Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

Mike

W. Civ. 1: Sec, 121-10

Dr. Maria Farina

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, three men considered to be the quintessential basis of ancient Greek philosophy. Not only were they responsible for Greek enlightenment, but also foreshadowed the coming of Christ in there speculations. Plato, the protÐ"©gÐ"© of Socrates, became the first to document the philosophy of his teacher, which in turn is passed down to Aristotle. This process of mentoring aided ancient man in the intellectual evolution of politics and religion, known as the linear concept.

Socrates, the Athenian native ex-hoplite and his successors more often than not focused on three main schools of thought, religion, politics, and the spiritual essence. Socrates was not a defender of the gods, and by no means an atheist, which he will later, in part, be put to death for. Through Socrates many years of philosophizing religion his most notable accomplishments were; mans existence on two planes and the immortal soul. He believed man existed on two planes, a physical plane, the human form in which people carry out their lives, and the spiritual form, the more concentrated immortal essence that is internal to all.

Perhaps more significant is the spiritual form or soul, Socrates described as the seat of the mind and knowledge is closely related to it, and that only after death would the soul be released. Following the soul release, one could then have the opportunity to see truth more clearly then ever before. Socrates was the first to speculate in relation to the soul, and the first to deem it immortal exclusive of any ritual or practice. In terms of democracy Socrates' faith slight, he had his doubts, primarily because he did not condone empowering the uneducated. He felt that some were not educated enough and were ignorant to political and social complexities, therefore should not have the equality of a greater mind in the matter. He was later tried and convicted for corrupting the youth and atheism, not before passed all his philosophy to his prized student Plato.

Plato carried on Socrates' unique approach to philosophy and extended it one step farther. He expanded largely on Socrates works on immortality of the soul, truth, the existence of man on two planes, and why, only after death, one could see truth more clearly in one of his most acclaimed works, the Doctrine of Pure Form and Ideas. The doctrine of pure form and ideas illustrated how man was deceived by his senses and that they masked the real truth. In fact, Plato argued that a man would see a horse for example, in a whole new light after death, because only then could he see the "pure form" after the mask of his mortal senses was lifted. Furthermore, he believed that a pure form, in other words an essence that can see all for its genuine truth created the world, which many consider the true beginning of monotheism.

On the other end of the spectrum are his political contributions, whereby he took Socrates' criticism of democracy to a new level. Plato considered democracy to be the worst form of government;