Notes on Plato

Notes on Plato:

•  He fights against relativism and hedonism.  
• The soul and the body are separate--when the body dies, the soul continues living.  We should be concerned with what we do with our souls while we are alive rather than assume they will rest in peace after death.
• It's the soul that knows truth.  
• Art (literature) is an imitation and encourages us to look at things from different perspectives.
• Government is only for the qualified:  who put others needs ahead of their own.
• Once we are enlightened, we have an obligation to enlighten others.
• All of this is significant as we read literature from around the world as a base for philosophical support for the ideas that flow through the literature.  Governments, religions, relationships, the visible world, and the invisible world all require meaning in order to last from one time period to another.  We will begin to categorize worldviews and literary traditions and theories as a way to see that there are, in fact, truths that permeate the world.

Take some time, now, and think about truth.  What are some absolute truths in your life?  How is ignorance a strength in life?  What aspects of life are most likely to discover changes in truth?  Why does the truth often hurt?  What forces in modern society discourage us from seeking truth?  As we discuss what is true about governments, religions, relationships, the visible world, and the invisible world, keep an open mind, but what are some of the limitations or labels that trigger emotions in the modern world?  --L. Miller