Plato (428-347 BC) is recognized as one of the well-known and well-respected philosophers of all time. He was Socrates student and known to be proponent of rationality, unlike his teacher who thought that the best way to philosophy was to go out to the streets and teach the common people. Plato was the founder of an academy, which was an institution of higher learning. With the idea of Logos, and Cosmos, which are the laws of the universe. This academy was able to exist until 527 BC

Some of the points being analyzed in this paper are not too popular with the contemporary view of today's society. Plato's views are still studied today because of their importance an

Western philosophers were mainly concerned with understanding the natural laws. On the other hand, Plato had complete faith in human rational ability. He believed that methodology comes in three steps. Enenchus, which he describes as definition recognition. Aporial, which is the stage one reaches once past Enenchus. Finally, the Dialectical stage is when ignorance is recognized and the truth is sought out. Plato believed that each person has his own unique characteristic, which defines him as human. He mentions that everyone has a different soul, and different motivations towards different thoughts and actions. This constitutes for his belief that the rational part of the soul is its most important aspect. He also created the theory of Forms, which states that behind every concept there is a determined nature, a characteristic. These forms are unchanging. For example, justice for him should be the same two hundred years from now or even 400 years from now. The con!

cause he would not be able to live in a just state. Therefor, in this case Plato's Socrates chooses to obey the laws of the state. All of his choices made where what he believed would be best for his soul. Plato wanted to show people that the soul is an important part in becoming rational.

A very big contradiction arrives from these two dialogs. One side of it is how in the trial, when he was told to stop philosophizing he refused to do so under any circumstances. Implying that he does no believe one must obey the laws of the state, the other side of this contradiction occurs in the "Crito". Here, Socrates refuses to disobey the law by not having Crito help him escape from jail. Therefore, have to accept a death sentence and obey an unjust conviction. One must be confused on which of these is Plato's real view, to either obey or disobey the law. Distinguishing between these two points requires a deeper understanding of the view that Plato has towards the world that surrounds him. Plato believes that the only excuse one has to break a law is if there is a higher obligation imposed to it. For example, there is a law that implies that one must arrive at work on time. However for some reason, on the way to work you find someone who is injured and requires h!

The turning point in this passage is when the jury and Socrates try to agree on some type of sentence for his wrong doings. At first, the jury tries to persuade him to stop philosophizing, but he is convinced that he has been sent by the Gods to live the life of a philosopher. This is very ironic because he mentioned earlier in the passage that we would obey the laws imposed on him. To understand why Socrates would go to such extremes to disobey a law that would ironically save his life, one must keep in mind that questioning is just as important as the end results. The jury gave Socrates the opportunity to leave the state. Socrates refuses to do so due to his loyalty to the state, therefore leaving would be contrary to his beliefs. The jury also thought about imprisonment, but that would not stop him from interacting with the people around him. After giving him a choice of different sentences, the jury arrives at the conclusion that the only way to stop Socrates from phi!

e main goal that he tries to achieve is to engage the jury in his beliefs by clarifying the process of philosophizing, recognizing it's own importanc

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Approximate Word count = 2288
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)