1) I agree with Socrates' words: "Wisdom begins in wonder." The reason I agree with this is because it is impossible to obtain knowledge without seeking it. For example, one can be forced into memorizing facts regarding a topic, yet in my opinion and in Socrates', they will not have become any wiser. To become wise one must remember the information they have learned. If one is forced into learning something, they will not remember it for the rest of their lives. I believe the best way to obtain knowledge is to seek it.
2) In Plato's book "The Republic" justice is defined as being whatever the almighty and smart ruler decides.
3) One positive element of Plato's republic is that only the "smart" are rulers. I believe an important element to a functioning republic is having good intelligent leaders who can pronounce nuclear correctly:-). This is the case in Plato's republic because no other people are given the chance to become rulers unless they are deemed smart. This leads me to my next point which is a negative aspect to Plato's republic. I believe it is a bad decision to deem people intelligent or stupid and then assign them to an according job. I think more factors should be taken into account when determining a job for someone. For example, I believe the person's background should be taken into account. If they grew up not going to school due to finances but they were very smart, yet they seemed stupid to the person deciding what they should do, then the state would be missing out on a bright mind.
4) My idea for an ideal state or republic would involve many city-states. Each city-state would rule under whatever governing system they wanted to, whether it be a capitalistic, a socialistic society, a social-democracy or other. The reason this would be ideal is because I realize each person has their own individual idea of what kind if society they want to be apart of. Since each city-state would be governed in different ways, people could choose to live in which ever one they wanted to be apart of.
5) What the Allegory of the Cave means when it says the only thing standing in the way of knowledge is our insistence that the visual universe is reality is that our perception of reality is what reality is. Plato argued that every has their own individual reality and that things may be perceived differently by two different such as colors. He says that there is no reality and that our insistence of saying there really is a reality is standing in the way of obtaining true knowledge.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Sparta vs. Athens or Greece vs. the U.S.
1) If I was a young teenage girl of the citizen class I would have preferred to live in Sparta. Not only would I have been educated from the age of seven in reading, writing, gymnastics, athletics and survival skills, I would have been treated more like an equal than in Athens. I would be able to participate in sports. I could own and control my own property as well as being expected to oversee and protect it while my husband was at war.
2) If I was a slave I would rather have lived in Athens. Although I was a slave and had no rights I would have been treated less harshly than in many other places in Greece. I would have had opportunities to be something of importance such as a policeman.
3) If I was a boy of the citizen class I would rather have lived in Athens. In Athens I would have received a good education from the age of five until I was fourteen or eighteen (depending on my family's wealth). In Sparta however I would have been taken from my parents at the age of seven and trained in the art of warfare. I would be expected to stay in good physical shape until I was sixty. Although I would be educated in reading and writing as well, my life would mainly revolve around the military.
4) If I were a soldier I would rather have lived in Sparta. Spartan warriors were trained from the age of seven and were expected to serve in the army until the age of sixty and I would have received extensive militaristic training. The Spartan military was the best and most feared on land.
5) I f I was an aristocrat I would rather have lived in Athens. Although Athens was one of the first city-states to establish a democracy, the aristocrats were the ones who ruled from behind the scenes and controlled what went on in the democracy. Elected officials were usually aristocrats.
6) Athens was the better place to live. Although controlled by somewhat of a corrupt democracy Athens encouraged exotic culture such as athletics, art and music as opposed to Sparta, where everyone's lives revolved around the military. From the age of seven boys were taken from their parents and trained to become warriors. When the men went off to fight, women would take care of the land and protect it from invaders. Women's roles were to produce strong warriors. In Athens boys were given a good education in reading, writing, math, music, poetry, sports and gymnastics from the age of five to fourteen or eighteen depending on family wealth. Sometimes boys even went to academies in their twenties where they studied philosophy, ethics and rhetoric. Only after their education were boys expected to serve in the military. In conclusion Athens encourage culture where Sparta encouraged a militaristic lifestyle.
2) If I was a slave I would rather have lived in Athens. Although I was a slave and had no rights I would have been treated less harshly than in many other places in Greece. I would have had opportunities to be something of importance such as a policeman.
3) If I was a boy of the citizen class I would rather have lived in Athens. In Athens I would have received a good education from the age of five until I was fourteen or eighteen (depending on my family's wealth). In Sparta however I would have been taken from my parents at the age of seven and trained in the art of warfare. I would be expected to stay in good physical shape until I was sixty. Although I would be educated in reading and writing as well, my life would mainly revolve around the military.
4) If I were a soldier I would rather have lived in Sparta. Spartan warriors were trained from the age of seven and were expected to serve in the army until the age of sixty and I would have received extensive militaristic training. The Spartan military was the best and most feared on land.
5) I f I was an aristocrat I would rather have lived in Athens. Although Athens was one of the first city-states to establish a democracy, the aristocrats were the ones who ruled from behind the scenes and controlled what went on in the democracy. Elected officials were usually aristocrats.
6) Athens was the better place to live. Although controlled by somewhat of a corrupt democracy Athens encouraged exotic culture such as athletics, art and music as opposed to Sparta, where everyone's lives revolved around the military. From the age of seven boys were taken from their parents and trained to become warriors. When the men went off to fight, women would take care of the land and protect it from invaders. Women's roles were to produce strong warriors. In Athens boys were given a good education in reading, writing, math, music, poetry, sports and gymnastics from the age of five to fourteen or eighteen depending on family wealth. Sometimes boys even went to academies in their twenties where they studied philosophy, ethics and rhetoric. Only after their education were boys expected to serve in the military. In conclusion Athens encourage culture where Sparta encouraged a militaristic lifestyle.
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