shadows. The prisoners think he has been ruined from leaving and when he tells of the outside world he thinks they are crazy. The initial shadows represent the state of imagining, the cultural understandings not even of spatiotemporal objects. The puppets are spatiotemporal objects which are not as real at the forms. The reflections of the outside objects are the mathematical models and when final looking at the objects themselves he sees the forms.The tree parts of the story are to represent (1) cultural development, (2) the process of education, and (3) the instruction of the forms to the spatiotemporal world. The instruction philosophers are often criticized for,

Gorgias' second answer is: "all [of rhetoric's] activity and effectiveness is through words." How does Socrates prove it inadequate?

Definition will not work, since rhetoric is not the only art that works entirely through language; arithmetic and chess were examples of others. There must be something specific to distinguish rhetoric from these.

What is despotism? What is the character of the despotic person?

Despotism is where a single undeserving person rules; he maintains power through constant war and looking out for anyone who might be a threat. The despotic person is divided and degraded; constantly bringing the very worst desires in themselves and they have those desires constantly at war with one another- often clustering around some master passion but also having this master passion change frequently.

How does Socrates argue for the immortality of the human soul?

Each thing has a peculiar good which benefits that thing and a peculiar evil which destroys it. Only its peculiar evil can destroy it, since something good or something neither good nor evil would never destroy it. The peculiar evil of the soul is wickedness, but it does not have the power to kill. So since the soul is not destroyed by any evil; it is immortal.

Give a brief account of the myth of Er and of its meaning.

Er was a hero killed in battle, who eventually came back to life to tell what he had seen in the other world. He said that for a thousand years just souls lived blissfully and unjust souls lived through torment, at which point they were able to a new life to live out. The moral is that the only knowledge that matter is 'what is a good life', and that we should set aside other learnings so we learn to distinguish the good life from the evil and make the best choice.

What is education according to Plato? What is it not?

Every soul of every man does posses the power of learning and the organ to see with it. The difference between those who know and those that don't is not because they were given something more; but because they looked in the right direction. Education is when the entire soul is turned away from the changing world until its eye can bear to contemplate reality and that supreme splendor which is called the Good. It is not to put knowledge into a soul which does not posses it.

What is Callicles' first reformulation of his basic claim? How does Socrates respond to it? What is Callicles' second reformulation?

First his reformulation is; 'justice according to nature demands that he who is better and more intelligent should rule and have the advantage over baser men'. Socrates objects questioning what does intelligent mean? and what does it mean to have the advantage? Different people are intelligent in different field, which did he mean. Callicles then reformulates his claim saying 'those who use their brains for directing politics in the way it should go', and who have the courage to do so. those 'are the men who should rule the state, and justice consists in this: they should have more than the rest, since rulers should have more than the ruled.

What should be "our first business" in the education of the guardians? Why?

First we must supervise the making of fables and legends, rejecting all which are unsatisfactory; and we shall induce nurses and mothers to tell their children only those which we have approved. Since early impressions are the most powerful, these times are when character is being molded. Particular care must be taken to ensure that future guardians are not exposed to to stories that are false or immoral; especially if they involves gods in evil behavior.

What are two reasons why the philosophers would be the most fit to rule?

First, because they would know better: since the philosophers are those who can apprehend the eternal and unchanging, while those who cannot do so, are lost in the mazes of multiplicity and change, there can be no question whether a guardian who is to keep watch over anything needs to be keen-sighted. Second, because their central concern with truth and wisdom would channel most of their desires and energy in that direction and leave virtually none of them for other less noble pursuits. The philosopher also will be temperate and no lover of money.

What are Socrates' two arguments that pleasure is not the good?

First, is that 'good and evil fortune are opposite conditions' so one cannot have them simultaneously. Since one can experience pain and pleasure at the same time, pleasure and pain cannot be identified with good and evil. Examples of these times are when one has the pain of hunger, but also is experiencing the pleasure of eat; similar to drinking when thirsty. Second, fools and cowards feel pleasure and pain much like the wise and courageous, at the same thing and to the same degree. Therefor if pleasure were the good then fools would have the good in them when they are pleased, and having good in them they would end up being good after all; which contradicts Callicles judgement of them.

What are the Forms? What is their relation to visible objects?

For any quality anything can have, there is an ideal standard not in space and time which is perfectly representative of its given quality. These ideal, nonspatiotemporal objects, which are not subject to change and are consequently eternally identical to themselves are the objects Plato calls the forms. The forms are the proper objects of knowledge; they cannot be seen with the eyes of the body since they are not in space and time. Only the philosophical mind can contemplate them, and can appreciate that a given visible object only has a given quality to the extent that it resembles the corresponding Form. The many things we can see are not objects of rational thought; whereas the forms are objects of thought, but invisible.

What is Glaucon's view of the origin of justice? What important consequence follows from this view concerning the appearance and reality of justice? How so?

Glaucon sees justice as a necessary evil, one of those things which we cannot avoid practicing for the sake of reward. Using social-contract theory to show the value of justice is based on an agreement made by people to protect themselves from worse evils. He thinks to do wrong is a desirable thing, but it is not desirable to suffer wrong; and the the harm to the sufferer outweighs the advantage to the doer. To Glaucon, men practice justice against the grain, for lack of power to do wrong; but if they had the power, then they would choose to do wrong. Glaucon's justice is a compromise to avoid their fear. An important consequence of this view is that the appearance of justice matter much more than the reality of each. If justices only value is to protect us from suffering injustice at the expense of our ability to commit injustice, which we want to do. Then the best situation for a human being is when he can have it both ways; protecting himself from suffering injustice while also being able to commit injustice.

What important concession does Gorgias make to Socrates? What consequence does Socrates draw from it?

Gorgias concession comes when he says he will teach his students not just how to persuade others about justice, but also what justice is. Since a person who knows what justice is can never be unjust, Gorgias contradicts his previous claim when he said 'the rhetorician can turn his art to unjust purposes' if they chose. There were times he said just and unjust did not matter, so to stay consistent he should of not said he would teach them justice.

What is Euthyphro's profession? What is the charge brought against Socrates? Are the two related? In what way?

He is a priest. Socrates is on trial for corrupting the young in the specific sense that he is introducing new gods and not believing in the old ones. They 're connected because Euthyphro, being a priest, knows all there is to know about piety and Socrates is on trial for being impious.

How does Socrates argue that the good for humans depends on self-control?

He makes analogy explaining health and strength are the results of harmony in the body, similar to how justice and self-control are the results of harmony and order in the soul. He pointed out it is only when a person's body id healthy and strong that the doctor lets him fulfill hes desires, since an abundance of food is not good for a wretched body. Only the orderly soul can derive proper benefit from the satisfaction of its desires; since the impious must be kept from desire. Just as an unpleasant medicine is often better for an unhealthy body than any exquisite desire, punishment is better for the unhealthy soul than any indulgence.

What is Socrates' view of the origin of the state? What is a crucial difference between this view and Glaucon's?

His "origin" is not to be seen in historical terms; but as a logical break down of a state into its various components while explaining the relations between the components. The reason a state exist is that "no individual is self-sufficing," so we call on one another's help to satisfy our requirements. The goal of the state is achieved through a division of labor. When every man is free from all other occupations in order to do the one thing for which he is naturally fitted to do, more things will be produced and the work will be more easily and better done. The difference between the two views is Glaucon thought of people coming together out of fear of each other, while Socrates sees people coming together out of the help the provide each other and the need of help from others.

How does Callicles first formulate his fundamental thesis? How does Socrates object to it?

His basic claim is that it is a law of nature that the stronger rule over the weaker. He believes that the majority have introduced justice and equality to protect themselves against the stronger individuals. Socrates objects: although each individual member of the majority may be weak, all these members together make laws promulgating justice and equality, such laws express the wishers of the stronger party and it should be a law of nature to obey them.

What is Thrasimachus' definition of justice? What important concession does he make to Socrates? How does Socrates argue from it?

His justice is defined in all states saying that 'right' is what is for the interest of the party established in power. Socrates gets Thrasimachus to admit that those in power can make mistakes, and then he asks whether Thrasimachus means it is right to do what seems in their interest even when wrong or it is only right when they know what is really in their interest. Concession comes by responding that one cannot be called strong while they make a mistake. Thrasimachus points out that at times physicians practice different arts; that of medicine and wage-earning. The business of rulers is to help their people, but at times where this is not their purpose, they are not acting as a ruler.

What effect does poetry have on human character?

It has a weakening effect on the human character because (1) it relaxes the control that reason is to exercise on other parts of the soul and (2) makes people indulge in enjoying forms of behavior that should be avoided.

In what way does the study of astronomy help future rulers? In what way does it not help? Explain.

It helps only to the extent they concern wit mathematical models and proportions. It is counter-productive when concentrating on the physical, material constitution of their objects. The intricate skies and the loveliest and most perfect of material objects, but they are still part of the physical world. Therefore they fall short of the true realities; the velocities, numbers, and figures shown by the bodies can be conceived only by thought not sight.

What sort of knowledge of wickedness should a judge have? What sort should he/she not have? Why?

Judges, are unlike doctors who benefit from a knowledge of the ills associated with the body. For judges the jurisdiction is of mind over mind; and that mind must not have been brought up from childhood in the society of vicious minds. Judges must not have been guilty of crimes in order to sharpen one's wits in drawing inferences about the crimes of others from one's own experience. A judge should have no direct experience of wickedness, no consciousness of its presence in his own soul. His only knowledge should come from long practice in observing its evil effects in the souls of other, and such knowledge he should acquire late in life; when his soul is already settled in its good ways and will not suffer from contact with evil.

How does Socrates argue that the good person is happy?

Just as a healthy body always functions in a regular and harmonious way. a person with a healthy soul (a good person) will always do what is fitting and since he does his work well; he will also be happy and blessed by the gods. The wicked evil-doer must be wretched. His view is that self-control and justice, not pleasure and self-indulgence, brings happiness.

What are the rewards of justice in this life?

Just people might experience difficulties, but eventually will acquire respect and admiration of fellow citizens. They will hold positions of authority in their own country if they desire, ally themselves in marriage to any family they chose and in general experience great fortune. Unlike the unjust person who often prospers early, but like a runner who goes to fast at the start, eventually ends in disgrace before reaching the goal.

How does justice compare to health?

Justice for the soul is the equivalent of health for the body. Both establish the elements concerned in their natural relations of control and subordination; whereas injustice in like disease, which inverts this natural order.

What do many people think of Euthyphro's legal action? Is he worried about this judgment? Why (or why not)?

Many think Euthyphro's legal action is crazy and even impious. Euthyphro is not worried about their judgment since he believes he knows professional all there is the know about piety, and he thinks the judgement is contradicting to the belief that Zeus was right in imprisoning his own father.

In what way is the study of mathematics still defective? What discipline will repair this deficiency?

Mathematics cannot afford knowledge proper, due to its hypothetical nature. Since an initial assumption must be made for consistent steps to then follow, it cannot be real knowledge. Dialectic is a discipline needed to repair the deficiency since it makes students become acquainted with the forms, which is the truth of what was assumed.

Does Socrates believe that orators and tyrants exercise more power than anyone else? Explain.

No he does not, since Socrates considers power to be 'a good to the man who controls it'. The people Polus is talking about do what seems best to them, but it is still perfectly possible that they are wrong about that, so instead of being admired or envied they should be pittied.

Does Callicles believe that self-indulgence must be blamed? Explain.

No, Callicles believes that pleasure is the most desirable thing, and a life of self-indulgence the most desirable life. He thinks that one should cultivate one's desires and make them grow as much as possible, so that one can derive pleasure from indulging in them. 'A man who is going to live a full life must allow his desires to become as mighty as may be and never repress them.

What is oligarchy? What are four evil consequences of it? What is the character of the oligarchic person?

Oligarchy is based on property qualification, where the rich are in power and the poor cannot hold office. The consequences are; (1) leaders appointed on the basis of wealth may have none of the experience and qualities a leader needs (2) the state must lose its unity and become two, one of the poor, the other of the rich, living together and always plotting against each other (3) rich people will have to rely on others to fight for them, since they may be unable to carry on a war;they ultimately will have to defend themselves more against their own soldiers than against the enemy (4) when people's worth depends on how much money they have and not on any useful contribution they make to the state, it first becomes possible to have citizens who—by being either too rich or too poor—act only as parasites living off the work of others. The oligarchic individual will be dominated by greed and stinginess; also, his lack of education will make him prey to appetites, which he will only restrain so to not damage his business associations.

What objection could be raised against women being guardians? How does Socrates respond to this objection?

One might object that this contradicts Socrates earlier statement that everyone should do the one work for which nature fits him; since there is a great difference in nature between man and woman, there must also be a corresponding difference in the work to be given to each. This objection makes little sense since Socrates never meant every sort of sameness or difference in nature, but the sort that was relevant to the occupation in question. therefore, as long as there are women who are "warlike or athletic" they must be selected to share the life and duties of guardians with men of the same type.

Euthyphro's third answer to Socrates' basic question is: "the godly and pious is the part of the just that is concerned with the care of the gods." How does Socrates criticize it?

Ordinarily an object of care is benefited by the ones caring for it, such as a horse is benefited by the breeders who care for them, but the gods do not claim benefit from human behavior nor do they get help in reaching a goal. The only ground left is that the gods must like humans to behave piously, but that brings them back to pious being god-loved which was seen to be wrong.

What is Polemarchus' definition of justice? What are two objections Socrates makes to this definition?

Polemarchus first quotes Simonides saying 'it is just to render every man his dues.' He then clarifies answering 'justice is doing good to friends and harm to enemies.' The first objection is that people often confuse honest men for rogues and vice versa. In this case it is just to ill-treat a man who does no wrong. Which makes Polemarchus clarify who is an enemy and who is a friend. The second objection is that it cannot be a just mans business to harm any human being. harming a human makes them worse, and making them worse makes them less just; so in this case the just man exercises his justice by making men unjust.

Gorgias' fifth answer is: "[rhetoric produces persuasion of] the kind used in law courts and other public gatherings, [and which] deals with justice and injustice." How does Socrates prove it inadequate?

Similar to the fourth answer since limiting the subject matter doesn't address the objection. Even when it comes to justice, one can persuade another by getting them to know something or to simply believe it. One can be persuaded to know a fact or be persuaded to believe in a statement, both can be considered cases of persuasion but they are different from each other.

How does Socrates argue that the sharing of wives and children is beneficial to the state?

Since citizens are bound together by sharing in the same pleasures and pains, all feeling glad or grieved on the same occasions of gain or loss. The worst to happen to a state is to be divided. In the ideal state a guardian will regard every other guardian as family, and hence will have strong feelings of sympathy towards them. They will not rend the community asunder by each applying the word mine to different things and dragging off whatever he can for himself into a private home, where he will have his separate family forming a center of exclusive joys and sorrows. Instead all the guardians will feel together and aim at the same ends, because they are convinced that all their interests are identical. Without reason to quarrel they will be happy.

Why does Socrates think that politicians and sophists have no right to complain of the ingratitude of the people?

Since the politicians were once in power over the people, they are responsible for how they are now. Either these politicians have indeed done what they claimed, which is that they made their citizens good, in which case it would be impossible for the citizens to turn unjustly against them; or they have not made them better, in which case any bad treatment they get is perfectly justified.

Why should future guardians in general be discouraged from performing as actors?

Since the reproduction of another person's gestures, tones of voice, or states of mind; grows into a habit which becomes second nature if persisted from youth up. They should be discouraged from all acting since a man can only do one thing well, if he tries his hand at several, he will fail to make his mark in any of them. If they act, their performances should reinforce their own character. The music and rhythm should also only be appropriate to a life of courage and self-control; avoiding softness or excessive variety.

What argument does Socrates offer to Thrasimachus for the claim that justice makes one happier?

Socrates begins by explaining that some things have a function that is, the work for which the thing is the best at; for example the eye's function is to see. For each thing that has a function there is a specific virtue that consists of performing the function well; seeing will is this for the eye. The function of the soul is to live, and the relevant virtue is to live well; and the way to live well is to live with justice.

What does Socrates think the difference is between an art and a knack?

Socrates believes an art is able to render account of the nature of the methods it applies and so cannot tell the cause of each of them. The flatterer never quite knows what he is doing, he proceeds unreflectively guided by the sheer pursuit of pleasure, while art needs knowledge and pursuit of good.

What does Socrates think is the object of our lives? What does he think is not this object (but is often taken to be)?

Socrates believes not a long life, but a good life is our true goal. We often think that the object of our lives is to live as long as possible, and to lavish all our care upon the cultivation of those arts which may save us from danger; but Socrates doesn't believe this. First because helping people survive is not something unique to rhetoric, the master of a ship also is able to make his passengers survive. Second because there is nothing good about survival per se; just as an incurable passenger who survives a boat trip is no better off and will not derive any benefit from his life. Similarly we will derive no benefit from an art that makes us survive while polluting and damaging our soul.

What does Socrates think is a completely wretched condition for humans? What does he think can make it even more wretched?

Socrates believes that to do injustice is the greatest of all evils. To him the wrongdoer and the unjust man are completely wretched, yet even more wretched if they are not punished and do not meet retribution for their crimes; and less wretched if they are punished and chastised by gods and men.

Gorgias' fourth answer is: "rhetoric produces persuasion." How does Socrates prove it inadequate?

Socrates challenges this answer since, anyone who teaches anything persuades their pupils that something is the case. Example being in teaching arithmetic, one must persuade their students that say '2+2=4'. Since the rhetorician is not the only that does this the answer is not adequate.

Why does Socrates think that he owes a cock to Asclepius?

Socrates claimed that the most valuable thing in a person was the soul, not the body, and now his soul was ready to leave its bodily prison and live in freedom and bliss. Asclepius was the god of medicine, who received sacrifices from people who had been cured of an illness; this is why Socrates thinks he owns a cock to Asclepius since now his death had cured him of the ills of bodily life. His soul was burdened by its bodily cage no longer, and for that he was grateful.

Should a person, according to Socrates, contrive to avoid death at all costs? What would be a worse fate than death for him, in the situation in which he is?

Socrates emphasized that death should not be avoided at all costs, and certainly should not be avoided if the choice is between death or wickedness, since wickedness is a far worse fate than death. He points out that he would much rather die after his kind of defense than to live after making the other kind; the shameless kind which was common at the time. The shameless kind included lamentations and tears and bringing out ones' wife and children trying to appeal to the jury's pity.

What is the moral of Socrates' final myth?

Socrates myth details the procedures for determining which people went to either the island of the blessed or to tartarus. They used to judge them while they alive as body and soul, but it was seen to be more efficient to judge people once dead and the soul was separated. The moral of the story is that death separates the soul from the body, but each retains the same condition it had while alive, except now the conditions are plainly seen and preventing confusion. One's concern must always be how to present to the judge, one's soul in its healthiest condition; and should not be concerned with hoe to seem good, but rather to be good.

What are the accusations that Socrates fears the most? Why?

Socrates points out that he hash received many accusations throughout his life, and that he fears the earlier ones more than the current ones from Meletus. The earlier ones are feared most since theses are those that got hold of most of the jurymen during their childhoods establishing Socrates a reputation as a troublemaker. The reputation is now 'common knowledge' based on false knowledge. Socrates believes he has to defend himself from the old accusations first since the new accusations derive much of their credibility from the established reputations.

Euthyphro's first answer to Socrates' basic question is: "the pious is to do what I am doing now." How does Socrates refute it?

Socrates refutes his first answer since he is not looking for an example of piety, but rather a definition of it. Saying the trial of a murderer is pious is similar to proposing that Plato is a sufficient definition of human; when it is merely one example of such.

How does Socrates argue that the artist has no real knowledge of what he/she represents?

Socrates states that if the artist had real knowledge of what he represented, he would not limit himself to just producing images but would instead produce actual objects and deeds. He would try to leave a memorial of himself for a noble deed; thus he would be more eager to be the hero whose praise is sung than to be the poet who sings them.

What is Cephalus' definition of justice? How does Socrates criticize it?

Socrates summarizes Cephalus' definition to say "justice is telling the truth and paying back anything we have received." It is criticized since, these actions are sometimes wrong and sometimes right. For example a friend who lent you a weapon goes mad and then asks for the weapon back, this is a time that it is not just.

What service does Socrates think that he has done to the city? What treatment does he think he deserves for it?

Socrates thought he was performing a great service to the city by constantly testing people and preventing them from falling into a delusive complacency. He compares the city to a beautiful horse who would become lazy, without being constantly stirred by a gadfly. Due to the belief that he has done good to the city, Socrates thinks the treatment he most deserves it to be taken care or and fed by the city. He says that nothing is more suitable than to be fed in the prytaneum.

What is the basic question Socrates asks of Gorgias? What does not count as an answer to it?

Socrates uses Chaerephon to ask Gorgias 'what he is and what he does'. Polus mentions that Gorgias practices 'the noblest of the arts', which doesn't count as an answer since a definition should tell us what it is that specifically makes something what it is, and not a quality of it.

Where is temperance to be found in Plato's commonwealth? Where justice? How do they differ from wisdom and courage?

Temperance which is an orderliness and control of appetites; is found in the state as a whole being a harmonious agreement between the naturally superior and inferior elements on which of the two should govern. Justice too will be found in the state as a whole, when everyone observes the principle that each one should do his own proper work without interfering with others. Courage and wisdom differ because they are not found in the state as a whole, but rather only in certain components. Wisdom is found in the rulers and courage is found in those that fight in defense of the state; the soldiers, or auxiliaries.

What is the setting of the Crito? Why would someone think that this must be a decisive moment for Socrates? What is Socrates' own attitude on this matter?

The Crito reports the conversations of Crito and Socrates during the time that Socrates was in prison and his friends were trying to convince him to escape. Crito came the morning before Socrates last day in a last attempt to help him escape before it was too late. Being that Crito comes with money and a plan for a valid escape most would think Socrates to feel the urgency. Instead Crito finds Socrates carelessly asleep.

How does the Euthyphro end? Do we know then what piety is? What is the significance of this conclusion?

The Euthyphro ends with Euthyphro becoming impatient with Socrates' search for the true definition. We are left with no answer to what piety is, which is shows Socrates' philosophical purpose. He challenged the alleged expert, subjecting his views to reflection and criticism, in search of knowledge until even the expert doubt their understanding.

Is the happiness of the guardians a decisive issue in Plato's commonwealth? Explain.

The aim in founding the commonwealth was not to make any one class specially happy, but to secure the greatest possible happiness for the community as a whole. The guardians should live in a simple way, which may not make them happy but will benefit the commonwealth.

What is the Apology? What are its main parts?

The apology is a record of Socrates' various speeches at the trial. The parts are; (1) the main defense speech, (2) the counter-assessment of his penalty, and (3) the last words to the jury.

How does Socrates argue that justice makes one stronger?

The argument is based on recognizing that injustice is divisive, and that divisiveness weakens. For a group injustice implants hatred, creating feuds and incapacity to corporate; for individuals injustice produces a divided mind and incapacity of action with purpose. Justice on the other hand creates a more harmonious soul, which is more capable to achieve goals: meaning it is stronger.

What three arguments does Crito bring in order to convince Socrates to escape? How does Socrates respond to those arguments?

The arguments brought are that; (1) it is wrong to give up one's life when one can save it, and to behave towards oneself the way an enemy would. (2) Socrates would be betraying his children if he deprives himself of a chance to bring them up and educate them. (3) Socrates is not concerned enough about his friends, since they will acquire a bad reputation for not saving him. Socrates responds by refuting the arguments by pointing out; (1) that life alone is not worth preserving only the good life, so he is not necessarily behaving as an enemy, since it depends on what one gives up one's life for. (2) that either he will have to leave his children behind, which doesn't make a difference, or he will have to take them too into exile, which would make them suffer a consequence for something they did not do. (3) that it doesn't matter what the majority of the people think, but only what knowledgeable people think.

Gorgias' sixth answer is: "rhetoric effects a persuasion which can produce belief about justice and injustice, but cannot give instruction about them." What is an undesirable consequence of this definition?

The consequence of producing mere belief is that whenever a specific matter is under consideration, anyone would be best advised to go by what an expert says, rather than by what the rhetorician says. The rhetorician cannot impart knowledge but only belief, so what good is rhetoric anyways.

To what part of the soul does the poet appeal? Why?

The dramatic poet appeals not to the highest part of the soul but to one which is equally inferior. The calm, wise, and constant character of a person guided by reason is not easy to represent; nor is it readily understood, since it is foreign to their own habit of mind. Because of this, he will primarily addresses the emotions weakening the soul.

What are Socrates' final three arguments that the just life is the happiest?

The first argument is that the despot's life is only judged fortunate by people who don't see the matter clearly, and whose understanding cannot enter into a man's heart to see all that goes on within. Thus (1) the despot is not really free, being a slave to his own desires; (2) is not really rich, being never able to satisfy his desires; and (3) is never secure, because of constant tormented of the fear that subjects might rebel. His condition is like that of the country he governs, haunted throughout life by terrors and convulsed with anguish. The second argument is based on the distinction of three parts of the soul. Each part comes with its own form of pleasure and its peculiar desire, which can end up controlling the whole soul; generating "three classes of men, the philosophic, the ambitious, and the lovers of gain". Asking the men of the three three types, which of their lives is the pleasantest, each in turn will praise his own. Now the most reasonable answer is that of those who have experienced all three kinds of pleasure, and have enough insight to draw the appropriate conclusions from their experiences. Only the philosopher can't help experiencing all kinds of pleasure, whereas the other two types don't know how sweet it is to contemplate the truth; also, the philosopher's insight and reasoning is keener than the other types, therefore the philosopher's judgment is the most reliable. The third argument is that the intensity of a pleasure is often exaggerated because of how much it contrasts with a previous experience of pain; as when we are cured of an illness, and what has happened is that we have been brought back to our normal state. When it comes to pleasure there is a lot of confusion between the appearance and the reality of it, and more so in bodily pleasures those that are most often associated with relief from pain. Pleasures of the mind, on the other hand, are pure: they are enjoyed in themselves, not because they put an end to some sort of pain. Consequently the philosopher, who values mental activities the most, will also experience the truest pleasures.

What sort of studies will draw one toward the Forms? How so?

The main sort of studies are mathematical ones, because in mathematics any spatiotemporal object used as an example can be seen to fall sort of what mathematical object really is. Those who practice mathematics a lot are naturally led not to pay much attention to spatiotemporal objects, and they look beyond them to what they really are.

How did philosophers in fact become useless (or worse) to society?

The majority of people are entirely deluded with being concerned with what direction to go and what their true interests are unlike the better sort of philosophically-minded people. These developed philosophers are then judged to be worthless by their own citizens, who are not just bad judges, they often effectively spoil potential philosophers and turn them into individuals that are indeed worthless and even downright evil. Philosophical minds are quicker and more vigorous than ordinary ones and it the more gifted someone tends to be the more he will flourish when receiving the proper nourishment and the more he will degenerate when receiving an improper one. There is no existing constitution worthy of the philosophic nature; that is why it is perverted and loses its character.

What meaning does Socrates attribute to the statement by the Delphic oracle? How did he prove to himself that that meaning was accurate?

The meaning found by Socrates in the statement is that it was not that he knew anything much, but at least he knew that. He thought the oracle meant he is wisest since at least he knows that he knows nothing, whereas everyone else is ignorant to this fact. He proved this when he began to systematically question all sorts of people who were supposed to be experts in a given field, with the intention of finding a person wiser then himself to prove the gods wrongs. In doing so he found that although people seemed very knowledgeable, when they were questioned on their given subjects, they were shown to know little or nothing.

What does Socrates think is the most important kind of self-defense? Explain.

The most important kind of self-defense is the one we are able to exercise against depravity and wickedness. Both suffering and doing an injustice are evils, but the best way to protect one's self from one evil is to become most vulnerable to the other evil. To defend one's self from suffering evil it would be best to befriend the tyrant and act the way he does, but in this you would be helpless to the evil of doing injustice which is worse than suffering; thus not preferred.

What are the three elements of the soul? How does Socrates argue for their being distinct from one another?

The same three elements that made up the state (the rulers, soldiers, and citizens) are also present in the individual soul. The elements are: (1) an irrational appetite, associated with pleasure in certain want. (2) a rational element that checks the former and has its origin of reflection. (3) A passionate or spirited element which makes us feel angry and indignant, which can work in opposition to both desire and reason or in opposition to only one. Distinctions between the first two elements are seen when the people are thirsty yet unwilling to drink; their soul contains something which urges them to drink and something which holds them back. Additionally passion can lead one to act irrational or act against desire.

How does one distinguish the objects of knowledge from the objects of belief? Who are the philosophers?

The things we encounter in our everyday are always changing so that we are never quite sure what they are when talking about them. All these things at the same time are and are not real, and we can not say we have knowledge of these things since knowledge is only of the real. Just as these things are sort of intermediates between being and nonbeing; our relation to them is an intermediate between knowledge and ignorance, its a relation of belief. Things that never change can be objects of knowledge. The philosopher is a person whose affection goes out to the object of knowledge. whereas a person who loves belief is philodoxical.

Gorgias' third answer is: [rhetoric is concerned] with the greatest of human concerns, and the best." How does Socrates prove it inadequate?

The third answer is too ambiguous, since different people think of different concerns as being the greatest and the best; some will think health, physical strength, or wealth are. These people will challenge the rhetorician to say what it is that rhetoric deals with and those other disciplines do not already cover.

Why does Socrates believe that Callicles will be the perfect touchstone for him?

The touchstone was used to test gold. Callicles was this since not only is he smart and cares for Socrates, but he is also totally frank. He will never make concessions 'through a failure in wisdom or by excess of modesty', therefor any agreement reach must 'bear the stamp of a final truth.'

What are the four stages of cognition, and how are they to be characterized?

There are two different kinds of cognitive states: belief concerned with spatiotemporal objects, and knowledge concerned with ideal objects. Socrates then further divides these two into subdivisions creating a total of four stages of cognition. Belief can be divided into two stages, the first is imagining- in where people only relate to things as they appear to them. The second stage of belief is belief proper in which they relate to "real" objects in space and time or to clarify, in which they relate to objects as real as such objects can ever be. Knowledge also can be divided into two stages the first of which is thinking, where people relate to mathematical objects. The second stage is intelligence or knowledge proper in which they relate to the forms. There is also a distinct difference between the last two stages.

Where do Socrates and Euthyphro meet? What are they doing there?

They meet near the courthouse in Athens. Socrates is there for his trial, while Euthyphro is going to bring charges against his own father; who had let a slave of his die of starvation.

Gorgias' first answer is "rhetoric deals with words." How does Socrates prove it inadequate?

This answer does not work, since a number of other arts also deal with words. Examples are that medicine deals with words 'indicating sickness or treatment' and physical education deals with words 'relating to good and bad conditions of the body.

What is timocracy? How does it work? What is the character of the timocratic person?

Timocracy is where the state is controlled by the soldiers. Courage is the most important virtue, intellectuals are not admitted to office, war is the constant occupation, and military tricks are greatly admired. The timocratic person will be uncultivated and somewhat greedy; led by insecurity to excessive harshness, ambitious of office due to exploits in war and soldierly qualities acquired in athletics and hunting.

What is Socrates' definition of rhetoric? How does he think rhetoric relates to each of gymnastics, medicine, legislation, justice, make-up, sophistic, cookery, and flattery?

To begin with Socrates distinguishes between the body and the soul, as well as two arts that preside over the body and two art that preside over the soul. The arts presiding over the body are gymnastics and medicine; those presiding over the soul are legislation and justice. Gymnastics and legislation are correlated in that both aim to make the body and soul the best they can be; medicine and justice differ from the other two but are similar with each other since these arts aim to try to fix the body and soul when something goes wrong. Flattery was then seen as an attitude of providing the resemblance of something good, without providing anything that is really good and with a purpose of pleasing. Corresponding to gymnastics, flattery generates make-up, which instead of making people really healthy and strong gives them the appearance of being healthy and strong; corresponding to medicine, flattery generates cookery, which instead of feeding people in a way that is really good for them feeds them in a way that appears good to them; corresponding to legislation, flattery generates sophistic, which instead of bringing about the best possible constitution for the state brings about a constitution that is made to look like the best one. Rhetoric is the flattery generated knack which corresponds to justice, specifically concerned with giving people the appearance of successfully addressing any problem the soul might have.

How does it occur that philosophy "infects people with a spirit of lawlessness"?

When philosophy is practiced too early or without proper dedication it is reduced to a clever game. It is now a sort solely for the purpose of contraindication. Proper time is age fifty, when they can act as a ruler and derive benefit from philopsophy. Education starts with the first 18 years consisting of literature, music, and basic math. Then 2 years of physical training, ten years of higher math, five years of dialect, and last 15 years in military command.

What important concession does Polus make to Socrates? How does Socrates argue from it?

While Polus believes that suffering wrong is worse than doing it, he makes an important concession when he is instead asked 'which is uglier, to do or to suffer wrong' and he then answers that to do wrong is uglier. Socrates makes a point in saying something is called ugly on account of the pain or evil it comes with; so if doing wrong is uglier than suffering it, there must either be more pain or more evil associated with it. It is not more painful to do wrong, so it is more evil and that means that doing wrong is in fact worse than suffering wrong.


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