Plato questions

Plato Questions
Caitlin Havener
A. Socrates teaching method in Athens is to make it known to the men that think they are wise in matters that they are not specialized, that they are not wise at all. He came to the conclusion that this was his mission after a friend asked the Oracle of Delphi if Socrates was the wisest man, and it replied “yes.” Socrates mentions that he is a gadfly, in that there would be no other like him. He says, “[I am] given to the state by the God; and the state is like a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life.” And by this I am puzzled but wonder if he is trying to say that he is advancing the state to make improvement.
B. The conversation between Socrates and the personified “laws of the state” begins with the laws asking Socrates if he intended to overturn the state and its laws as an individual. The rest follows with a cross-examination between Socrates, and “himself” or “the laws.” He then asks the laws if it would be just to escape because the decision was unjust. The law then explains that it would be unjust to escape because of all the state has done for Socrates- bringing him into life, educating him, etc. The laws then goes into an argument concluding that: if you do not like the laws in your own country you could have gone somewhere else. If you stay you have in some way "signed a contract" to follow those laws.
C. A philosopher spends his material life trying to detach himself from bodily needs knowing that the soul is immortal. There are four arguments he makes to support this statement: 1)Socrates argues that everything comes from opposites, life comes from death, therefore the philosopher will be born again. 2) Socrates argues that all learning comes from stuff we already know, and that through cross-examination we will remember what we already knew. He thinks that since we know already, we knew this at birth, and this proves that we lived before birth. 3)Socrates argues a distinction between the intangible and the material. He says since the bod is the material and the soul is intangible, the soul must be immortal and cannot die.
D. The hierarchy of human knowledge from highest to lowest is: 1st) Science; 2nd) Understanding; 3rd) Belief; and, 4th) Conjecture. The first are concerned with being, or the exercise of reasoning, while the last two are opinion.
1. Socrates has many great ideas, such as his idea that being wise is accepting that you are unknowing. There are many mysteries in life that I believe will not be solved, and accepting that we may never know is the more intelligent route than telling what you believe to be a truth. This is one of the many reasons that I am an atheist, actually. We do not know that there is a God, and in accepting that we do not know, we are wiser. Yet, I am going against Socrates idea in that I have proclaimed that there is no God, and how am I to know that better than anyone else?
I am skeptical to Socrates ideas, because not all of them do I completely agree with. Or moreover, his choice of words I do not always agree with. For example I most certainly do not agree that people never intentionally do evil things. Then I must question if his meaning is literal.
The “soul’s congruence and integrity” is tested quite often. We either follow set beliefs from our religion, our culture, our state, or of ourselves, and every day these are put to the test. Because I am an atheist and somewhat a rebel to certain cultural standards, it is a daily struggle composing my own rules for myself to live by. In religious matters I could ramble on forever. Therefore, I will give another example: I believe in promoting the becoming of more equality for women. There are many different details within that that define how a woman should be treated. Is it belittling to a woman to show her naked body, or is it empowering? For a long time I battled with these questions not knowing which path to take, the radical or liberal. Unfortunetely, in taking sides of both view, ideas clash. Such as, I may see no problem in casual sex for a woman, but then may turn to my friend and call another girl a slut for wearing next to nothing.
I would say that I do not have one single mission in life. Socrates said that his mission was to prove to others that wise was accepting that you are unknowing. And although I agree with his concept, I disagree with the fact that he felt he needed to embarrass others to prove his point. People are inspired by the confident way that you live your own life, and not by what ideas you press others to believe in. Therefore as one of the many missions in my life, I worry only in perfecting myself and the way I live my life. I do what only I think is right, aside from society, religion, or laws. If people agree with me they will be inspired. If they don’t, then at least I won’t get “executed” and I can still continue to inspire other around me for longer.
2. The quote that I enjoyed the most is, “What about someone who believes in beautiful things but doesn't believe in the beautiful itself and isn't able to follow anyone who could lead him to the knowledge of it? Don't you think he is living in a dream rather than a wakened state? Isn't this dreaming: whether asleep or awake, to think that a likeness is not a likeness but rather the thing itself that it is like?” This is especially interesting because when you begin to think of it’s meaning philosophically and abstractly it is very confusing. You are then challenged to come up with your own idea of what the word “beautiful” is as if it were an object and not describing something else. Socrates explains that those that run around acting like they know beauty do not really think of it intelligently. Socrates says that they do not know what “the form of the beautiful” is. He refers to the form being something that is and I moreover think that beauty is a cultural opinion, and do not quite understand what he means.
3. Socrates argues that he is not one to practice rhetoric, and that he is truthful in everything he says. Yet twice during “The Apology” he mentions that he would not do or say something, then proceeds to do it. For example, he says that he would not bring up dialogue of his children when he is defending himself because it would be irrelevant to the case. Also, in the end he says that he would be showing impudence if he were to weep and beg for mercy when he was found guilty. In both situations I believe that he is using rhetoric in that as he says he would not do these things because it would cause the jury to feel bad for him; yet, he knowingly or unknowingly is making the jury empathetic. Is this irony or manipulation?
4. I have always believed that there is no way of knowing the truth to many matters and the only way to come to any understanding of it is to question it. This would further back my opinion as described by Socrates. Now I have quotes to describe myself to others.