Plato

Discussion in 'General Philosophy' started by birch, May 15, 2017.

  1. birch Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    5,077
    https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/879.Plato

    Plato was ahead of his time by a longshot. Everyone of his quotes applies still today because it is about human nature. The thing that amazes me is with all the amorality and brutality he must have witnessed, he still knew better and thought for himself.

    The thing that seems non-sensical and contemptuous is how much of what he says is easily understood and common sense, yet you still have generations upon generations of people who do the opposite of these very basic wisdoms and fewer who do.

    What is your favorite plato quote?

    here are a couple:

    cunning... is but the low mimic of wisdom - plato

    for neither birth nor wealth nor honors can awaken in the minds of men the principles which should guide those who from their youth aspire to an honorable and excellent life, as love awakens them - plato
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2017
    Write4U likes this.
  2. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  3. C C Consular Corps - "the backbone of diplomacy" Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,320
    "My notion would be, that anything which possesses any sort of power to affect another, or to be affected by another, if only for a single moment, however trifling the cause and however slight the effect, has real existence; and I hold that the definition of being is simply power." --Sophist trans. by Benjamin Jowett

    - - - -
     
  4. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  5. birch Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    5,077
    'i understand why people want to kill eachother, earth is small and people are annoying' - by me

    'the majority of society's ills could be solved if humans could have at least a 10-mile radius/wide berth between eachother, that way you only come into contact by choice and then don't have to run into eachother again unless by choice' - again by me!

    'bigger planet or genocide, and the first is currently not an option' - by me
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2017
  6. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  7. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,077

    The grass is always greener on the other
    side of the fence


    People are never satisfied with their own situation; they always think others have it better

    http://www.dictionary.com/browse/the-grass-is-always-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-fence

    Or the other person's 10 miles radius piece of land

    But I agree most of society ills would be solved

    May even slow down population growth

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  8. birch Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    5,077
    You can learn more from the butterflies than pure "logic" will ever teach you - unknown
     
    Write4U likes this.
  9. birch Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    5,077
    each manifestation in life is a metaphor - unknown
     
  10. wellwisher Banned Banned

    Messages:
    5,160
    Plato and Socrates and others of the time, liked to drink wine. The philosophers of old would get together, often drinking all night discussing philosophy. The impact of wine is to make you feel, make you spontaneous, and make you forget. It was part of their recipe for creative thinking. It was fuel by human emotions, making their ideas universal and timeless.

    It was not about the calculating mind and temporal fad. But it stemmed from timeless base emotions; human state, which was then put into words in the spirit of debate, only to be forgotten. Eventually it was time to compile. He used his mind before emotions, to remember his greatest hits and develop his platform of wisdom.
     
  11. Michael 歌舞伎 Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    20,285
    Plato's greatest achievement IMO was mentoring Aristotle. One thing to keep in mind when reading Plato, is his predilection towards thinking rationally, which leads him to conclusions empiricism demonstrates was incorrect. The perfect forms is a good example of which. This leads him to consider society set up, pretty much like communism, run by philosophers. Which was a total failure.
     
  12. Write4U Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    20,069
    I shudder to think that the Platonic solids are a product of an inebriated mind and that any science derived from Plato's insights are all a side effect of a bunch of drunks.

    Hey, I just came up with some good ideas, bartender, drinks all around, on me. Socrates, tonite you'r the designated driver.
    Hey Pythagoras, can you play us a tune? A happy tune, please.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!



     
    Last edited: May 18, 2017
  13. exchemist Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    12,451
    Remind me, would that be something to do with hydrogen bonds?
     
  14. Write4U Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    20,069
    I have no idea what to call that kind of bonding..

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  15. river

    Messages:
    17,307
    Mainstream science .
     
  16. wellwisher Banned Banned

    Messages:
    5,160
    Very few new ideas appear all trimmed out. For the most part, the answer appears before the solution. The creator knows man will be able to fly in the future, but it may take years before this is made manifest. The realists will not see flight, until they can see it with their eyes. But to the creator, the answer is flight, while the solution only takes engineering.

    If you have even been at a party, with people who are funny, they can say clever things on the fly, based on immediate circumstances. You may use that clever line, later on, but you will have to think of a context to make it as funny when you tell it. The drinking helps with the spontaneous front end, but that front end is not necessarily already supported with logic and data. Therefore, one will need to go back and fill in the logic and proof, later. This is better done during the day, before the night party. Come the night, you test these new ideas and logic. You may need to invent other new solutions on the fly, based on feedback and criticisms, changing the drawing board. Then it is back to the development stage in prep for the next night at the party.

    People who read the writings of Plato, see the final polished version. This is not a journal of his R&D. If such a journal was to exist, there would be bloopers, bad hair days, as well a good ideas that never got developed. Students like Aristotle, will remember the best of times, and later do the R&D as a helper. He learned the art of creation and development and honored his master by exceeding him. Logic became the platform needed for efficient R&D so Aristotle could make his spontaneous ideas come to life. It proved to be an excellent system, that has stood the test of time.

    The drinking party atmosphere, where you gather creative thinkers, lowers everyone's inhibitions, so they are not afraid to pitch half baked ideas, on the fly, or even rehearsed. The feedback will help with future logic.

    The forgetfulness induced by too much drinking, can come in handy if you need to change oars in midstream. Sometimes the bias of a long held position makes it hard to change, due to pride, even if change is needed. If you can forget, you can re-evolve.
     
  17. Write4U Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    20,069
    The mathematical term for that is *potential* and *the implicate*
    Realists will certainly see flight, from a variety of birds and many other animals (including mammals), and try to understand and copy how they do it.
    Remember the disasterous first attemps with flapping wings. Then we discovered the simple mathematics of "lift" and problem solved. Nothing magical about this.

    With animals this was a naturally evolutionary process. The further you can fly, the greater the change for survival.
     
  18. Write4U Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    20,069
    This is not peculiarly human. When space and resources become scarce, competition results not only with other species, but also within the same species. This is what Bartlett demonstrated with his lecture on the exponential function.
     
  19. river

    Messages:
    17,307
    The complexity of life , everyday life , leaves little or no room to contemplate the bigger picture , that is beyond, 9:00am to 5:00 pm.
     
  20. Write4U Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    20,069
    I agree, and I believe this may contribute to all diseases associated with stressful environments.

    Is this not why recently psychologists recommend that one must take time out, occasionally.
    Personally, I use listening to music, or participating in fora like this to focus my mind away from becoming a victim of economic stresses (work).
     
  21. river

    Messages:
    17,307
    And I take the time to learn about things outside the box . Eyes wide open .
     
    Write4U likes this.

Share This Page