paper 3 Plato

Answer 1

.

Question 2

Summarize Plato’s Republic

Answer 2

we only looked closely at civil society, government, and the state.

We read about the world of forms, and said that philosophers should be Kings and an ideal state would pursue justice, there would be three classes, etc.

Question 3

Plato’s Nature of Philosophy

Answer 3

Practical
Not just theory- setting up education system in specific way etc
How to take state and make it better
Overthrow gov w/ philosopher kings who can suppress masses with loyal military

Radical
Form of government- authoritariab
The nature of philosophy is noy to propose small changes, but big changes

Revolutionary
Defines philosophy as provoking major paradigm shift in society
Profound changes no one thought would happen

Idealistic
Because of world of forms

Question 4

Plato Method

Answer 4

Dialogue
Only way to come to truth is a diversity of opinions

Idealism [metaphysical]
World of ideas > world of things [Forms of justice, truth, cave allegory]

Rationalist [epistemic]
Knowledge through reasoning and ideas, not senses
sense experience fails to provide us with any guarantee that what we experience is, in fact, true- allegory of cave

Question 5

Plato Function

Answer 5

Improve individual knowledge

• and how to act as a result
• For each individual, philosophy would tell you your role in society (i.e. philosopher king, soldiers, the majority artisans/slaves)

Improve society to be more just
- Societally, philosophy provides a blueprint for exactly how society should work, who should govern etc.

Question 6

Plato Value

Answer 6

Very valuabe

• he attempt to improve society, the individual and himself

Contrastingly, he found the sophists, who he thought were useless. They taught people how to use philosophy to teach people how to do things you shouldn’t do (think of a lawyer) They charged people to teach them how to win arguments with philosophy, even when the arguments were clearly wrong. Similar to applied ethics, companies hire philosophers and ask them to find philosophical theories that say that what they want to do is ethical.
He finds it valuable because it helps society and individuals become more just, whereas sophism contributes to people becoming less just, and only hurts society.
He also thought that philosophy brought certainty.