Plato's Teachings example essay topic

The great philosopher, Plato, wrote two specific dialogues; the book Timaeus and the book Critics. Plato was a professional teacher who valued intelligence immensely. Plato founded the first Philosophical Academy in Athens in the early fourth century BC. He devoted his life to philosophy and the teachings of his friend Socrates. Plato learned from Socrates and passed on his knowledge to his students.

After his friend's sudden death, Plato became dissatisfied with the government in Athens. He filtered away from his family and lived his dream of researching and teaching philosophy. Plato focused on many philosophical aspects and wrote numerous dialogues. In the book Timaeus, Plato spoke of the beginning of the world and the creation of living creatures. Plato believed the human body and soul were created with precise, divine planning.

In the book Timaeus, Plato described the Father of the universe as a very masterful being and a divine planner of the human body. Plato revealed that the Father told the other Gods to create mortal figures of them. Plato recalled the words of God, "There are three kinds of mortal creature yet uncreated, and unless they are created the world will be imperfect, as it will not have in it every kind of living creature which it must have if it is to be perfect" (57). The Father of the universe is very precise in the way the beings are created. He tells his Gods to use the mixture from the soul of the world to create the mortal human beings. This mixture consisted of fire, earth, water, and air.

They used this mixture and bonded together what came to be human beings. Human beings were created with divine body and soul that was similar to the gods, with the only difference; human beings were mortal. Plato insisted that God had a plan for all human beings, "the first incarnation would be one and the same for all and each would be sown in its appropriate instrument of time and be born as the most god-fearing of living things" (58). Human beings were created as two different sexes, "the better of the two was that which in future would be called man" (58). Plato stated that "man", was the stronger, more complex sex that was created as a proportional being. Plato insisted the human body was created in a divine approach, making the head in a spherical shape.

The head consists of the brain, which controls the entire body, without a brain and a soul a body would just be a body. The soul is what keeps a human strong and the brain is what keeps a human alive. When looking at a human body, if one were to cut it straight down the middle between the eyes, each side would look just like the other. Plato illustrated that the head was "the divinest part of us which controls the rest" (61). The head was placed on top of the body so that the body could serve the head in any way. Plato acknowledged that the Gods added two arms and two legs for easy mobility, which 'should act as a convenient vehicle' (61).

Plato insisted that the Gods believed that the front was 'more honorable and commanding than the back' (61). Human beings move forward in a graceful and elegant way. It is the brain that tells the human to do things it is the body that actually does them. In this dialogue, Plato claimed that God gave human beings the ability to speak, see, and hear so they could learn from the Gods and use them as guidance during their tough or troubled times.

Plato described sight as having "all fire which had not the property of burning, but gave out a gentle light, should form the body of each day's light" (62). Plato felt the human eye is a very complex organ, it allowed human beings to see and study the world around them. It allowed them to filter in good visions and disperse bad visions out. He believed the fire that is streamed through to the eye goes 'through the body and produce in the soul the sensation which we call sight' (62). He demonstrated that the soul lives through the body and sees what the body sees. Plato insisted that God gave human beings sound and speech to communicate with other human beings for the purpose to create harmony and musical pleasure.

Plato wrote, "speech was directed to just this end to which it makes an outstanding contribution; and all audible musical sound is given us for the sake of harmony" (65). Music, rhythm, and harmony are all important in learning about other culture. Speech was given to human beings, so they could create sound and learn about their culture as well as the Gods' culture. Plato composed this dialogue in the early fourth century BC to share his insights on how the universe was created. He appealed to many young learners who wished to learn more about the Gods. Plato shared his teachings all over Athens and they are still shared to this day.

During the time of Plato, Athenian people were defined as aristocratic. Although there were some political and social problems going on, the need for this book arose. Many people were skeptical of how they were created. Plato shared his beliefs to help the Athenian people understand the possibilities of human creation. Some people believed Plato others did not. During this time his friend Socrates, for example, was put to death because he wasn't teaching the beliefs of the Gods; instead he was teaching the beliefs of himself.

During the time of Plato, many civilians believed in the Gods and looked to them for guidance. The Gods were there to watch over the mortal creatures and help them grow. The society at this time most likely believed in Plato's teachings. He was a gifted man who spent his life learning about the Gods.