Essays on Sophist

The Cave

Plato’s The Cave is an allegorical story which Socrates was telling one of his followers Glaucon to explain to him the difference between a philosopher who seeks wisdom and others who aim to remain in ignorance. In the story, Socrates tells of a group of people who have been chained facing an empty wall their entire lives. They are unable to look anywhere, except the wall. Right behind them is an assembly line of items that are constantly going by which are reflected onto the wall by the light which comes from the fire that is behind the ...

In Plato's "Apology", Socrates' series of dialogues in the period preceding, during, and after his trial provide an insight into his mastery of rhetoric. That is especially true given his ability to arrange his arguments in a judicious manner. While not overly successful in persuading the jury, the final judgment appears to be as a result of bias and prejudice rather than having a weak argument in the various passages of the "Apology." Socrates makes a persuasive claim that it is not possible to separate wisdom from moral virtue. Therefore, by being a man of wisdom, he could not ...

One of the most important or interesting ideas I gathered from the article is that there is a difference between being a fair-minded thinker and a thinker. I have learnt that many thinkers tend to pursue selfish goals while fair-minded thinkers are individuals who are not driven by the desire to manipulate other people for their personal interest. I think this is an interesting concept in the sense that fair-minded thinkers are rare in the contemporary society while many politicians fall in the category of thinker who manipulates other people’s thinking for personal gains. The other most interesting ...