PHI 1101 Lecture 18: Plato-Republic

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 1101
• Professor: Laura Byrne

Document Summary

Student of socrates in his late teens. Devoted his life to the pursuit of philosophy due to the in uence of socrates. At 28 he left athens in disgust and traveled around the mediterranean region for several years because socrates was executed by the athenian government. Returns to athens to found his school, the academy. The republic features plato"s dialogues extends the teaching of socrates and develops his own ideas with socrates in the leading role. People always do what is in their own self interest and this is the rational way to live. Law and conventional morality are merely expressions of the interests of the powerful in society who gets to make the laws and customs. Therefore, unless you are making the laws morality or justice is not good for you. He represents the misuse of critical thinking skills. Socrates believes that regular elenctic philosophizing makes people happier and more virtuous than anything else.