Plato And Forms Essays - Platonism, Form Of The Good,

Plato And Forms Platos Forms The influence that Plato, the Greek philosopher born in 427 BC in Athens, has had throughout the history of philosophy has been monumental. Among other things, Plato is known for his exploration of the fundamental problems of natural science, political theory, metaphysics, theology and theory of knowledge; many of his ideas becoming permanent elements in Western thought. The basis of Platos philosophy is his theory of Ideas, or doctrine of Forms. While the notion of Forms is essential to Platos philosophy, over years of philosophical study, it has been difficult to understand what these Forms are supposed to be, and the purpose of their existence. When examining Platos forms and evaluating the theory, some conclusions have proved to be unclear and unanswered. However, the doctrine of Forms is essential to Platos philosophy. Plato came to his view of the Forms based on two premises: first, that knowledge cannot come through the senses; and second, we do nevertheless manage to know thi ngs in mathematics, for instance. Plato believed in two worlds; the empirical realm of concrete, familiar objects known through sensory experience, and the rational realm of perfect and eternal Forms. According to Plato, the empirical realm is not real, as sensory objects are not completely real. Beliefs derived from experience of such objects are therefore vague and unreliable, whereas principles of mathematics and philosophy, discovered by inner, rationalistic meditation on the Forms, constitute the only real knowledge. Such familiar, concrete things as trees, human bodies and animals, which can be known through the senses, are merely shadowy, imperfect copies of their Forms. For every sense object in the empirical world, there is a corresponding perfect Form. These Forms are nonphysical, permanent, eternal, and invisible. How then, you may ask, can one ever know of the Forms if they cannot be known by sense perception? Plato answers this question by stating that the Forms are kn own in thought. They are the objects of thought, therefore, whenever you are thinking, you are thinking of Forms. An important point to note about the Forms is the idea of permanence. The Forms are forever unchanging. An important standard of Platos theory of knowledge was that all genuine objects of knowledge be described without contradiction. Therefore, because all objects perceived by sense undergo change, an assertion can be made that such objects at one time will not be true at a later time. Because what is fully real must, for Plato, be fixed, permanent, and unchanging, he identified the real with the ideal realm of being as opposed to the empirical world of becoming. This all leads to Platos inevitable rejection of empiricism. The true definition of empiricism is, the view that holds sense perception to be the sole source of human knowledge (Jones, 369). It is obvious that this view is highly contradictive with Platos theory of Forms. He thought that propositions derived fro m sensory experience have, at most, a degree of probability; they are not certain. Pure knowledge may only be derived from certain, permanent facts. The argument is really that not only do the things we perceive change, but so do the circumstances in which we perceive them. Take this example, for instance. If I were to hold a cup of hot coffee in my left hand and a cold beer in my right, and then place both hands into a tub of lukewarm water, that same tub of water would feel cold to the left hand, and warm to the right hand. Moreover, things must often seem different to me than they do to anyone else, for the circumstances of others are rarely the same as mine. We are also liable to experience illusions, states of dreaming and hallucination, and our initial judgments are also often influenced by our expectations and biases. As a result of these circumstances, Plato supposes that we can never gain knowledge through our senses. Empiricism is rejected in Platos philosophy, contradicti ng with his theory of Forms to a large degree. Plato conceived the Forms as arranged hierarchically. A dividing line splits the rational realm into C and D. The division of C represents the lower Forms, and D represents the higher Forms,

Applying a sociological theory to the movie The Truman Show

Applying a sociological theory to the movie The Truman Show Movie Summary The Truman Show is a drama film that captures the basic principles of the social structure at the beginning of life besides helping us to uncover the origin of the prevailing social interactions or socialization mechanisms in the contemporary world. The movie revolves around the life of Truman Burbank who has been in front of live cameras since before he was born without noticing.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Applying a sociological theory to the movie ‘The Truman Show’ specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Through hidden cameras that capture Truman’s day-to-day activities around the clock, Christof who is the executive producer intends to show the world the real emotions and behavior of Truman when exposed to various unique situations. Here, Christof controls Truman’s life through setting up an artificial hometown in which Truman’s neighbors include the show’s cre w members. Moreover, Truman’s sense of reality is obscured by the false reality created by Christof through news reports and advertisements aimed at making Truman stay at home. Despite that Christof has succeeded to some extent in controlling some aspects of Truman’s life, there is evidence to show that Truman is capable of exploring certain truths in his social life such as falling in love outside the intended circle. Here, Truman falls in love with Sylvia despite that the producer wanted him to marry Meryl. To break this unintended love, the producer removes Sylvia from the set but Truman continues to love her even when married to Meryl. Therefore, Sylvia forms the out-group that is set to free Truman from his false world. Subsequently, at age 30, Truman demonstrates the importance of self-consciousness in an individual’s life. Here, Truman discovers some aspects of his life such as spotlights appearing at night (artificial darkness) and the discussions of oth er crew members regarding The Truman Show, which might have led him to uncover certain truths about his life. However, the producer achieves to conceal the truth by advertising that an airplane had one of its landing lights dislodged. On the other hand, the growing skepticism in Truman leads to his marriage to Meryl breaking up since she was under intense pressure to convince him that his false life was real. Furthermore, his plans to leave Seahaven (the artificial hometown) were frustrated by different incidents such as bus breakdowns, massive traffic jams, absence of flight tickets, a nuclear meltdown, and finally a forest fire. All these events are meant to instill fear in Truman in order for the show to continue.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, Christof’s attempts to bring back Truman’s father who was supposedly dead in a fishing trip (in ord er to make Truman fear the water) do not bear any fruits in terms of stopping Truman from leaving the town. Instead, Truman decides to isolate himself from the crew, and one day he manages to escape using a boat. An artificial storm meant to scare him from leaving does not do much since Truman overcomes his fear of water to reach the EXIT, which marks the end of false life and the beginning of a new reality with Sylvia’s camp. Movie Analysis In their quest to explain the nature and attributes of the social structure, many sociologists attempt to look at the permanent association between things, which is thought to originate in the life before the evolution of any life form (Hinkle 130). Here, the sociologists note that the primordial theory attempts to explain the origin of society, which is a form of social organization with a definite structure. As a result, since the primordial theory relates to the origin of permanent association in the society, then it follows that the p rimordial social structure was present before the appearance of humankind. Accordingly, the movie ‘The Truman Show’ captures the nature and characteristics of the social structure relative to the Primordial theory. Here, just like at the beginning of the show where we meet Truman unaware of his false world, many early theorists construed the social structure from the perspective of physical and biological sciences. Thus, the social structure was treated just like any other physical structure, which resembles a machine or device used to equilibrate different forces. Here, an organism (viewed as a structural model) is regarded to as a system of activities, which achieve interdependence through influencing one another, and thus they can adjust, adapt, and work together relative to the prevailing conditions (Hinkle 132). This form of primordial structure and permanent association can be likened to the show’s actors and crew whose activities were aimed at controlling Truman’s life by following the producer’s instructions, and thus they did achieve to manipulate different aspects of Truman’s life. However, the structure provided by the ancient sociologists reflects a mechanical equilibrium, which cannot exist in the contemporary social environment whereby conditions are bound to change relative to different internal and external factors (Kimmel and Aronson 33). Thus, contemporary sociology looks at the social structure as comprising of an organic equilibrium, which is characterized by openness, external factors, internal factors, accessibility, and change.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Applying a sociological theory to the movie ‘The Truman Show’ specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Subsequently, the modern day sociology has it that the creation of the society relies on the ability of institutions (units of the social structure) to exhibit an organ ic or moving equilibrium, which enables them to adjust, adapt, and change relative to both internal and external forces. This is thus the equilibrium exhibited by Truman during the 30th year of the show whereby he begins to adjust the way he used to view his life, and as a result manages to uncover certain truths in his artificial life. Conversely, other sociologists view the contemporary social structure as consisting of variable systems (that is, organisms and societies) whose internal mechanisms allow them to attain a partial equilibrium, which cannot be perfected due to the presence of external factors (Kimmel and Aronson 34). Here, it is worth noting that despite Truman uncovering certain truths in his false life using his own internal mechanisms, he fails to discover the whole truth since the existence of the radio and television advertisements serves to conceal the truth. To this end, it is certain that the organic equilibrium forms the basic model through which the primordia l social structure illustrated in ‘The Truman Show’ is generated. Thus, the change process associated with such moving equilibriums can only be construed as arising from the ability of the systems (individual persons) involved to make conscious choices, and exhibit some degree of intentionality. As a result, the basic contemporary social structure should be characterized by social identity; social desires, ends, interests, objectives, and purposes; social organization or structuring; social rules and values that underlie social welfare and norms; social solidarity, integration, and cohesion; and finally, processes that enable the members of the society to adjust to various unique situations (Hinkle 135). Relative to these features and characteristics of the society, many theorists note that the primordial social structure originates from the earliest human species, which were grouped into self-sufficient units meant to give rise to later generations exhibiting common mo des of life that change with time and conditions just like Truman’s life in the show. Thus, the primordial theory is based on the assumption that the society has an adaptive mechanism, which presents the human organisms with various opportunities and hindrances relative to the ability to satisfy their needs and wants in different situations (Hinkle 139). Thus, through persistent association with the hindrances and opportunities in the social set-up, human organisms achieve social identity.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This is true to the fact that Truman was able to construe certain things in his life that were not adding up after taking a closer look at the behaviors of other residents of Seahaven, and comparing them to the contents of the show, which was entirely about his life. Accordingly, it is a fact that social and public awareness are centered on the ability of an individual becoming aware of other people’s ideas or thoughts and vice versa. Moreover, through coordinated interaction and understanding the needs and desires of other members of the society, an individual’s personal needs, desires, and purposes in life can be satisfied (Kimmel and Aronson 45). This is the case when Truman defies the pre-determined external factors in the show by falling in love with an extra. Moreover, the act of removing Sylvia from the picture marks the beginning of Truman’s quest to satisfy his desires through exploring different aspects of his false life, which will eventually lead him to the point of uncovering the truth about his life. Overall, the foregoing discussions show that a certain degree of social organization and structuring is required in order for the human members of the society to satisfy their desires, needs, and purposes through coordinated interactions and association with one another. However, sometimes a natural conflict of interest may exist between the internal mechanisms of an individual and the external forces that comprise different opportunities and hindrances brought forth by the social surroundings. And thus, it is up to each and every member of the society to develop adaptive behaviors that fit into the pre-existing conditions, which determine whether or not one will satisfy his or her needs, desires, and purposes in life. Hinkle, Roscoe C. Founding theory of American sociology, 1881-1915. USA: Routledge Kegan Paul Ltd, 2008. Print. Kimmel, Michael and Aronson, Amy. Sociology now. Boston: Pearson, 2009. Print.

Is Venezuela a Rentier State Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is Venezuela a Rentier State - Essay Example The question of whether Venezuela derives significant portions of its economy from oil is without a doubt true; Corrales (2006) even characterized President Hugo Chavez as one of the world’s most powerful CEOs, in regards to his sale of oil to the United States. The Venezuelan government can also be seen to embody Rentier characteristics: Chavez has been successful in centralizing power through an elimination of intermediary government structures; he has allowed rampant crime to persist; and has allowed highly questionable election processes. While these actions can be seen to be highly indicative of a populace that ceases to intervene because of an abundance of oil money and reduced taxes, the reality of the situation is more complex. Indeed, it’s been argued that rather than Venezuela’s political structure being allowed by the citizens out of apathy in the face of reduced taxes, it has occurred because of a systematic effort on the part of Chavez to scare the c itizens into submissions and acceptance of more lax governmental standards. Corrales (pg. 9, 2006) compares this mentality to the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, â€Å"The more insecurity that citizens face—the closer they come to living in the brutish state of nature—the more they will welcome state power.† In this regard, it’s not the oil money that has influenced the populace, but the calculated manipulations on the part of Chavez and his regime that have trained the population into acceptance. When investigating the plausibility of democracy surviving in situations outside the United States, one must agree on what democracy means. If it is the communal rule of society through group consensus, as embodied in elected officials, protests, and free speech than Democratic rule is not only an element of Americanness, but a lynchpin of much of the European Union, as well as Australia, Israel, and Canada.