Plato's Ideas Research Articles

The Dialectic Education of Philosopher King in the Republic

In Plato's Republic, dialectic is a crucial component of the education of the philosopher king. This essay discusses and analyses the nature of dialectical education and its importance in the development of the philosopher king. The essay is divided into three parts, focusing on defining dialectical education, explaining why it is the final stage of a philosopher's training, and discussing its necessity in preparing the philosopher king to be an effective ruler. Through dialectic, the philosopher king learns to think critically, question assumptions, and arrive at true knowledge. This essay argues that dialectical education is essential to the development of the philosopher king's wisdom and insight, which are necessary qualities for just and effective rulership. This research sheds light on the importance of dialectical education in the development of wise and just rulers and highlights the enduring relevance of Plato's ideas for contemporary society and political theory.

“SEN VE BEN”: ON YEDİNCİ YÜZYIL BAŞI İNGİLİZ ŞİİRİ VE ON ÜÇÜNCÜ YÜZYIL ANADOLU TASAVVUF ŞİİRİNDE AŞK İLE BİRLİK DÜŞÜNCESİ

Early seventeenth-century English verse and thirteenth-century Anatolian Sufi poetry, though from different cultures and eras, converge in their exploration of going beyond material existence through love. In the verses of Edmund Spenser, John Donne, George Herbert, Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, Yunus Emre and Haji Bektash Veli, love emerges as a medium for spiritual awakening that liberates individuals from mundane life and socio-political conflicts and leads to an elevated consciousness merged with the divine. Thus, this article will analyse Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” Rumi’s “You and I,” Spenser’s “Hymne in Honour of Heavenly Love,” Emre’s “Lovers Die Not,” Herbert’s “Love III,” and Veli’s “The Transcendence of Saints” in light of Plato's idea of Oneness and the Sufi doctrine of wahdat-i wujud and suggest that these poems reveal love as a transformative power enabling individuals to transcend their worldly existence and become One with the beloved, namely the divine.

God the Father; Dao the Mother: Western and Chinese Dualisms

Abstract: This essay is composed of three parts, corresponding to three theses: (1) dualism is at once universal and particular (cultural); (2) the opposition between God the Father and Dao the Mother is the most apt rendering of the differences between Western and Chinese dualisms; (3) History may be understood as an ongoing patriarchal rationalization whose contours are determined by the particular "bent" of a given culture. By contrast with the temporal preconceptions of Western thought (Plato's Ideas and the Hebrew God are both "eternal"), China's spatial bias—and both "bents" are at least partly determined by the respective writing systems—led it to conceive the body/soul duality as soul in the body, and so to give religious priority to "body technology" (as opposed to the salvation of souls), to ritual (as opposed to discourse), and to the feminine. Because of Platonic negativity with regard to the body and the feminine, in contrast with male/female complementarity in Judaism, our attempt to understand Chinese culture in terms that are familiar to us must begin with Biblical, and not Platonic, categories—whence comes the necessity of comparing God the Father and Dao the Mother.

M. Lane, Of Rule and Office: Plato's Ideas of the Political

M. Lane, Of Rule and Office: Plato's Ideas of the Political

Различие идей Конфуция и Платона

West and East are two branches of human culture, two civilizations, two ways of life. West and East were perceived as "opposite" sides of the world, and this statement applied not only to geography, but also to mentality and worldview. The article discusses the features of Eastern and Western philosophy through the prism of the great ideas of Confucius and Plato, thinkers who had a huge impact on the further development of both cultures and value systems. The comparison in the article is based on metaphysical concepts and the value orientations that follow from them, the attitude to knowledge and to a person, as well as the way of thinking. In the context of metaphysics, the category of philanthropy, which is significant for Confucianism – ren, is considered in comparison with the theory of Plato's ideas, the differences are demonstrated, which later gave different vectors for the development of European and Chinese thought. These differences gave rise to dissimilarity of value concepts, and, as a result, a different understanding of knowledge. As a separate position for comparison, the concept of "aspiration" is taken as the desire for individuality in Western philosophy as opposed to the desire for harmony in Chinese. The reasons leading to such a difference are rooted not only in the personality of the thinkers, but also in a special cultural background and geographical environment. The analytical Western mind of the individual is opposed to the Chinese public consciousness, where the priority is harmony in relations between people at different levels. The author shows some basic philosophical attitudes important for both civilizations and the difference in the further directions of development of the two cultures.

Plato dan Media Sosial: Etika, Pengetahuan, dan Tanggung Jawab dalam Penyebaran Informasi

The main focus of this study is on the analysis of classical philosophy concepts, particularly the works of Plato. Its aim is to investigate and analyze Plato's thoughts on the aspects of ethics, knowledge, and responsibility in the context of digital communication. From the research findings, it is evident that Plato's ideas still hold significant relevance in addressing challenges in the era of social media. The application of Plato's ethics, especially concerning objective truth and justice, becomes a crucial key in managing information in the complex digital age. This study also highlights the importance of critical thinking skills, understanding Plato's concepts of eternal knowledge, and media literacy as essential foundations to confront the complexity of information. In conclusion, this study affirms that Plato's ideas have provided a solid foundation in shaping a more ethical and wise digital ecosystem.

Heidegger and Plato's idea of the Good

The article deals with the question of Plato's reception in Heidegger's philosophy. In particular, the research focuses on the question of how Heidegger interpreted the idea of the good from Plato's "State". Here a number of difficulties important for the history of philosophy arise. What is the ontological status of the idea of good? How is the idea of the good connected with the demiurge from the dialogue "Timaeus"? On the one hand, it is well known that the late Heidegger criticized Plato and all European metaphysics, which was and remains Platonism. On the other hand, the early Heidegger clearly presents an attempt to master the shining heights of Platonism: the question of the meaning of being needs an angle from which a definite answer can be highlighted – and Heidegger borrows this angle from Plato. Just as the good endows existence with being and truth, so the understanding of being is possible from time, because it is temporality that is the condition for understanding being, it highlights its meaning. And if Plato's being "pounces" on the good, or on the one, then for Heidegger, time is such a condition. This line of thought, fundamental to the whole project of fundamental ontology, is directly related to the philosophy of Plato, who for the first time was able to rise so high as to become ἐπέκεινα τῆς οὐσίας, to see things as if from the outside, i.e. in the light of the transcendent idea of good. Nevertheless, Heidegger criticizes Plato, which allows us to raise the question: how did Heidegger understand Platonic ἐπέκεινα τῆς οὐσίας and the doctrine of the good? It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally, since Heidegger approached this question from different sides and at different times interpreted this most important position of the Greek thinker in different ways. Nevertheless, the main remarks can be reduced to two: (1) the good was conceived by Plato as something moral and therefore mixed with the existing, (2) the good subordinates the being, brings it under fitness.

Japanese Philosophers on Plato's Ideas

AbstractAlthough Plato studies occupy an important place in academia, the empiricist stance in considering reality, the modern epistemology of the self-identical ego, the devaluation of the image and imagination, and the restrictions on philosophy within academic research sometimes cause us to lose sight of the essence of Plato's texts and thought when analysing them. Discussing Plato from a Japanese perspective, this paper will introduce three Japanese thinkers, Sakabe Megumi, Izutsu Toshihiko, and Ino-ue Tadashi, who have critically examined modern Western philosophy from their own philosophical backgrounds and provided valuable suggestions. Taking into account the arguments of these Japanese thinkers, this paper emphasizes the notions of separation, purification, and transcendence as core concepts of Plato's philosophy.

Plato and Classical Civilisation A Level

AbstractThe incorporation of Plato into the current OCR Classical Civilisation A Level syllabus, as part of the Love and Relationships topic (LR) presents a challenge for the classroom teacher. While the specification makes study of Plato mandatory the content description in practice effectively relegates the topic to the side-lines. Having described this problem the article goes on to suggest how Plato's ideas can be taught within the framework of the existing specification in a pupil-friendly manner which is true to the spirit of Plato's own philosophical practice.

Григорий Палама как критик платоновской теории идей

Introduction. The paper focuses on Gregory Palamas’ criticism of Plato’s ideas. Methods. It examines four texts related to the early life of Gregory Palamas, which in one way or another were devoted to the criticism of Platonic idealism. On the basis of these texts, four points are identified on which the saint disagrees with the Athenian philosopher, or rather with the image of Platonic philosophy that existed in his mind (and probably in the minds of many educated Byzantines of the 14th century). Analysis. In his First letter to Barlaam, Gregory Palamas points out the impurity and passion of Plato’s idea, its contamination by accidental content. In the Second Letter to Barlaam, Plato's ideas are criticized for their inability to become a link in the knowledge of God, since they are “empty” universals that precede many things. Such ideas are not the subject of contemplation and cannot become the beginning of reflection. In the “Triads for the Defense of Those Who Practice Sacred Quietude”, Gregory Palamas first of all points out the independence (autonomy of existence) of ideas, their separation from both God and the world. Finally, in the “Antirretics contra Akindynos”, we are talking about the creaturehood of ideas, which again makes it impossible to communicate with God. Results. The paper argues that although polemical attacks against Plato are attacks rather against the opponents of Gregory Palamas, they can also be considered as a way to manifest his own teaching. Gregory Palamas defines himself as a Christian philosopher who offers an original interpretation of ideas, different from that offered by “pagan”, Platonic, wisdom.

The Immanent Infinite

The Immanent Infinite

Mimesis and Experience: A Platonic Perspective on Ricoeur'sTime and Narrative

AbstractRicoeur's Time and Narrative is duly cited in footnotes but does not seem to have had a strong impact on anglophone narratology. One of the reasons for this is certainly Ricoeur's emphasis on plot, which does not harmonize with the focus on consciousness in cognitive narratology. This article suggests that a reconsideration of the concept of mimesis could help build a bridge between Ricoeur's phenomenological approach and cognitive studies in narrative. More specifically, it argues that Plato's discussion of poetry in the Republic, unanimously criticized by modern scholars, can enrich Ricoeur's concept of mimesis. While Ricoeur follows Aristotle, who ties mimesis to plot, Plato, in Republic 2 and 3, considers mimesis an act of impersonation and thereby paves the way to the level of character, on which cognitive narratologists tend to focus. This article first offers a new reading of the Republic's examination of poetry, trying to show that Plato's account of the effects of poetry on the listeners’ souls resonates with current cognitive approaches. Equipped with this reading, it then turns to Ricoeur again. Ricoeur's description of mimesis III, the reader's adoption of the narrative configuration of time in life, remains vague and abstract. Through its focus on the impact of characters on audiences, Plato's idea of mimesis permits us to integrate a cognitivist perspective into Ricoeur's phenomenological account.

Соизмеримость как архитектонический принцип космофизического порядка в античной философии

The article comprehends the essence of the metaphysical position of ancient philosophy, related to the understanding of being as nature, through an appeal to the concept of measure as a key characteristic of the being of all things. The purpose of the study is to reveal the essence of commensurability as a fundamental principle of the constitution of the cosmophysical order in antiquity. The article deals with the teaching of Heraclitus about the logos and dialectically tense harmony, the concept of being as an unchanging spheros of Parmenides, the concept of Plato's self-identical ideas, and the justification of the possibility of a science of nature by Aristotle. The scientific novelty lies in the clarification and accentuation of the concept of commensurability as an architectonic principle of ancient thought. As a result, it is revealed that the unified harmony of the cosmic state of all things is provided by commensurability, as an architectonic principle, which is the unit of being, the principle of being form.

‘Mimesis' in Colonial Writings as an Assertion of Power: Positioning Plato as a Postcolonial Thinker

Plato is one of the most influential thinkers since the Classical time of Greece. Most of the literary criticisms came after him were trying to reply Plato to defend the moral authority of poetry. This paper is an attempt to intertwine the two seemingly unparalleled stream of thoughts club into a common politico-critical space. Plato, the Athenian philosopher, who lived somewhere around 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC might be a strange figure in the socio-political context of the second half of twentieth century. But his critical thoughts, especially his literary criticism, find an interesting parallel in Postcolonial stream of literary criticism. It's an attempt to read Plato from a Postcolonial angle and positioning him as a critique in Postcolonial critical space. This paper analyses Plato's Book X of The Republic and the position taken by Socrates, the central character of Plato's Dialogues. Plato's ideas on Mimesis and his other major criticism against poetry are juxtaposed here with postcolonial criticism of Edward Said, Michel Foucault, Chinua Achebe and other major postcolonial critiques. n

ASAF HÂLET ÇELEBİ’NİN PLATONİST ŞİİR EVRENİ

: The synthesis of modern and traditional in Asaf Hâlet Çelebi's poems is based on the poet's Platonic philosophy. His universe of poetry consists of poems collected in poetry books like He (1942), Lamelif (1945), Om Mani Padme Hum (1953) and poems that did not enter books during his lifetime. The archaic expressions, he uses in his choice of words, are eternal like Plato's ideas. Based on the ‘sun’ indicator and ‘good idea’ in the famous cave allegory, Asaf Hâlet Çelebi's lines are composed of examples of Plato's ‘visible world’ and ‘the thoughtful world’. Elements such as the paths of his poetry and his word choice indicates that he is referring to Western philosophy. This study analyzes the poems of Asaf Hâlet Çelebi and apart from the Eastern philosophy that has been dealt with only one-sided until now, it emphasizes the main influence of Western philosophy.Keywords: Asaf Hâlet Çelebi, Plato, Idealism, Idea, Cave Allegory, Platonism, Platonist, Poetry, Philosophy.

European musical context in the works of Sukhbat Aflatuni

The object of this research is two works of Sukhbat Aflatuni: “Tashkent Novel” and “Balthazar”, as well as the last part of the trilogy “Adoration of the Magi”. The subject of the research is the authorial interpretation of music theme, revealing the uniqueness of musical images in the indicated novels. Special attention is given to the European musical context with emphasis on most significant musical pieces that not just create a background sound in the novels, but also affect their structure. The author examines the functions of musical references, and proves that mentioning of the composers’ names and composition in works of the writer fulfills the function of “other storyline”. The conclusion is made that musical context in works of the writer is diverse and multifunctional. The structure of “Tashkent Novel” directly correlates with the Opera “The Magic Flute” by Mozart. Another significant musical text in the novel is “For Elise” by Beethoven. In the trilogy “Adoration of the Magi”, of special interests from musical perspective is the last novel of the writer “Balthazar”. The protagonist is the avant-garde composer, who seeks for the new forms that allow presenting the entire history of music; from his perspective, music is the highest manifestation of spirit. By this, Sukhbat Aflatuni brings to life Plato's idea of the celestial meaning of musical harmony.

Oedipus Rex: In the Light of Kant's and Plato's Ideas of 'Good'

The debate regarding human morality and human conscience is a crucial part of history in the present and the future of humanity. This debate on what's in actuality is 'good' and right, and what is 'bad' or the evil is an integral part of philosophy, Be specific on the philosophy literature and basic ethical considerations. This research defines and differentiates between good actions and moralistic thoughts. For this purpose, Plato and Immanuel Kant were selected for the moralistic comparison. The philosophy of Kant regarding good and virtuous actions performed through free will and the shift from transcendental aesthetics towards transcendental logic is observed and compared with the theories presented by Plato. Plato details the movement of human morals and intellectuality from sheer ignorance towards knowledge or the intellectual realm with the analogy of the Cave and the Simile of the Divided Line. This moralistic comparison is drawn through the moral analysis on the text of Oedipus the King by Sophocles. This research concludes that although the two philosophies diverge and differ in their perspectives of the good but strive for man to achieve and attain the 'good' and wisdom. However, this research is limited in the sense that not all the angles of these philosophers' theories were analyzed and some parts of the text under consideration was left untouched. This research is open for further study.

Вчення платона про ідеї як конкретно-історичне розуміння істини

The article deals with theoretical and practical prerequisites for the formation of Plato's doctrine of ideas. In particular, the vicissitudes of finding the conditions of true knowledge in his predecessors: Parmenides, Sophists, and Socrates. The Sophists believed that if there was nothing but the existing, then there was nothing wrong. Everything that existed for them was true. It has been stated that one cannot go through the process of cognition without the sensory perception of the world, but that it is not sufficient for true knowledge. True knowledge is not given directly to the senses, because in the latter any content finds its place. Socrates, in defending the objectivity of truth shared by all, tried to find it in his mind. But if everyone will seek the truth in his mind, then it is unknown - he will find the truth there in common, one for all, or again each his own, subjective. It has been found that bringing ideas as spiritual entities outside the world of material things in Plato's teaching is necessitated by the necessity of ensuring the constancy of the object of truth, since directing cognitive efforts to flow things, as was the case with the Sophists, or to search for truth in the mind, what Socrates called for led to the relativization of truth, and hence to its subjective understanding. He understood that in order for truth to be one thing in common for all, it was necessary for its object to be a constant formation. With this formation, he recognized the ideas and placed them in a separate world, a world detached from material things. It is substantiated that Plato's doctrine of ideas is a concrete-historical form of understanding the truth. Plato's ideas and their role in knowing the truth are a significant breakthrough in the intellectual life of the time, but being transmitted beyond, they do not fully explain the cognitive process, and therefore are a historically limited understanding of truth. Like all previous philosophy, Plato's philosophy is valuable in that its study and analysis help a person to form theoretical thinking, thinking in concepts.

UNDERSTANDING OF THE PLATONIC TECHNIQUE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THINKING AND PAIDEIA

The problem of the historical-philosophical hermeneutics of the relationship between Plato's ideas about the nature of thinking and the concept of paideia was an important source of updating philosophical discourse, implemented in numerous turns of philosophical thought over the past two centuries. It is in the concept of paideia that the key attributes of thinking are concentrated, understood as a practical characteristic of human being, and not a timeless substance or set of ideas. In Platon, paideia acts both as a source, and method, and the goal of realizing thought, inexhaustible in its playing potential and surpassing reality itself thanks to freedom from natural causality, which hampers the order of real things. At the present stage, the concept of paideia was in demand as the basis for the historical and philosophical deconstruction of the discourse of culture, aimed at the dialectical removal of the abstract opposition of culture and nature. The invisibility of the artificial and the natural in the concept of paideia has opened up new horizons for philosophical anthropology, the purpose of which is to search for the foundations of the meanings of human existence in the framework of the modern scientific picture of the world, which at the level of axiomatics asserts the arbitrariness and artificiality of our civilization. The thematization of the concept of payayya remains significant in line with the social philosophy of education, aimed at restoring humanistic ideals as criteria for evaluating educational and pedagogical processes.Keywords: mindset, being, paideia, idea, ontology, Platonism.

PHILOSOPHICAL INTERPRETATION OF SYMBOLISM OF ČIURLIONIS’ PAINTINGS

The art of M.-K. Čiurlionis is unique and at the same time emblematic of the culture of the art nouveau period. A deep connection of his art to Lithuanian folklore was combined with his fascination with European philosophical trends of the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries. The aim of this article is to identify the cross-cutting themes (leitmotifs) in the artist’s works and, with the help of this, to reveal the philosophical basis of his works. The methods of research are the study and analysis of both individual Čiurlionis’ paintings and his artistic production in general, as well as the analysis of the literature devoted to his works. As the result, two groups of leitmotifs were identified in the Čiurlionis’ paintings: a) figurative themes; and b) non-figurative themes (up to complete abstraction). Analysis of the meanings of these themes and of their influence on the content of the paintings shows that concrete figurative images (themes of kings, bird, hand, and castle) are associated with Lithuanian folklore. Semi-abstract and abstract images (chaos, glance, gesture, and beauty) reveal the connection between the art of Čiurlionis and European philosophy, from Plato's ideas to Nietzscheism and mystic-visionary movements of the early 20th century. Revealing the philosophical basis of his paintings makes it possible to simultaneously review the artist’s entire work in the context of culture of art nouveau, understand this culture more deeply, and thus get a better understanding of some important phenomena of our time.