Intro DL JSR Power Point Chapter5 Plato

8/4/2019 Intro DL JSR Power Point Chapter5 Plato

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Archetypes of WisdomDouglas J. Soccio

Chapter 5

The Philosopher-King: Plato


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Learning ObjectivesOn completion of this chapter, you should be able toanswer the following questions:

What was the Academy? Where did it get its name? Whatwas its chief purpose?

How did Plato distinguish between knowledge and opinion?

What are the Platonic Forms?

Are Forms the same as Ideas?

What is the Allegory of the Cave?What are the three basic levels of reality according to Plato?

What are the cardinal virtues?

What are the parts of the soul?


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Platos LifePlato (c.427-348 B.C.E.) is actually the nickname ofAristocles, which came from Platon, meaning wide orbroad (one story has it that he had wide shoulders, andanother that he had a wide forehead). Aristocles meantbest, or most renowned, and he did well in practicallyeverything.

Plato was the son of one of the oldest and most elite

families in Athens.Through his mothers family he wasrelated to the celebrated lawgiver, Solon. His fathersfamily traced its lineage back to the ancient kings ofAthens.


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Platos Philosopher MotherPlatos mother is believed to have been Perictione (c. 450-

350 B.C.E.) and may have had more influence on Platos

thought than has been recognized.In her On the Harmony of Women, Perictione calls women

to philosophy in terms reminiscent of Socratesin

particular, a disdain for vanity, the ideal of self-control,

and the superiority of inner beauty.

Like Plato in theRepublic, she argues that wisdom and

individual self-control generate other virtues, which lead to

harmony and happiness for the entire community.


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Platos WorkOur chief source of information on Plato comes from Platohimself. We still have all the works attributed to him byancient scholars, the most important of which are thephilosophical dialogues.

These include theApology, Crito, Phaedo, Theaetetus,Timaeus, Gorgias, Protagoras, Meno, and theRepublic.

We probably have more biographical information about

Plato than on any other ancient philosophermuch of itfrom Diogenes LaertiussLife of Plato.

And its likely that no single work of Western philosophyhas been read by as many people as PlatosRepublic.


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Platos DisillusionmentPlato became discouraged by the mob represented bythe jury at Socrates trial whom he thought wereirrational and dangerous.

He also became discouraged by the elite representedby the nobles who formed the Thirtywhom he thoughtwere cruel, greedy, and self-centered.

As a result, he felt that justice, and the avenging of

Socrates death, would have to come through philosophyrather than political action.

To this end, he sought to develop an ideal form ofgovernment which avoided both extremes.


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The AcademyAfter the revolt of the Thirty and execution of Socrates,Plato left Athens and wandered for nearly twelve years.He studied with Euclid.

He traveled to Egypt where he studied mathematics andmysticism, both of which influenced his later philosophy.

At about age forty, after finishing most of his writings, hefounded his Academy (c.388 B.C.E.), named after the

Greek hero, Academos. It was a philosophical retreat,isolated from the turmoil of Athenian politics.

His chief function was probably as teacher andadministrator. Here Plato spent the next forty years,lecturing without notes until he died.


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Platos EpistemologyPlato was determined to show that skepticism andrelativism of the Sophists was mistaken.

He also aimed to reconcile the claims of Heraclitus(change alone is unchanging) and Parmenides (changeis an illusion).

He did both by dividing knowledge from belief. Beliefsare gotten through the senses and are about physical

change (becoming).Knowledge is gotten through reason and is about what isalways the same (being). Beliefs are about appearances,while Knowledge is about reality, about how things reallyare.


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The Theory of FormsIn Platos metaphysics, the level of being consists oftimeless essences or entities called Forms.

Such a metaphysics is sometimes called transcendental,because it asserts that there is a plane of existence thattranscends, or goes beyond, our ordinary perception ofthings.

The Greek root for form (eidos) is sometimes translated as

idea or concept. A form, then. is a purely mental entity,but one that is independent of all minds (in other words, itsreality does not depend on the minds that think it). Andalthough the forms actually exist, they are not physicalobjects. Their reality is purely ideal or conceptual.


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Why Plato Needed the FormsPlato wanted the theory of Forms to provide a rationalexplanation of how knowledge is possible. Since we dohave knowledge (e.g., mathematics and geometry), howdoes it happen, and whatis its object?

He also wanted a way of identifying those who are wiseand those who are notin other words, a means ofdetermining when something was actual knowledge versus

when something was simply a matter of opinion.As he says in the Timaeus, That which is apprehended byreason is always in the same state, but that which isconceived by opinion is always in a process of becomingand never really is.


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The Divided LinePlato used the concept of the divided line to illustrate the

relationship of knowledge to opinion, of appearance to

reality.He claimed there are levels of awarenessfrom

imagination to perception to reasoning to understanding

and that one can move from the lowest to the highest by

thinking in terms of a hierarchy of Forms.


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Platos Divided Line

The divided line expresses Platos hierarchical view of reality and wisdom.


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The Form of the GoodAt the top of this divided line is the Form of Forms, theForm of the Good. This Form cannot be observed with thesenses, but known only by pure thought.

Comprehension of the Good is unlike other forms ofknowing, in that it is holistic, rather than partial.

Plato compares the Good to the Sun in order to give anidea to those at a lower level of awareness: just as the Sun

enables vision, so the Good enables understanding andintelligibility.

This Simile of the Sun occurs in a passage from theRepublic in which Plato (as Socrates) contemplates theirlikeness as sources of seeing and seeing.


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The Allegory of the CaveIn Book VII of theRepublic, Plato tells a tale to illustratethe idea of the divided line.

At the beginning, prisoners are shackled to images andmythical accounts, and then one breaks free to find that theimages are being produced by perceptible objects.

The shift from perception to reason is then illustrated bysomeone leaving the cave entirely (Plato, thanks to

Socrates).That person then realizes that they have been in a caveall along, and that what they had taken to be most real issimply the limitations of their senses. If they use theirminds, they are able to see that there is much more to the

world than meets the eye.


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The Rule of the WiseThe person who makes the ascent out of the cave, from

illusion to enlightenment, is wise. They can return to the

caveto inform the others of their predicamentbut theyshould not expect to be understood when they return.

Plato believes that these peoplewho have escaped the

cave of opinion, who think in terms of the Formsshould

be the rulers of the state, for they better than anyone are

able to rule for the sake of the whole community.

Hence, Platos fundamental vision is deliberately

hierarchical and aristocratic rather than egalitarian and

democratic.


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The Search for JusticeThis rule of the wise is the idea behind Platos idealstate, theRepublic.

Plato argued that a reciprocal relationship exists betweenthe individual and the kind of society he or she lives in.

He claimed there was a dynamic relation, so that a goodsociety makes it easier to produce good people, and goodpeople make it easier to produce a good society.

And if the wise are in charge of ordering things, thatreciprocal relationship is more likely to occur.


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Function and HappinessTheRepublic contrasts two views of morality: theinstrumental and the functionalist.

In the instrumental theory of morality, right and wrongare treated as means to, or instruments for, gettingsomething else (in other words, being good for someulterior motive).

In the functionalist theory of morality, happiness is the

result of living a fully functional life (in other words, beinggood is part of functioning well).


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The Parts of the SoulPlato felt that there were three parts of the human soul:

appetite, spirit, and reason.

Our appetites cause us to move in order to get things wewant, such as food and mates.

Our spirit drives us to achieve things, to do better (than

others) in school, at work, etc.

Our reason guides our appetites and spirit, like acharioteer does the horses that pull the chariot, so that

things dont get out of control. Reason is the only part of

the soul capable of fulfilling this function, because it is the

only part that is capable of knowing.


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The Cardinal VirtuesPlato identifies four cardinal virtues that are necessary

for a happy individual. They are:

Temperanceself-control or moderation.Couragenecessary for ones protection.

Wisdomnecessary for training and guiding.

Justicebalanced functioning of the whole.

All of these virtues are also necessary for a good society,so Plato decides that the ideal state should be comprised of

people who exhibit such virtues.


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The RepublicJust as there are three parts to the human soul, so thereshould be three parts to the ideal state.

There should be workers who provide for our basic needsfor food and shelter.

There should be warriors who protect usas the militarydoes from foreigners and the police do from neighbors.

And there should be guardians who watch over us and

order things for our collective welfare. This job would goto the wise and able leaders, to those Plato calledphilosopher-kings.


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Societies and IndividualsIn Platos ideal state, justice results from individuals actingwell in relation to each other, just as a happy individualresults from the parts of its soul functioning well together.

Plato believes that it is in each individuals own bestinterest to act welleven when it might seem better to dowhatever they can get away with.

Here Plato is thinking of long-term happiness, of the state

we have to live in after we have done whatever we couldget away with (think back to his dialogue between Socratesand Thrasymachus).


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The Tyranny of ExcessJust as individuals can let their appetites and spirit get the

best of them, tyrannizing their lives, so states can becontrolled by individuals who rule for their own sake

tyrants.For this reason, Plato thought tyranny the worst form ofgovernment.

Overindulging wouldnt be beneficial for an individualsoverall well-being. Likewise, Plato thought that letting the

unwise, the masses, run things was hardly any better forsociety as a whole.


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UtopiaThe utopia that Plato envisioned would avoid such

problems (by ensuring that people performed duties

dictated by their natural abilities, just as the parts of thesoul were controlled to perform their proper functions).

TheRepublic, then, is the form of government best suited

to human happiness.


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Discussion QuestionWe hear a great deal these days about the virtues of

democracy. What might Plato think of our democratic

culture?As you think about this, consider political, social, and

cultural trends that Plato could cite as supporting evidence

for this characterization of democracy and the democratic

soul.


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Chapter Review:

Key Concepts and Thinkers

Platonic Forms

Instrumental Theory of Morality

Functionalist Theory of Morality

Virtue

Justice

Utopias

TyrannyPerictione (c. 450-350 B.C.E.)

Plato(c. 427-348 B.C.E.)

Intro DL JSR Power Point Chapter5 Plato

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