The Republic by Plato Essay -- essays research papers

The Republic by Plato At the beginning of Book I, we are introduced to the narrator, Socrates, and his audience of peers. We are made aware, however, of Socrates' special charm and intellectual gifts through the insistence of Polemarchus and the other men for the pleasure of his company. The tone is casual and language and modes of expression rather simple, as is commonly the case in Plato's dialogues. However, Plato's unaffected style serves at least two purposes. For one it belies the complexity and elevation of the ideas, thus it is in accord with Socrates' characteristic irony itself, which draws the "fool" in by feigned ignorance, only so that the master can show that he does not know what he thinks he knows. And second, the plainness of style complements truth and wisdom, the aim of all the dialogues, which by nature are aphoristic. In Socrates' conversation with Cephalus, the proper approach to aging and the state of old age is addressed. Although other men Cephalus' age commonly complain that for them, "life is no longer life," Cephalus feels that they misattribute discomfort and unhappiness resulting from their defective characters to advanced age. Building on a statement by Sophocles, Cephalus concludes, "he who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age." Socrates' inquiry as to whether Cephalus' happiness owes to the comfort of wealth demands a qualification of this position? That while a man's nature ultimately determines his peace of mind in old age; wealth is also an undeniably important factor. The passage concerning justice illustrates Socrates' dexterous intellect and his dogged skepticism. Playful and humorous at times, the conversation ends, at several points, in absurd--and apparently inexorable--conclusions such as that the just man is a thief. What is at work here is another type of irony, in which Socrates and his auditors accept as a temporary resolution what the dialogue's audience, i.e. the reader, cannot. Here, Plato grants the reader space to think for himself. A central problem with Polemarchus' definition (borrowed from Simonides) a form of conventional morality of justice, "doing good to your friends and harm to your enemies," is the vulnerability of its individual terms. Not surprisingly, Socrates probes each one, exposing any and all weaknesses or limitatio... ...es itself on the wisdom. The souls of the wicked are a more complicated issue, for, insofar as they are immortal, evil cannot destroy them. However, Plato warns, there are various manifest parts to the soul, and evil-doing damages these. And unjust men also injure their own bodies and the bodies of others. In any case the afterlife is what is most important; there the good soul enjoys the benefits it may or may not have experienced in life. The moral of the tale of Er, if we may drain it of its color, is that of the eternal return, or recurrence. After death the soul is ultimately judged. This judgment determines the owner of the soul's order of choice in lots for the next life. Then, whatever wisdom he has accumulated previously helps him make his choice when his lot comes up. Both moments are essential because they represent choices between good and evil. One is an ongoing choice, alive in mortal life, and the other is the ultimate choice the sum of what the soul has learned in life. Man is responsible for his own behavior, says Plato. And the final twist is that, it seems, the wise man does not really forget, since if he is truly wise he will choose yet another wise existence.

Zoe’s Tale PART I Chapter Six

â€Å"I don't know how you could possibly be bored,† Savitri said to me, leaning on an observation deck rail as we looked out from Phoenix Station to the Magellan. â€Å"This place is great.† I looked over at her with mock suspicion. â€Å"Who are you, and what have you done with Savitri Guntupalli?† â€Å"I don't know what you mean,† Savitri said, blandly. â€Å"The Savitri I know was sarcastic and bitter,† I said. â€Å"You are all gushy, like a schoolgirl. Therefore: You're not Savitri. You are some horrible spunky camouflaged alien thing, and I hate you.† â€Å"Point of order,† Savitri said. â€Å"You're a schoolgirl, and you hardly ever gush. I've known you for years and I don't believe I have ever seen you involved in a gushing incident. You are almost entirely gush-free.† â€Å"Fine, you gush even more than a schoolgirl,† I said. â€Å"Which just makes it worse. I hope you're happy.† â€Å"I am,† Savitri said. â€Å"Thank you for noticing.† â€Å"Hrrrumph,† I said, rolled my eyes for extra effect, and applied myself to the observation deck rail with renewed moodiness. I was not actually irritated with Savitri. She had an excellent reason to be excited; all her life she'd been on Huckleberry and now, finally, she was somewhere else: on Phoenix Station, the space station, the largest single thing humans had ever built, hovering above Phoenix, the home planet of the entire Colonial Union. For as long as I had known her – which was for as long as she had been my dad's assistant, back in New Goa, on Huckleberry – Savitri had cultivated an air of general smart-assery, which is one reason I adored her and looked up to her. One has to have role models, you know. But after we had lifted from Huckleberry her excitement from finally getting to see more of the universe had gotten to her. She'd been unguardedly excited about everything; she even got up early to watch the Magellan, the ship that would take us to Roanoke, dock with Phoenix Station. I was happy for her that she was so excited about everything, and I mocked her mercilessly for it every chance I got. One day, yes, there would be payback – Savitri taught me much of what I know about being a smartass, but not everything she knew about it – but until then it was one of the few things keeping me entertained. Listen: Phoenix Station is huge, it's busy, and unless you have an actual job – or like Savitri are just in from the sticks – there is nothing going on. It's not an amusement park, it's just a big dull combination of government offices, docks and military headquarters, all jammed into space. If it weren't for the fact that stepping outside to get some fresh air would kill you – no fresh air, just lung-popping vacuum – it could be any big, faceless, dead-boring civic center anywhere humans come together to do big, faceless, dead-boring civic things. It is not designed for fun, or at least any sort of fun I was interested in having. I suppose I could have filed something. That would have been a kick. Savitri, in addition to being insensibly excited not to be on Huckleberry, was also being worked like a dog by John and Jane: The three of them had spent nearly all their time since we arrived at Phoenix Station getting up to speed on Roanoke, learning about the colonists who would be with us, and overseeing the loading of supplies and equipment onto the Magellan. This didn't come as news to me, but it did leave me with not a whole lot to do, and no one much to do it with. I couldn't even do much with Hickory, Dickory, or Babar; Dad told Hickory and Dickory to lay low while we were on Phoenix Station, and dogs weren't really allowed the run of the station. We had to lay out paper towels for Babar to do his thing on. The first night I did this and tried to get him to take care of business, he gave me a look that said you have got to be kidding. Sorry, buddy. Now pee, damn it. The only reason I was getting some time with Savitri at all was that through a clever combination of whining and guilt I had convinced her to take her lunch break with me. Even then she had brought her PDA and spent half of lunch going over manifests. She was even excited about that. I told her I thought she might be ill. â€Å"I'm sorry you're bored,† Savitri said, back in the present. â€Å"You might want to hint to your parents.† â€Å"Trust me, I did,† I said. â€Å"Dad actually stepped up, too. He said he's going to take me down to Phoenix. Do some last-minute shopping and other things.† The other things were the main reason for us to go, but I didn't want to bring them up to Savitri; I was moody enough as it was. â€Å"You haven't come across any other colonists your own age yet?† Savitri asked. I shrugged. â€Å"I've seen some of them.† â€Å"But you haven't spoken to any of them,† Savitri said. â€Å"Not really,† I said. â€Å"Because you're shy,† Savitri said. â€Å"Now your sarcasm comes back,† I said. â€Å"I'm sympathetic to your boredom,† Savitri said. â€Å"But less so if you're just marinating in it.† She looked around at the observation desk, which had a few other people in it, sitting or reading or staring out at the ships docked at the station. â€Å"What about her?† she said, pointing to a girl who looked about my age, who was looking out the deck window. I glanced over. â€Å"What about her?† I said. â€Å"She looks about as bored as you,† Savitri said. â€Å"Appearances can be deceiving,† I said. â€Å"Let's check,† Savitri said, and before I could stop her called to the other girl. â€Å"Hey,† Savitri said. â€Å"Yes?† the girl said. â€Å"My friend here thinks she's the most bored teenage girl on the entire station,† Savitri said, pointing at me. I had nowhere to cringe. â€Å"I was wondering if you had anything to say about that.† â€Å"Well,† the girl said, after a minute. â€Å"I don't want to brag, but the quality of my boredom is outstanding.† â€Å"Oh, I like her,† Savitri said to me, and then waved the girl over. â€Å"This is Zoe,† she said, introducing me. â€Å"I can talk,† I said to Savitri. â€Å"Gretchen,† she said, extending her hand to me. â€Å"Hello,† I said, taking it. â€Å"I'm interested in your boredom and would like to hear more,† Gretchen said. Okay, I thought. I like her too. Savitri smiled. â€Å"Well, since you two seem to be equally matched, I have to go,† she said. â€Å"There are containers of soil conditioners that need my attention.† She gave me a peck, waved to Gretchen, and left. â€Å"Soil conditioners?† Gretchen said to me, after she had gone. â€Å"It's a long story,† I said. â€Å"I've got nothing but time,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Savitri is the assistant to my parents, who are heading up a new colony,† I said, and pointed to the Magellan. â€Å"That's the ship we're going on. One of Savitri's jobs is to make sure that everything that's on the manifest list actually gets put on the ship. I guess she's up to soil conditioners.† â€Å"Your parents are John Perry and Jane Sagan,† Gretchen said. I stared at her for a minute. â€Å"Yeah,† I said. â€Å"How do you know?† â€Å"Because my dad talks about them a lot,† she said, and motioned toward the Magellan. â€Å"This colony your parents are leading? It was his idea. He was Erie's representative on the CU legislature, and for years he argued that people from established colonies should be able to colonize, not just people from Earth. Finally the Department of Colonization agreed with him – and then it gave the leadership of the colony to your parents instead of him. They told my dad it was a political compromise.† â€Å"What did your dad think about that?† I asked. â€Å"Well, I just met you,† Gretchen said. â€Å"I don't know what sort of language you can handle.† â€Å"Oh. Well, that's not good,† I said. â€Å"I don't think he hates your parents,† Gretchen said, quickly. â€Å"It's not like that. He just assumed that after everything he did, he'd get to lead the colony. ‘Disappointment' doesn't even begin to cover it. Although I wouldn't say he likes your parents, either. He got a file on them when they were appointed and then spent the day muttering to himself as he read it.† â€Å"I'm sorry he's disappointed,† I said. In my head I was wondering if I needed to write Gretchen off as a possible friend; one of those stupid â€Å"our houses are at war† scenarios. The first person my age I meet, going to Roanoke, and we were already in different camps. But then she said, â€Å"Yeah, well. At a certain point he got a little stupid about it. He was comparing himself to Moses, like, Oh, I've led my people to the promised land but I can't enter myself† – and here she made little hand movements to accentuate the point – â€Å"and that's when I decided he was overreacting. Because we're going, you know. And he's on your parents' advisory council. So I told him to suck it up.† I blinked. â€Å"You actually used those words?† I said. â€Å"Well, no,† Gretchen said. â€Å"What I actually said was I wondered if I kicked a puppy if it would whine more than he did.† She shrugged. â€Å"What can I say. Sometimes he needs to get over himself.† â€Å"You and I are so totally going to be best friends,† I said. â€Å"Are we?† she said, and grinned at me. â€Å"I don't know. What are the hours?† â€Å"The hours are terrible,† I said. â€Å"And the pay is even worse.† â€Å"Will I be treated horribly?† she asked. â€Å"You will cry yourself to sleep on a nightly basis,† I said. â€Å"Fed crusts?† she asked. â€Å"Of course not,† I said. â€Å"We feed the crusts to the dogs.† â€Å"Oh, very nice,† she said. â€Å"Okay, you pass. We can be best friends.† â€Å"Good,† I said. â€Å"Another life decision taken care of.† â€Å"Yes,† she said, and then moved away from the rail. â€Å"Now, come on. No point wasting all this attitude on ourselves. Let's go find something to point and laugh at.† Phoenix Station was a lot more interesting after that.

Taking a Look at Critical Literacy - 595 Words

1. What were your prior knowledge and thoughts about critical literacy before this weeks readings? What does critical literacy mean to you now after having read the articles and watching the video? https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/ela-challenge-the-book My previous understanding for this term is based on the word critical, I thought that this term means the ability of being litrary critical. Student who enjoy such an ability is an excellent reader who could extract ideas from a varities of texts without much difficulities. The idea that I have right now is that being critical reader, means that the reader is being able to understand the text and its context and implement that in their learning. In addition, texts prompt students to raise questions. To sum up, the idea of critical literacy is, learners should scrutinize everything they read and then they use that stragteies or techniques in their future learning. Among the three articles on critical literacy, which one stood out to you the most? Explain why. I like McDaniel( 2004) and the point that I like most in her article is that all books can be used to represent materials that support critical literacy. Preparing a critical reader does not mean preparing a student who could only extract ideas in short time. Being critical means that learners could visualize the context of what they read. McDaniel represent reading materials as potential resources for our students. She represent Brownes Voices in theShow MoreRelatedEssay on Critical Literacy and Pedagogy1412 Words   |  6 Pagesthat we get our knowledge through, critical literacy is a valuable tool and ability that should be recalled and available for all readers. More specific, it should be transferred by teachers to students in all educational environment. It is an important ability for students to have towards texts. And redefining texts to any devices or materials that we are getting the knowledge from, is the first step toward understanding critical literacy. Beside how criti cal literacy spreads the awareness of lookingRead MoreThe Importance Of Literacy In Education1263 Words   |  6 Pagesnew literacy skills in order to adapt to the rapid changes and technology advancements in our society. Literacy is the ability to read and write, however, adolescents are expected to read and write at a certain level that will make them successful in today’s world. The ability to be literate allows people to accomplish many things in life because it improves one’s self-esteem, economic opportunities, and engagement with others. There have been problems with how adolescents use their literacy skillsRead MoreCritical Reflection On The Course Experience Essay1197 Words   |  5 PagesDee Cornell Instructor Thomas Riddle Hum 115 –FJT -06 April 29, 2016 Critical Reflection on the Course Experience in Humanities 115 I have not always been a critical thinker, but throughout my course of study at Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC), I have considerably progressed in academic discipline that allows my critical analysis skills from the beginning of the semester flourish to now. Taking Humanities 115, critical thinking enable this success throughout my semester courses. It wasRead MoreMedia Literacy Is Not Just Important1401 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Media literacy is not just important, it’s absolutely critical. It’s going to make the difference between whether kids are a tool of the mass media or whether the mass media is a tool for kids to use† (Linda Ellerbee). In a culture enthralled by the media, the concept of â€Å"Media Literacy† has been one that has materialized multiple definitions. But the most commonly used is that media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and produce media in a variety of forms. Since the advent ofRead MoreImprovi ng Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking Skills in Middle School Students1566 Words   |  7 Pagesclasses are only required in sixth grade. In seventh and eighth grade reading classes can be taken as an elective class. I strongly feel that all students in middle school still need guidance and continuous practice with reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. Students who are beyond a sixth grade reading class are not getting these reading skills that can be applied in all other academic classes. As a teacher I can not change the fact that the school principal has decided that studentsRead Morescientific literacy Essay1687 Words   |  7 PagesScientific literacy Introduction and audience When talk about science, perhaps majority of us think it is less relative with real life. However, as society developed, science encompassed us everywhere. This situation forces everyone to acquire the ability to learn and understand science. Some may think that, scientific literacy is what a scientist should have and nothing about normal people, however it is just too narrow. Look around the surroundings of us, everything is conned with science. AlsoRead MoreThe Benefits Of Video Games And Modern Technology1130 Words   |  5 Pagesclearly identified that boys seek texts that are purposeful, engaging, meaningful and interesting to them. They all demonstrate sophisticated vocabularies, concepts, range of texts and multi-modal structures. Video games combines all these complex literacy skills in one and provides all those skills that children can attain from playing video games. Video games improve problem-solving skills, imagination and positive engagement with computers. Imagination is essential to excel in playing video gamesRead MoreLiteracy Is The Key Factor For The Community882 Words   |  4 PagesBased off of our multimodal argument project my definition of literacy has changed before I thought of literacy as an ability to read, write and understand things. Working on this project really opened up my eyes to what literacy really means it’s beyond just being able to read, write and understand and everyone has their own unique literacy which makes them special. Literacy is a necessity for humans and it is their right to knowledge. Throughout this project I realized that my prior knowledge aboutRead MoreEssay about Technology and Literacy1668 Words   |  7 PagesTechnology and Literacy According to Eric Havelock, â€Å"Greek literacy changed not only the means of communication, but also the shape of the Greek consciousness. The Greek story is self-contained, yet the crisis in the communication which it describes as taking place in antiquity acquires a larger dimension when measured against what appears to be a similar crisis in modernity† (17). In developing his conviction, Havelock focuses on the works of Homer and Hesiod: As written,Read MoreChapter Two : Review Of Literature1584 Words   |  7 Pagesaddressing the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students is a growing challenge in the United States. In light of what is known about how children learn and the best practices in literacy instruction, what is the most effective way to teach reading to elementary students acquiring English? An in depth look at oral language development, effective classroom environments, and the gift of time indicates that there are specific things educators can do to effectively help English language learners