In this paper, we will go over the Philosopher Plato and his works as a Philosopher. We will also be going over his life and work. By the end of this paper, we will try to conclude whether his ethical view on the world is ethical and if it would work in modern day society or not.
2. Plato’s early life, family, influence, work, later years, and ethical view.
i) A brief talk of his early life.
“Plato was born in Athens in 427 BCE. For many years Athens was involved in a very long military conflict with the Spartans. His father was a descendant of Codrus which was one of the earlier kings in Athens. His mother a decedent from Solon who was a reformer for the Athenian Constitution.
As he relates in his autobiographical Seventh Letter, he could not identify himself with any of the contending political parties or the succession of corrupt regimes, each of which brought Athens to further decline (324b-326a).”
ii) Just as there’s not much to know about his early life that also intertwines somewhat with his family. Thanks to and according to Diogenes (whose has notoriously …show more content…
“For Plato, ethics comes down to two basic things: Eudaimonia and arête. Eudaimonia, or "well-being," is the virtue that Plato teaches we must all aim toward. The ideal person is the person who possesses Eudaimonia, and the field of ethics is mostly just a description of what such an ideal person would truly be like. However, achieving Eudaimonia requires something extra, which Plato calls arête, or excellence. Possessing arête is the way that one can reach a state of Eudaimonia. A person with arête is a person who has the character traits that would lead to a eudaimonious life. It is the set of virtues that will help anyone to become eudaimonious, if given enough time. When Plato writes about ethics, most of his time is focused on what exactly arête is, with the idea that if one can figure that out, then Eudaimonia will follow