Philosophy Of Plato
Essay by 24 • November 4, 2010 • 652 Words (3 Pages) • 1,279 Views
Change
The Change versus Sameness issue: Do I agree with Aristotle or Plato; One world or two? Belief in a way is the death of continued exploration of options; therefore I agree with Plato and his proposal of Platonic dualism. Plato presents four main arguments for dualism, which can all be found in the dialogue Phaedo, the Cyclical Argument, the Recollection Argument, the Affinity Argument, and the Argument from the Opposites.
The past is an unchanging constant, the present is full of an infinite amount of potentiality and is constantly changing based on what we choose. When we ignore the lessons the past has to offer us the same things are bound to happen again and again. That is known as karma. When the lessons present themselves, some ask, "What wisdom do you have for me?" If they apply these wisdoms into their lives, it helps in taking full responsibility for creating their own reality. The future is nothing more than the past healed. This is where Plato's Cyclical Argument comes into place. Coming to be and ceasing to be (The Cyclical Argument). This argument relies on the notion that opposites rely upon one another and in fact lead to one another. In terms of life and death, this leads to the conclusion that, if life leads to death, then death must also lead to life. So, the living come from --or are reincarnations of -- the dead, which then die and are born again (and so on). (Gulley 23)
How is it we find ourselves knowing things that we were never taught? Knowledge is simply a form of recollection. Not all knowledge is, you can learn something new everyday, although, the majority is just what you have known inn a previous life. Knowing is Remembering (The Recollection Argument) -- The second argument is based on the idea that all knowledge is simply a form of recollection. This is proven by showing that a young, untutored boy, with no knowledge of math or geometry, can be led to display or "arrive at" knowledge which he did not know he possessed. How, Plato argues, could he display such knowledge unless he were recollecting it? (Gulley 27)
According to Tobias (a lost book of the Bible), when a soul chooses to experience the lessons of duality,
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