Plato and Socrates -- Human Soul There Essay

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Plato and Socrates -- Human Soul

There are a number of philosophical tenets that have been the subject of intense scrutiny since humans coalesced into formal societies. Who are we as a species? Where do we fit in with the universe? What is morality? Do the ends justify the means? Moreover, most of all, why are we here and are we free to act as individuals toward greater good? Free will, for instance, or the idea of that human's make choices unconstrained, has been contested even as a concept. The paradigm that humans may make rational choices and that life is not predetermined from "divine" beings allows one to look at a number of philosophical constructs that are on a continuum between the idea that determinism is false and that of hard determinism, or the idea that determinism is true and free will completely impossible forms the crux of a set of principles that are debated even today -- the dual nature of humanity. This duality is often expressed in the Ancient world as an ethical paradigm of cause and effect -- or how the human individual interacts with the world and with each other. Both Socrates and Plato believed that there were layers of the division of the human soul, moving from the concrete to the abstract; and dealing with morality, ethics, interpersonal behavior, enlightenment, and the manner in which the individual relates to society and to themselves in order to form a more positive projection into the future.

For centuries, the dual nature of humans in relation to ethics has puzzled philosophers. It is a philosophical construct that tries to explain how humans organize their moral and ethical beliefs within a given time period and within a given culture. However, ethics is typically more focused on understanding the way certain ideas are presented and acted upon in individual societies than making broad pronouncements of right and wrong. However, when one looks at the history of any philosophical subject, it is important to note that differing concepts of philosophy often arise "out of" that very historical and cultural fabric of the time -- and then evolve so that they become more acceptable to future generations rather than contemporaneous ones (MacIntye). For western philosophy, the basis for the study of ethics arose in Ancient Greece with the philosophies of Socrates (morality = happiness), Plato (virtue = the absence of ignorance), and Aristotle, (humans strive for happiness and all action is part of that goal oriented behavior) (Roochnick).

In many ways, the idea of duality within the individual comes down to the overall study of metaphysics from the Platonian perspective. Further, metaphysics seems to surround the larger questions -- the so-called "big" philosophical debates: "Is there a God?" "Why are we here?" "What is the purpose of the universe?" Metaphysics wants to discover what the universe is really made of, what is matter, what is substance, and what is the basis of consciousness. From a biological view, one of the most complex organs in the universe, the human brain, continues to be a scientific mystery. However, simply looking at the biological functioning of the body and brain does not lead us to the idea of consciousness, thought, individualism, and even the soul. Metaphysics looks at three parts of these grand questions: ontology -- the study of being and existence; natural theology -- the study of god or gods, the nature of religion, the existence of the Divine, creation, etc.; and universal science -- the logic of noncontradiction or being in terms of being (causality, substance, species, and elements" Metaphysically, then, the debate is between the dual view of everything in nature as a result of Mind or Nature -- or cosmic consciousness or natural biological and chemical processes (Wilkins).

Philosophically then, if we were able to discuss the issues surrounding natural selection, religion, and evolution with Plato, he would likely point out that the issue is complex on many areas. Plato would likely speak about the differences between reality and belief, and the manner in which the physical is transcendent to enlightenment. More than likely, Plato would bring up his famous "Allegory of the Cave" to instruct us. This story, a fictional dialog between Socrates and Plato's brother Glaucon, is a play within a play. It focuses on a dark cave in which prisoners have been chained since birth, so that they can look only forward. "Here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads (Plato).

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There is only a dim light in the cave, but a cloth screen in front, so that others can manipulate puppets so they chase shadows on the walls. This is the only stimulation (reality) that the prisoners have. For the prisoners, then, reality only be what they see in the shadows, representing any person of authority trying to educate others in their own way of thinking. For the prisoners, reality is the puppet show. However, when one prisoner is freed he sees that the shadows were nothing more than fire and artificial objects. This prisoner is agog -- he cannot believe what his eyes tell him -- his entire reality has come unglued -- and what he thought was real, is now proven to be nothing more than a sham. He is then reluctantly drawn out of the cave, into the light. At first, he is blind from the bright rays (Plato's truth). After a bit, though, his eyes adjust and he now has a new reality from which to define himself and his world. He realizes that reality is more than just what he can sense (epistemology); instead, it is his perception of truth -- his perception of the world, and his way of thinking that makes him human. "He will then proceed to argue… that this is the guardian of all that is in the visible world, and in a certain way the cause of all things which he and his fellows have been accustomed to behold" (Plato).

In this, reality is what we make of it -- but it is still reality that is spinning around in some sort of universal truth. The biological and chemical functions that make up evolutionary theory had to be created, whether by a Divine presence or simply a chemical and thermonuclear process. Evolutionary theory, for Plato, would be the explanation of the forms of reality defined by science; creationism would also be an explanation, but based on faith, not necessarily reason. Since creationism requires faith, the "truth" is, like it was for the prisoners, suspect. Evolutionary theory, though, even if not totally proven, would be the movement into the light, away from the veil of ignorance and into forms of discoverable truth.

Dualism surrounding reality within the individual's paradigm or what is reality -- what is perception, what is the nature of our senses, helps us discern Plato's worldview. He actually takes this much further when he tells us that the majority of individuals within a just society should be followers in lieu of leaders, but the leaders must be just, wise and have the society's good at heart. In The Republic, Plato notes, "If then a man is like his city, isn't it also necessary that the same arrangement be in him and that his soul be filled with much slavery and illiberality" (577d 1-3). The term slavery really means more the modern notion of followers and is crucial to Plato's advice about using materials gleaned from others to actualize the present. "How have you felt….I cannot tell, but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was… and yet they hardly spoke a word of truth?" (Plato, Apology, Lines 1-2).

This then becomes central to the very nature of what we now call the psychology of the human being -- or the nature of the mind, and know that it is not a single substance or instance, but a many-layered grouping of ideas that express themselves in numerous ways. For instance, Plato commented on the ideas of the dual nature of leading and following -- both in practical and philosophical terms.) In The Republic, Plato notes that dualism within the human condition is essential because individuals must cultivate the ability to specialize (farmers, traders, fishermen, sculptors, teachers, etc.). The major argument in The Republic, though, points out this dualism as a search for Justice, who is an entity rather than a concept. Gone are the strict notions of tyranny and autocracy, "The Greeks marched breathing prowess… in silent awe of their leaders" (III). Instead of the argument of rhetoric vs. philosophy, The Republic seeks to establish, through dialog between Socrates and others, the meaning of the concept of justice, political power, and the manner in which society should be organized. In addition, Plato establishes that role of philosophy, the place of poetry, the immortality….....

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