Plato, Aristotle, Sophism - Essay Example

Q1. Explain the various points Plato is making in the Allegory of the Cave. Why does he tell this allegory? What role does it play in the Republic? What is good in Platos system and what is its relationship to the world and knowledge. In the allegory of the cave, Plato tried to explain situations in what people think or take to be real but it turn out to be an illusion. For example, the prisoners in the cave would take echoes to be real sound while shadows to be real thing, not just a manifestation of reality, since they are all they have ever heard or seen in their life.

Plato’s point is that the prisoners would be highly mistaken in that they would be taking terms in their own language to refer to the shadow that comes before their eyes rather than to the real things that bring the shadows. In this manner, Plato meant that the general terms of human language are not names of the physical objects or things that we can see. They are names of objects or things that we are not able to see, objects or things we can only comprehend with our mind. Plato’s aim in the republic is to explain what is important for us to attain this reflective understanding of real world.

It remains the fact that our very ability to think and speak depends upon the forms. The terms of the language that people use, we get their real or true meaning by naming the forms that the things we perceive engage in. In addition, Plato tried to illustrate human nature for education and our want for education. Q 2. Explain Aristotles four causes. What is his theory of four causes designed to address? How does he employ this theory as the basis for his critique of his predecessors, especially Plato?

For Aristotle, a firm understanding of what a cause is, and how many types of causes there are, is significant for successful explanation of the world around us. Aristotle identifies four kinds of things that can be applied in answer to a why-question: a. The material cause, which Aristotle stated that in every change, something gets a new determination first before undergoing any form of change, which is in potency to a new determination, then after that thing has been acted upon, it gets a new actualization.b. Formal cause, which states that every individual thing is made up not only matter, but also form.

Form is the rule of determination, which accounts for the individual thing being the kind of thing it is. On the other hand, matter is the rule of potentiality, with the ability to become other than it is. c. Efficient cause, which states that, in addition to the causes that are aspects of material things, form, and matter, Aristotle, says that there must be a source for any change or motion. This according to Aristotle might be external cause in case of changes that occur accidentally due to human artistry.

In addition, internal or inner to the thing that changes. This is applied to all types of motions that there are natural alterations. d. Final cause according to Aristotle is that in which motion happens. It is the end or purpose for which the motion happens. Aristotle theory of causality is aimed to explain the question of why things happens the way they do in the environment that surrounds us. In his discussion, Aristotle launched a critique on Plato’s, theory of from by arguing that there is no any convincing proof to show how form exists, some have origins that have no basis, but we are just overzealous over mere ideas.

There exist numerous forms, some being forms of negation, perish ability and those that are less accurate.Work CitedPlato. Allegory of the Cave. New York: CreateSpace, 2010.