Plato Essay Research Paper In Greek culture

Plato Essay, Research Paper

In Greek culture around the time of Plato, the perfect ideal person was considered.

Plato.s idea that there was a perfect world of ideas affected this pieces subject and the

subject.s action. Many works of his time period were sculptures that were meant to be

viewed from all angles, attempting to be a closer match to that of the ideal. This idea that the

ideal world was real and what matter not the physical also effect the actions depicted in

many works of this time period. Most of the works are depicting an ideal Greek person

performing a noble act not just a common act. Many of the works are also just a still image

of a figure from a single moment in time. All of the male sculptures appear in the nude

because they represent a perfect man with nothing to hide. These are some of the artistic

conventions that were influenced by Plato.s ideas. There are many different aspects of

Greek art that can be accredited to Plato for creating. Among them was the “Perfect” figure

that resented the ideal person that existed in the world of ideas. The definition of what a

perfect person was developed by Plato.

Plato believed that the physical world did not matter. It was the form in the ideal

world and this value of form and thought can be seen throughout many of the works of art.

Plato said that in the physical world we did not see the real object we only saw a shadow of

it. The art of this time period showed form and subject that were far more perfect than one

could actually exist in the real would in an attempt to represent the world of ideas. All of

these aspects together confirm that Plato has a major influence on Greek art of the time.

Throughout human existence, the subject of love has also been of great fascination to

many. Questions such as : “What is love.” and “What is the work of love.” are some of

great questions of the universe that has transcended time; yet with no absolute answers.

There is perhaps no correct answers to the phenomena of love. It exists in many strata. It is

perpetually subject to debate, for we all are experts of love in our own rights. In The

Symposium, Plato gave accounts of speeches from different speakers. Yet the focus of this

essay is on Aristophanes and Socrates. Their explanations of love and critical comments to

will be answered to these questions: What is love. How do lovers select their

beloved.s. and What is the work of love.

What is love. In his speech, Aristophanes engages in the discussion of love,

encompassing human nature as whole rather than individualistic aspects. According to a

myth, we were originally created as a single being, united with our beloved. As pairs, we

were quite powerful and chaotic, such that the god had to split us into two. Thereafter, life

became pursuit, a pursuit for the other half, a “pursuit for wholeness, to be complete.” And

thesis what Aristophanes defines as love. He believes that love is innate: ” love is born into

every human being”. He is expressing that the phenomenon of love is as natural and

inherent to us as breathing itself. Like other amenities of life, Love fulfills us. “To be

in love is to see the other individual as a special complement to one’s existence.” Socrates, on

the other hand, defines love as the desire to possess good and beautiful

entities, which he presently lacks. By a dialectical method, questioning Agathon, he

manifests that love cannot presently possess the object of affection. Even when he desires

what he has, what he really desire is “the preservation of what he now has in time to come,

so that he will have it then.” It follows then, that he wants, rather than has the good. Thus,

Love itself is not beautiful. This however, does not imply that Love is ugly or evil. Rather,

Love is in between; just as there is something between wisdom and ignorance- the

right opinion. He is in between mortal and immortal. Thus, Love is an intermediate spirit

who interprets between gods and men. Although there seems to be great disparity between

the two, Aristophanes’ and Socrates’ speeches actually merge in their paths. Is it not human

inclination to desire goodand beauty. Is it not then, that to have good and beauty is to

embrace it body and soul and never wanting to depart it. Thus, the desire to unite with the

other half is analogous, if not the same to the desire to possess good and beauty, but in a

broader scope. Aristophanes’ and Socrates’ explanations of love greatly mirror the nature of

our existence today. Love is the knot that binds two people together. Love is having

possession of freedom, which lies, perhaps, in the highest scale of goodness. The Americans

are notorious for their freedom. They have it now. And it is certain that they want to always

possess it.

How do lovers select their beloved.s. The subjects and objects in Aristophanes’

schema of love is confined solely to human beings. The question is then, “how do lo

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