In 4th century BC Gods and oracles play a big role in society as they have a huge influence on how people choose to live and act. Taking this into consideration, when the oracle at Delphi claims Socrates to be the wisest man alive, Socrates becomes determined to find what it truly means to be wise. After meeting with the three men who are considered to be the wisest men in Athens, Socrates realizes they are not wise as shown in this quote “but he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know; so I am likely to be wiser than he to this small extent, that I do not think I know what I do not know” (Apology 21d). Once Socrates comes to that conclusion, the oracle claims Socrates is correct as s/he says “(t)his man among you, mortals, is wisest who, like Socrates, understands that his wisdom is worthless” (Apology 23b). Apart from
Aristotle on Happiness For two millennia man has sought the highest good for himself— happiness. The notion of happiness remains vague and manifold, yet all men want it. It is spoken of indiscriminately as a state of mind, a level of prosperity, the reward of good behavior, and an outcome of familial harmony. Even when the great categorist, Aristotle himself, analyzed happiness he was unable to delineate it in any rational manner. Aristotle’s analysis of happiness in the Nicomachean Ethics and the Rhetoric differ and illustrate the indeterminability of happiness.
Dylan Turner Prof. Turner 11/7/13 Critias and Temperance in Charmides Charmides is one of the most prolific dialogues between Socrates and his interlocutors that Plato wrote about. In this particular dialogue, of the discussions had with the two interlocutors, that one with the notorious aristocrat Critias is far more prolific in the topic of temperance as well as the conclusions reached. Critias’s opinion of temperance stems from the original Greek ideas that having a beautiful body and having temperance go hand in hand. Because of his station in life and his reputation, he acts in a manner that coincides with his public position. Being the powerful man he was, Critias acted as though he knew more then he did and attempted to impress those around him in order to seem deserving of the lineage that he was born into.
But once we are able to separate our needs from our wants, anybody could be happy. Plato has been one of the most influential individuals throughout history for the Western culture and the world. In essence, Socrates (Plato’s teacher) was too looking for the true meaning of a good life; Plato’s version is just a more beautiful version of his master’s. According to Plato, the good life is a harmonious life achieved through order and balance, a life of virtue and goodness. This same idea was one of the main Greek principles in life.
The teacher perceives that although the philosopher king would be the finest choice for a ruler, it was much more likely that for a despot to hold the position of power. The Socrates makes is that a philosopher would make the best king. If a man could possess both philosophic thinking, and the proper skills necessary for ruling an assembly of people, said the teacher, then he would be the perfect king. I partially understand; however, I’m not aware of what qualities a philosopher has that make him so perfect. Allow me to explain.
The speaker of the poem portrays a resentful attitude towards the speaker’s child interrupting their act of passion, but eventually leads into a sentiment of innocence when the speaker realizes that the love of the child is significantly more important than sex. As Fergus appears in the speaker’s bedroom, the tone of the poem changes from the speaker resenting the fact that only sexual sounds will wake the child, to a sense of admiration that the child is a result of their sexual activities. On that note, the reference to their child as a blessing, “this blessing love gives again into our arms,” (line 25) reinforces the subjects of admiration and love. The unconditional love the parents have for their child is evident in the tone of the poem. “In the half darkness we look at each other and smile, “this is not only symbolic of the love the parents share for their son but it also gives the poem a sweet spin to it.
The “Pretty Boy Crossover” consists of characters- Bobby and protagonist, which seems quite different based on the choices they make but on closer look, are not that different. Bobby and protagonist act as “doubles” of each other wherein Bobby acts as the mirror image or alter ego of the protagonist, thus having a lot of similarities. Both Bobby and protagonist were good friends who were “Pretty Boys”, fascinated by the lifestyle of parting who wished to be famous and recognised. As written in text, they were driven by “entertainment” and need to be desired. That’s why Bobby went to volunteer for research opportunity and protagonist too, went to club to see if he was still in demand for the research, which had potential to fulfil their carving
Alternatively, it could mean that their love is so strong that it causes a change to the rhythm of the poem, as it conquers time. “To His Coy Mistress” is similar to this; it’s made up from rhyming couplets like “grow” and “slow” throughout the whole poem, which I think, is because the poem is meant to persuade his lover to sleep with him. The rhyming makes it sound witty and well-constructed; so the woman can understand it more easily and is more likely to want to sleep with him. However, like “Hour”, it contains some half rhyme “lie” with “eternity” and “try” with “virginity”. This is found in the second premise which is aimed at being realistic- the poem starts off with “but”- and the truth is often
‘To His Coy Mistress’ shows an idea of a sexual and lustful love. This is because the narrator uses words to encourage sexual activity towards a woman. ‘Sonnet 130’ is also based on a true and realistic love. This is shown as the narrator writes about his realistic love between him and his lover. In this time in history, love was shown by a kiss on the cheek or on the hand.
I admire his belief that one must concentrate more on self-development than on materialistic things and his view that virtues are the most powerful of all possessions. Since Socrates wrote nothing most of what we know of him comes from his disciple Plato, who wrote Socrates’ teachings in works called Dialogues. In this we learn about his creation of the Socratic method, which is a form of debate between individuals based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking. He is best recognized for inventing the teaching practice of pedagogy, wherein a teacher questions a student in a manner that draws out the correct response. I imagine that we would discuss the challenges he faced with the Athenians due to his ideals, which weren’t accepted in that time.