Plato pure ideas. Plato: biography and philosophy

3. Plato In Plato, the term we are studying sometimes indicates not so much a method or system as an introduction to the depiction of an object (Phaedr. 237c) or evidence (Phaedr. 245c). It speaks of "the beginning of the movement" (245d) or of the "beginning" of the study (Tim. 48de). But it also speaks of the "principle

1. Plato Plato tries to combine the cosmological intuition of the early classics and the intellectual discourse of the middle classics. Therefore, he developed a doctrine about thinking, but not about the former thinking, in the narrow sense of the word, but in the sense of constructing the entire universal

1. Plato Plato's doctrine of number was developed very deeply by this representative of the developed and mature classics. We have devoted a lot of space to this (IAE II 311 - 405). We came to the conclusion that the whole system of Plato, especially of the late period, is literally permeated with numerical theories.

2. Plato a) The varied, confused and often contradictory materials from Plato on the subject of mimesis have already been studied in detail (IAE III 32-56). We will not repeat this analysis here, and we will also cite contradictory texts from Plato here.

11. The same. Plato In comparison with the authors now considered, Plato occupies a completely new position. He is extremely sensitive not only to the proportions themselves established before him, but also to the continuous becoming that takes place between them and which

1. Plato For the first time we find a developed doctrine of sophia in the mature classics of Plato, who, along with exact formulas, however, contains a lot of all sorts of details and even extraneous thoughts. A summary of the Platonic texts on Sophia is given in our place, (IAE II 478 -

1. Plato a) Plato's empirical researcher is struck by the incredible diversity and inconsistency of his use of the term "nature". Several special studies have already been created on this topic, which were discussed above (IAE III 13-16; 224-226). It came

§3. Plato 1. Individual Man The main texts from Plato on this subject and their necessary analysis were also proposed by us above (IAE II 593 - 599). From these materials, the corresponding terminology is also clarified. a) First of all, a detailed study of Plato's texts leads to

2. Plato This topic is also very complex and even contradictory in some details. Of course, we will not touch on these contradictory details, since for us at the moment only the general ancient understanding of virtue is important, for which Plato is only one

§6. Plato 1. Semantic diversity Plato, as is well known, is indignant at the depiction and interpretation of myths by Homer or Hesiod, he criticizes and condemns their impious myth-making (see his "State") precisely because he himself puts into the word "myth" very

Introduction

Plato's views

I. The doctrine of ideas

II. Teaching about the soul

III. Teaching about nature

IV. The doctrine of knowledge

V. Ethics

VI. Aesthetics

Conclusion

Introduction

Plato was born in Athens in 428 or 427 BC. in an aristocratic family. At first he studied with Cratylus, a follower of Heraclitus. Then, at the age of twenty, he became a student of Socrates, who had a decisive influence on him. After the death of Socrates in 399, he retired for some time to Megara, to Euclid, the founder of the Megara school, who also studied with Socrates, and then returned to Athens. A few years later he undertook a great journey.

First, Plato went to Egypt, and this ancient civilization made a deep impression on him. From Egypt he moved to southern Italy, staying in Cyrene with the mathematician and astronomer Theodore. In Italy, he came into contact with the Pythagoreans, who were many in these parts (this philosophical school was then in its heyday). From his sojourn among the Pythagoreans he derived the greatest love of life and the public good. Signs of the influence of the Pythagoreans can be traced in the last works of Plato.

Then Plato moved to Sicily, to Syracuse, where the tyrant Dionysius I reigned. He became friends with the tyrant's young son-in-law, Dion, an ardent and generous prince who was inspired by Plato's moral and political ideals. But Dionysius was hostile to the fact that Plato gained such influence over Dion, and the philosopher had to leave Syracuse: he was landed on the island of Aegina, which was at war with Athens, and sold into slavery. Fortunately, he was ransomed by a citizen of Cyrenus, who was on the island and recognized Plato.

In this way, Plato was able to return to Athens, and then, at the age of forty, he founded the Academy, where he taught until the end of his days, leaving Athens only twice for two new trips to Sicily. The Academy was turned towards the East. Plato's disciples were even from Babylon. The influence of the philosophy of the East on the Academy increased even more with the arrival of Eudochus, an astronomer who visited various parts of the East. Plato did not, like Socrates, make philosophy the subject of social discourse; on the contrary, he lived in seclusion, limited to the circle of his students. However, due to the prestige of his name, several Greek cities asked him to compose a code of laws for them, and in some cases Plato did so.

Plato tried three times to take part in the political life of Greece, but each time it ended in failure for him. He spent the second half of his life in Athens, engaged in scientific and pedagogical activities. He did not have his own family, and the Academy became his only family. He lived at the school surrounded by students. Until the end of his days, he developed and improved his views, and before his death, he ruled the first volume of his "State", written several decades ago.

Plato died on his own birthday, in 348 or 347 BC. at the age of eighty years, until the end of his life, retaining the fullness of his mighty mind. His body is buried in Keramika, not far from the Academy. Immediately after his death, sacrifices were made to him and later on he was worshiped as a demigod. And his students and students of students celebrated his birthday and death, singing in hymns "the day on which the gods gave people Plato."

Plato's views

I. The doctrine of ideas

1. A new kind of being.

The idea of ​​Socrates that concepts contain true and stable knowledge was the basis of Plato's philosophy, but in the philosophy of Socrates this idea concerned only ethical concepts, and Plato extended this provision to all concepts without exception. Like all Greek philosophers, he was a realist. Plato understood the matter as follows: the characteristic of concepts is their singularity and stability. This is the first premise. Objects about which we have some idea must have the same characteristics as the concept - this is the second premise. At the same time, any things known to us from experience do not actually have these characteristic features, since they are more complex and fluid (changing) - this is the third prerequisite. From this he concludes that things are not objects of concepts.

Each concept must have its own object. This object cannot be things - it must be some other being, the characteristic feature of which is immutability. This understanding of the object led Plato to the idea that there is a being that is not given to us directly. This being discovered by him he called "idea".

There are many ideas, and they make up a different world. The relations that take place between them are the same as between concepts. Just as the hierarchy of concepts is established, so is the hierarchical structure of the world of ideas: from the simplest and lowest to more and more general and higher, and up to the highest idea - the idea of ​​the good.

Ideas and things.

If we take the concept of being more precisely (and all Greek philosophers had it, starting from the Eleatics), then it is only what is contained in its nature, what should be, and therefore cannot cease to be. With this understanding of being, things are no longer being, since it is an eternal and indestructible idea. Only the idea exists. The most that can be said about things is that they become. Things are in relation to being what their shadows or reflection in water are in relation to themselves; they are only a passing phenomenon. The end result of the understanding of being was as follows: more precisely, there are no two kinds of being, but there is only one - the idea.

The nature of the idea. Idea is being, but what kind? Not physical, since the idea is present in many things at the same time (for example, the same idea of ​​beauty corresponds to innumerable beautiful things), and this is impossible in the physical sense. It is also not a psychic being.

How did he understand the idea? He did not leave a finished, complete theory of ideas, although he pondered it all his life. Plato was sure that ideas exist, that they are connected by logical connections, that they form a hierarchy, but he himself did not have a clear and established view of the nature of ideas.

II. Teaching about the soul

The biological function of the soul.

Plato created both a new concept of the soul and a new concept of the idea. The Greeks knew the term "soul" well before him, but he put a new content into it. Before him, philosophers - natural philosophers - considered the soul a kind of matter, and the Orphics - an extraterrestrial demon. Plato modified these ideas and created their original synthesis.

While maintaining a biological understanding of the soul, Plato at the same time abandoned its material interpretation. The soul, being a vital factor, opposes matter, since matter is by its nature passive, while the soul is the source of movement. It is real, but not material. “Plato,” wrote Leibniz, “seems to me the most perfect here: he defines spirit as a substance that moves itself, acts freely and independently, which interprets it as the basis of action in opposition to matter.”

Cognitive function of the soul.

In early Greek philosophy, knowledge was not considered a mental, but an exclusively bodily function. Perception was seen as a manifestation of physiology, and thinking was attributed the same nature that is inherent in perception.

Plato changed this view. “It seems to me,” he wrote, “that there is no special organ for them, but the soul itself highlights common characteristics in many things.” Having no sensory organs, the soul cognizes itself. Cognition is a function of the soul, not of the body. However, not the knowledge of things, but the knowledge of ideas, testified, according to Plato, most obviously that knowledge is a function of the soul. The Platonic understanding of the soul, which added a cognitive function to its biological function, was connected with the doctrine of ideas.

Religious function of the soul.

The religious feeling that lived in Plato, in particular, the desire for immortality, led to the fact that he later reformulated the concept of the soul, allowed one more of its functions.

It is clear enough that Plato saw in man an immortal element. Since the soul, understood biologically and psychologically, although it was non-material, it had a connection with the body and set it in motion with the help of its own bodily organs, cognized other bodies. If she were an extraterrestrial entity, she could not be associated with the body.

In fact, Plato operated not with one, but with two concepts of the soul: the first was based on biological and psychological premises, the second on religious ones. The soul, in the broad sense of meaning, encompassed sensory factors; in the narrow sense, it was mind itself. In a broad sense, the soul was an element of material nature, but in a narrow sense, it was not connected with this nature in any way.

Soul and body.

The recognition of the soul as non-material led to its sharp opposition to the body. Platonism was not only a dualism of idea and thing, but also a dualism of soul and body. This dualism was expressed in the following provisions:

a) the soul is not material;

b) it is separated from the body, independent of it. Soul and body, although united in man, exist separately and independently of each other;

c) unlike the body, which consists of parts, the soul is whole and cannot be composed.

d) the soul is more perfect than the body. The soul (obviously, only a rational one) cognizes ideas and becomes like them, and because of this, it is the bearer of truth, goodness and everything valuable in a person. Man is the soul that owns the body;

Soul immortality.

Despite the fact that the body is subject to decay and destruction, the soul, as independent of it, can continue to exist. Plato was sure that it not only exists longer, but also exists forever. Its existence has no end, but it also has no beginning. The soul is not only immortal, but also eternal. To support this confidence, Plato looked for evidence and devoted one of his works to this problem.

Eschatology.

Plato posed, following the example of the Orphics, the question: "Why is the soul, as perfect and eternal, connected with an imperfect and mortal body"? He gave the same ethically religious answer as the Orphics; together with them he admitted that: a) the soul acted at first without a body; b) it is sinful; c) for redemption from sin, she united with the body. When the sin is atoned for, she will be free again. Knowledge of the truth with the help of philosophy, Plato considered the best means for the liberation of the soul from the body.

Plato's eschatology tried to describe the fate of the soul: it described the Last Judgment, the change of bodies, even gave the topography of the places where the soul resides after death. Even in the most realistic dialogues devoted to the theory of knowledge or politics, he interrupted his reasoning to consider the prospects of the afterlife. Plato was the prototype of those philosophers who knew that for some of the theoretical propositions they hold, one cannot hope to obtain reliable evidence, but, nevertheless, they did not consider it possible to exclude eschatological problems from philosophy. The example of Plato was reflected in the fate of philosophy, which took other paths than exact science.

Plato was a scientist, but not only. Where he could not solve a problem scientifically, he used poetic fantasy and religious faith. In his views on the soul, scientific and other views came together especially clearly.

III. Teaching about nature

1. Expediency of the world.

Plato least of all dealt with material nature, since he considered it the lowest kind of being, devoid of that perfection that characterizes the soul and idea. In nature, he saw not a mechanical assembly of parts and the result of the actions of blind necessity, but their organic unity, which is arranged expediently and reasonably. Being material, nature, meanwhile, has ideal and spiritual prerequisites. Initially, seeing its imperfection, Plato opposed it to a perfect idea, but over time, he discovered in nature something consonant with the most perfect idea. Plato believed that the characteristics of nature can only be understood if we assume that it was created expediently. Purpose in Plato becomes the basic principle of explaining nature. The expediency and reasonableness of the structure of the world indicated the need to believe in the existence of God, who, as Plato wrote, rationally arranged the world. In general, the world is "a visible living being, created in the image of the creator, is eternal and the best, the most beautiful and the most perfect."

Matter.

The world had to be created from something: there must be matter from which it is built. In addition to the Demiurge and the idea, the effective and expedient reason, there was a third reason - the material one. Matter, being by nature formless, unlimited and indeterminate, can, at the same time, take on various forms. It is the place where forms are realized: this is the only thing that can be said about it, since its indeterminacy is inherent in nature. When the Demiurge gave matter a certain form, then the Universe appeared. Matter is not a divine premise, therefore everything that in the Universe is considered imperfection and evil originates from it. So, without excluding this, we can state that the world is not fully expedient and does not fully comply with the laws of the Demiurge.

In general, it was a new concept of matter. The ancient philosophers, who dealt exclusively with the material world, did not think of denying matter either certainty or perfection. Why did this change happen? Because Plato included the idea and the soul in nature as its components. If these elements are discarded, then the matter remains only uncertainty and imperfection. If before that matter was understood as a set of concrete material bodies, now it has become their abstract element. This abstract idea of ​​matter did not remain a feature of Plato's views, on the contrary, developed by Aristotle, it was strengthened in philosophy for many centuries.

Plato had two eternal components of being, in addition to the divine, - idea and matter. The idea is eternal being, while matter, as unformed, is eternal non-being. The real world, the cosmos are not eternal, because they appeared after the Demiurge connected the idea and matter. The very same connection of being and non-being is "something between being and non-being", the connection of ideal samples and matter, and, consequently, perfection and imperfection, expediency and necessity.

Soul of the world.

Plato denied the order on the basis of which both before him and after him the development of the world was understood; for Plato, the perfection of the world was not the result of development, it was only its beginning. The world does not develop, but moves backwards. Souls were created first as perfect elements of the world, and then only bodies. Bodies, as imperfect, could not be initially God's providence. They were created after the souls and were adapted to them as their tools. They are the secondary element of the world, while souls are its primary element.

Souls exist not only in organic bodies, planets also have souls. The source of self-movement is what we call the soul. Similarly, the Universe, as a whole, carries within itself the source of its own movement - it has a soul. The soul of the universe gives it regular movement and life, form and harmony. Such a conception of the world was the sharpest opposition to the atomistic theory, which divided the world into an infinite number of dead and mutually independent parts.

In the realm of nature, Plato was not as free as in solving ethical and logical problems; here, more than anywhere else, he used other people's ideas. But, nevertheless, here he created his own synthesis, which contradicted the plan of the ancient philosophers. Reflections on nature led him to the conclusion that ideas are not only outside things, but they are also reflected in things themselves; souls exist not only outside of matter, but they are also reflected in things; existing outside of matter, the soul, at the same time, are also an important element of the entire material nature.

IV. The doctrine of knowledge

1. Reasonable knowledge.

The theory of knowledge, previously interpreted by the Greeks outside the theory of being, in Plato took an equivalent place to it. Formally, Plato posed the question: "What is knowledge?" He devoted one of his works to the solution of this problem.

The original Greek concept was that knowledge is perception. Things can only be known through contact with them through the senses. Plato rejected this concept. Plato came to the conclusion that the senses not only do not comprehend ideas, but are also insufficient for the knowledge of things. Thought must cooperate with them.

Indeed, in order to know things, it is necessary to see, hear or touch them. But some sensations, characteristics of a thing can be felt through the senses. We perceive colors with our eyes, sounds with our ears, and the differences that exist between color and sound are invisible and inaudible, like identity, number, and many other common characteristics. We do not have a sensory organ for their perception, and we are left to accept that "the soul looks out for these common characteristics in all things," which are known by thought, and not by feelings.

innate knowledge.

Thought, contrary to prevailing opinion, is independent of sensation. Plato argued that although thought manifests itself after sensation, it does not rely on it.

The fact that we have knowledge, we will still meet with it, colliding with feelings with reality, is confirmed by the facts. People find good answers to well-posed questions. Knowledge based on sensation is formed gradually, while other, anticipatory knowledge is given or born and has an innate character.

Knowledge, as Plato understood it, contained a riddle: how can we know something from birth without first seeing it? How, in particular, can we know ideas that we have never encountered, which are primarily concerned with innate concepts? Plato solved this riddle in the following way: he admitted that our mind had met these ideas in a previous life and retained the memory of them; this explains why we know them from birth, and so directly, as if we had seen them somewhere. Therefore, in everyday life, we do not try to acquire knowledge about ideas, since it is enough that we remember them; innate knowledge is "recollection" (anamnesis).

levels of knowledge.

Plato not only considered rational knowledge independent of the sensible, but also higher than the sensible. From true knowledge, he demanded two conditions: that it concerns being itself and that it be independent. Reasonable knowledge fully meets these two conditions, since sensible knowledge concerns only phenomena and is subject to constant delusions. Perceptual knowledge is more speculation than knowledge. If we strictly adhere to the definition of cognition, then it turns out that, strictly speaking, there are not two kinds of cognition, but only one of its kind: rational cognition of the idea; everything else is fiction.

Reasonable and sensual knowledge become Plato's levels of knowledge. And that Plato, who understood cognition in an extremely one-sided way, had a unified doctrine about the levels of cognition.

Scientific knowledge and the dialectical method.

In accordance with his general theory of knowledge, Plato developed the theory of science. This chronologically first theory that has come down to us was understood in the spirit of extreme rationalism. It argued that of the two methods - empirical science and a priori knowledge - that the researcher has, empirical science can be more useful for the study of things, while for the study of ideas it is necessary to use a priori knowledge. Scientific knowledge is the most perfect knowledge, but the empirical method, which is based on sensory data, is, as a rule, not true.

Mathematics was closest to the ideal of Plato's science, since it had a conceptual character and, rejecting transient phenomena, explored unchanging connections. However, even she did not meet all the requirements of Plato. He considered it a science that occupies the lowest rung in the hierarchy. Firstly, because mathematics in one way or another obliges observation, uses figurative thinking, and, secondly, because it is dogmatic, since it operates on principles that it cannot substantiate and does not try to do so.

Dialectic is a pure method that does not have the shortcomings of mathematics. It operates with pure, ugly thinking, seeks the truth by comparing concepts and judgments, their analysis and synthesis.

In the hypothetical method, Plato singled out one of the moments of scientific development. His formal results were very valuable: dialectics drew attention to the relationship between statements and led to the formulation and principles of deduction, that is, gave rise to logic.

Philosophy.

For Plato, dialectics was more than just a method - it was a philosophy. She, only she, from the standpoint of her non-empirical way of comprehending reality, bypassing phenomena, comprehends ideas, and just as the science of ideas is the science of true being, philosophy, in fact, should be it. Here, in the understanding of Plato, philosophy stood out from the sciences with which it has been associated so far, and for it a special subject was found - ideas - and a special method - dialectics. One way was purely rational knowledge in accordance with the harsh principles of dialectics. Plato was far from thinking that the mind could solve all the mysteries of being. Even if it penetrates into the world of ideas, there still remains an irrational factor - matter. And even among ideas, the highest idea of ​​the good goes beyond that. what the mind can understand. Plato wrote in one of his works: “There is not and will not be a single work about that on which everything is based, since it is not rational, like mathematics, and it cannot be put into words. But if you struggle for a long time and abstract from things, then something similar to fire ignites in the soul. He who has not inwardly become related to that which is moral and beautiful, he will never know the truth about good and evil.

Because of this, the task of philosophy is not only the knowledge of the truth, but also something completely different: achieving a revolution in the soul, "bringing it to that which is moral and beautiful." Such a conception of philosophy separated it even more decisively from other sciences than did the dialectical method. And the dual conception of philosophy - the one that recognizes it as the highest rationality, and the one that takes away from it any rationality - both one and the other were transmitted by Plato to posterity. It is quite natural that both rationalism and irrationalism refer to Plato as their creator.

V. Ethics

1. The doctrine of virtue.

Plato devoted a lot of works to ethical problems. The three virtues correspond to the three parts of the soul: wisdom is the virtue of the rational part, courage is the impulsive part, self-control is the submissive (controlled). However, a fourth virtue is also required - justice, which binds all parts of the soul together, establishing order among them, "so that each does what it is supposed to do." Thus developed the classical theory of the four virtues, which remained dominant for centuries.

In addition, Plato saw that knowledge and Virtue by themselves do not make human life more complete and perfect. Knowledge without joy is as imperfect as joy without knowledge. After the one-sided theories with which the ethics of the Greeks began, this was the first attempt to compare and classify the various values ​​and virtues. The material collected in the conversations of Socrates, which was developed in the views of Aristotle, was systematized.

Teaching about love.

Not only did it contain the core of Platonic ethics: it was in his idealistic view of the world. Plato divided both being and good into two worlds: the ideal and the real. He placed ideal goods incomparably higher than real ones.

Real benefits, in comparison with ideal ones, seemed to him transient. Plato pessimistically believed that evil exists in the real world and it prevails over good, so the only way to the common good is to leave this world.

However, this view was not Plato's final view. Later, on the contrary, he recognized real goods as necessary for the achievement of ideal goods. His ethics, like his theory of knowledge, over time avoided one-sidedness, and what he initially denied was later comprehended as a necessary source of development.

Plato spoke about this correlation of real and ideal goods in his doctrine of love. The connection between the doctrine of the good and the doctrine of love lies in the fact that love. as Plato understood it, this is nothing but the inherent desire of the soul to acquire and eternally comprehend the good.

Because of this, the original object of love is real goods, such as the beauty of the body. Over time, the soul becomes more aware that the beauty of the soul is higher than the beauty of the body, and then beautiful thoughts and deeds become the object of love, because souls create beauty, in a word, beauty (beauty) is spiritual. Even later, the understanding came that if objects are beautiful, it is because they contain beauty in themselves, which is common to all, and love is manifested not for this or that beautiful object, but for the beauty of all objects. And the one who gradually improves in the affairs of love, he finally comprehends what everything else was only a preparation for: the beautiful is eternal, being always beautiful, and for everyone - the idea is beautiful.

Ordinary language took the concept of Platonic love (or, as they say, "Platonic") in a more mundane, purely negative sense of the realization of sensual desires without bodily objects; for Plato, meanwhile, supersensible love was the real goal, and sensual love was the path to it. Through real, relatively finite goals, one can achieve ideal, absolute and eternal goals - this is the meaning of Plato's doctrine of love.

This theory was not only an ethical theory of goals, but also a psychological description of human aspirations.

Plato's ethics, and especially his teaching on love, besides their poetic flight and pathos, were the most positive parts of his philosophy; goals were transcendental for her, not being. The relation of ideas and phenomena was not the relation of two worlds, but the relation of ends and means. In this part of the doctrine, Plato's idealism had the most significant and, at the same time, the least metaphysical form.

The doctrine of the good is of great importance in the philosophy of Plato. In any case, the idea of ​​the good is original to his philosophical system and dominates over everything to other ideas. This preference given to the good is a feature of his system, just as the preference was previously given to ideas. Plato writes about the idea of ​​the good that it is like the sun, which not only illuminates things, but thanks to which their very life is possible, developing and multiplying; the idea of ​​the good also determines the existence of all other ideas, despite the fact that it is itself above existence and outside it. The good is the beginning and the end of Plato's system; it is the starting point in accordance with which the world arose, and the final goal towards which the world aspires.

The doctrine of the state.

The specific desires of a person are manifested in their entirety, according to Plato, not in personal, but in public life. Therefore, he developed the main provisions of his ethics on the basis of the theory of the state. The theory of the state, which the Greeks (for example, the sophists) created before him, adhered to real relations and strove, mainly, to rationalize means, but did not set goals for the state (society). Plato's theory of society, set forth in the "State" and "Laws", was a normative theory of the "best" society, built in accordance with the ideas of good and justice:

a) the best society should strive for the highest goals in accordance with the ideas; Plato considered universality and stability to be such ideas. In this regard, societies should be guided not by individual plans and claims, but by general principles.

b) a perfect society has one goal, which is obligatory for all: it is unacceptable for each citizen to strive for his own good in his own way. Society should be built as an organism in which everyone is obliged to "do his job", which means that everyone strives for a common goal for all. Parts of society should depend on the whole, and not a single whole - on the part. Only in this case will there be order in it;

c) in its activities, society must rely on knowledge, because in order to do good, it is necessary to know it.

d) only those who are necessary to society can belong to society. In addition to rulers, philosophers, these are the warriors of the state, that is, the army, as well as the producers of the necessary material goods, that is, artisans. Each of these three groups of the population performs its tasks in society and therefore must be in different conditions; therefore, groups have different social value. The ideal society should be estate. The three estates that compose it correspond to the three parts of which the soul is composed; there is an exact analogy between society and the individual. Parts of society should have the same virtues as parts of the soul: the virtue of rulers is wisdom, warriors - courage, artisans - self-control. When each class fulfills its role, then there is a harmonious structure of the state as a state of justice.

e) an ideal society is ascetic, because it strives for an ideal goal, the achievement of which does not give citizens either wealth, or luxury, or any benefits. On the contrary, it requires the renunciation of individual goods.

This utopia of Plato was based on the principle of subordination of the individual to society, while the goals of the state were exclusively moral, ideal, universal and stable.

Plato distinguishes seven types of state: the ideal "state of the future", which does not yet exist and in which there is no need for state power and laws, and six types of currently existing states. Among the six existing types, Plato indicates:

monarchy - the just power of one person; tyranny - the unjust power of one person; aristocracy - the just power of a minority; oligarchy - the unjust power of a minority; democracy is the just rule of the majority; timocracy - the unjust power of the majority, the power of military leaders, the army.

Since tyranny, oligarchy and timocracy are unjust forms of the state, and democracy - the rule of the majority - is rarely fair and, as a rule, degenerates into tyranny, oligarchy or timocracy, only aristocracy and monarchy can be two stable and optimal forms of state.

Plato also puts forward his own plan of government, according to this plan: the entire population of the state (polis) is divided into three classes - philosophers, warriors, workers; workers (peasants and artisans) are engaged in rough physical labor, create material wealth, and can own private property to a limited extent; soldiers are engaged in physical exercises, train, maintain order in the state, and, if necessary, participate in hostilities; philosophers (wise men) - develop philosophical theories, learn the world, teach, govern the state; philosophers and warriors should not have private property; residents of the state spend their free time together, eat (have meals) together, rest together; there is no marriage, all wives and children are common; the labor of slaves is allowed and welcomed, as a rule, barbarians captured.

Later, Plato revised some of the ideas of his project, allowing small private property and personal property for all classes, but other provisions of this plan were retained.

VI. Aesthetics

Plato's view of art was not simple. He himself was an artist and a poet as much as a philosopher, he was capable of inspiration and valued creativity above all else. In poetry, he saw divine "madness", in the poet - "divine husband", an intermediary between God and people, through whose mouth the gods speak.

Strictly speaking, it copies real things, which, in turn, according to Plato, are copies of ideas, that is, art is a copy of a copy.

On the one hand, Plato saw in art, namely in the art of a poet, the highest kind of human activity, and on the other hand, he belittled arts that were imitative in nature, he wanted to expel artists from his ideal state.

Conclusion

Plato taught that behind the changing world of phenomena stands the unchanging world of essence, which he called the world of Ideas. But the soul of a person is trapped in the body, so he is usually convinced that the world of phenomena is the true reality. Initially, the human soul lived in the world of Ideas, but, having settled in the body, separated from it. Therefore, the soul is constantly striving to the world of Ideas, which is the true reality. For Plato, the knowledge of Ideas is nothing but the memory of the soul about what it knew before it settled in the body.

Plato's ethics includes the ideas of Beauty, Truth and Goodness, and the idea of ​​the good occupies a dominant position. Plato singled out four virtues that a person should possess: wisdom, courage, moderation and justice.

He argued that especially rulers should be philosophers and possess the virtue of wisdom and understanding of the Idea of ​​the Good. According to Plato, the Idea of ​​the Good is the source of all virtues. Having inherited the spirit of Socrates, Plato strove for the knowledge of absolute value.

Plato's Academy is a religious and philosophical school created by Plato in 387 in the nature of Athens and existed for about 1000 years (until 529 AD). The most famous pupils of the academy were: Aristotle (studied with Plato, founded his own philosophical school - Lyceum), Xenocrite, Cracket, Arcilaus. Clytomachus of Carthage, Philo of Larissa (teacher of Cicero). The Academy was closed in 529 by the Byzantine emperor Justinian as a hotbed of paganism and "harmful" ideas, but over its history it managed to achieve that Platonism and Neoplatonism became the leading trends in European philosophy.

plato pythagorean virtue state

List of used literature

1.Alekseev P.V., Panin A.V. Philosophy. - M.: 2002.

2.Asmus V.F. Plato. - Kyiv: 2003.

.Bogomolov A.S. Ancient Philosophy. - M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 2005.

.Introduction to Philosophy: Textbook for High Schools. At 2 pm Part 1 / Under the general. ed.I. T. Frolova. - M.: Politizdat, 2003.

.Gorbachev V.G. History of Philosophy: [Short course of lectures]: Proc. allowance for higher and avg. specialist. Proc. institutions/Gorbachev V.G. - . - Bryansk: 2000. - 336 p.

.Zhelyazkova T.M. Plato. Philosophy. History of Philosophy. General questions of philosophy. - St. Petersburg: 2005.

.Losev A.F. Life and creative path of Plato / Plato, coll. cit., V.1,. - M.: 1990.

.Site materials http://www.helpeducation.ru/

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The philosophical doctrine of Plato belongs to the late period of ancient Greek philosophy. As a student and follower of Socrates, Plato uses dialectism as the main method of cognition, so many of his philosophical works are written in the form of dialogues.

Plato's philosophy is briefly expressed by his allegorical myth of the cave. The myth tells of people chained to the wall of a cave so that they can see only a strip of light falling through a narrow passage behind them. Real objects and events taking place outside are presented to them in the form of bizarre shadows on the wall. Since this is the only thing they see, it is the images of shadows that they consider primary and real. Thus, Plato shows that human sensory perception can lead to a false perception of reality and therefore should be rejected as a way of knowing the world. He represents being in the form of two interconnected worlds - the world of things and the world of ideas. The concept of an idea as a kind of absolute essence is central to the entire philosophical teaching of Plato. The world of things, that is, objects and phenomena perceived by man, are only a kind of distorted and simplified semblance of ideas and do not give an idea of ​​the truth. For knowledge of the world, Plato believes, the mind needs to be freed from the conventions of thinking imposed on it by everyday life, which is the goal of the philosopher.

Plato's philosophical doctrine of the soul is briefly reduced to the concept of dualism. Speaking about man, Plato believes that the soul and body are related as ideal and mortal. The soul is eternal, in his treatise "Phaedo" he gives four arguments in favor of its immortality. The physical body of a person inevitably awaits death. And since the soul cannot die, it either finds peace or returns to earth in other incarnations. Thus, the fate of an individual person is only a segment of the eternal existence of the soul.

The doctrine of the soul leads Plato to the theory of the state, which is based on the idea that it has three components, for each of which the desire for good is achieved in different ways. The rational beginning of the soul strives for knowledge of the world and achieves this through logical reasoning, freed from sensuality. The furious beginning is aimed at overcoming difficulties, and the passionate beginning governs all the sensual and base impulses of human nature. Accordingly, Plato divides all people into three classes - depending on which of the beginnings prevails among them. In striving for the virtue of each of them, he sees the path to justice and the most harmonious form of existence of human society. Thus, according to Plato, the ideal state is a caste social structure. At the top of the hierarchical pyramid are philosophers engaged in the knowledge of the world, warriors are subordinate to them, and the lowest niche is occupied by workers who find their benefit in humility. At the same time, Plato puts the happiness of society as a whole above the happiness of each individual and therefore admits the necessity and inevitability of sacrificing the small for the sake of the greater. This utopian picture is, in essence, a model of a monarchical and even totalitarian system, which, in its various variations, later formed the basis of statehood for many eras, especially the medieval one.

An important place in the teachings of Plato is occupied by the Divine power, which controls the movement in space and strives to restore the ideal order. The philosopher sees the meaning of human existence in purifying his soul from vanity, transient values ​​and base impulses and likening it to the Divine principle, thus achieving harmony with the spiritualized Universe.

The philosophical view of Plato, which affirms the primacy of spirit in relation to matter, among others, gave rise to the direction of idealism in philosophy, which was then expressed in the teachings of a number of European philosophical schools.

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An outstanding place in the history of ancient Greek philosophy belongs to Plato (428-347 BC). Plato was born in Athens in an aristocratic family. In his youth, he became friends with Cratylus, one of the students, and this suggests that during this period he became acquainted with his ideas. In his youth, Plato wanted to devote himself to political activity., which is not surprising, since among the politicians of that time he had relatives and friends. But fate decreed otherwise. At the age of twenty, he met with, and this acquaintance became decisive in his subsequent life and work. Until the last day of Socrates' life, for eight years, Plato remained an enthusiastic student and follower of his teacher, whom he later called "the most worthy and just person."

After a period of wandering, Plato created the famous Academy, where he lived for the rest of his life, and which lasted for almost a thousand years.

Objective idealism

Plato expresses his ideas in the form of a dialogue. This literary device was not chosen by chance. Dialogue, according to Plato, is a more or less adequate reflection of the "living and animated speech of a knowing person." Plato is no coincidence considered the founder of objective idealism, since the principles of idealism and, in particular, the primacy of consciousness, ideas over being, the phenomenon are set out by him quite consistently and deeply. Moreover, this principle is clearly visible in its main dialogues. Plato has no work or works specifically devoted to the development of the problem of knowledge, being, or dialectics. His ideas on these issues are expressed in many dialogues. The doctrine of being is mainly set forth in the dialogues "The State", "Theaetetus", "Parmenides", "Philebus", "Timaeus", "Sophist", "Phaedo", "Phaedrus" and Plato's letters. Plato's doctrine of being is based on three substances: one, mind and soul. It is impossible to unambiguously determine the essence of these concepts, since Plato gives a general description of the essence of these concepts, which is very contradictory and, at times, contains judgments that are mutually exclusive. An attempt to determine the nature of the origin of these fundamental principles will prove difficult due to the attribution to these entities of properties that are often incompatible and even mutually exclusive. With these preliminary remarks in mind, let us analyze the essence of the above-mentioned principles. The One is interpreted by Plato mainly as the basis of all being and reality, as the beginning. The One does not have any signs or any properties by which its essence could be determined. It has no parts and therefore cannot have a beginning, an end, or a middle. At the same time, the one is not being, but acts as nothing. The One appears as one, but at the same time as many and infinite multitude. Ultimately, the one is interpreted by Plato as something about which nothing definite can be said at all, since it is higher than all understandings available to the human mind - it surpasses all being, any sensations and any level of thinking. The main thing that can be said with certainty about the one, Plato notes in Parmenides, is that "if the one does not exist, then neither does the other."

The root cause of all things - phenomena and things - in Plato is also the mind. Of course, the mind is interpreted by Plato not only ontologically, but also epistemologically. Considering the mind as one of the root causes, Plato said that it is the mind, together with other root causes, that makes up the essence of the Universe, and therefore the sages believe that "our mind is the king of heaven and earth ...". The mind is not only one of the basic components of the universe, it also brings order and understanding to it. “The mind arranges (arranges) everything,” including phenomena worthy of “the world order—the Sun, the Moon, the stars, and the whole circling of the firmament.” Plato has statements in which the mind appears as life, as something living, but, in reality, the mind is not considered as any living being or property, but rather as a rational generic generalization of everything that lives, has the ability to live. This is expressed in a rather generalized, one might say, metaphysical form.

The third main ontological substance in Plato is the soul, which is subdivided into "world soul" and "individual soul". Naturally, the “world soul” acts as a substance. The origin of the soul is interpreted by Plato ambiguously. As in characterizing the essence of the two previous substances, Plato encounters many contradictory judgments. In view of what has been said, Plato's "universal soul" can be imagined as something created from a mixture of eternal essence and that essence that depends on time. The soul acts as a being in order to unite the world of ideas with the corporeal world. It arises not by itself, but by the will of the demiurge, by which is meant the “eternal god”.

Summing up the ontological teaching of Plato, it should be said that as the root cause of all things, he considers ideal substances - “one”, “mind”, “soul”, which exist objectively, regardless of human consciousness. Plato's theory of knowledge is based not on sensory knowledge, but on knowledge, love for an idea. The scheme of this concept is built according to the principle: from material bodily love along the ascending line to the love of the soul, and from it to pure ideas. Plato believes that neither feelings nor sensations, due to their changeability, can ever and under no circumstances be a source of true knowledge. The most that the senses can do is to act as an external stimulus to knowledge. The result of sensations of feelings is the formation of an opinion about an object or phenomenon, true knowledge is the knowledge of ideas, which is possible only with the help of the mind. Plato pays great attention to the development of questions of dialectics. At the same time, it should be taken into account that his attitude to dialectics changed with the evolution of his philosophical views in general. Plato most fully expressed his doctrine of dialectics in the dialogues "Parmenides" and "Sophist". If we summarize his views on this problem as a whole, then it should be noted that he considers dialectics as the main science, since with its help the essence of all other sciences is determined. This is achieved due to the fact that dialectics acts both as a science and as a method. Dialectics acts as a method due to the fact that it helps to clearly divide the one into many, to reduce the many to one, and allows us to present the whole as a separate-single multiplicity. Here is the path of research Plato proposes to the dialectic philosopher: “To distinguish everything according to gender, not to take one and the same form for another and another for the same - can’t we say that this is (the subject of) dialectical knowledge? Whoever is thus able to do this will be able to sufficiently distinguish one idea, permeating many things everywhere, where each is separated from the other; further, he distinguishes how many different ideas are embraced from the outside by one and, on the contrary, one idea is connected in one place by the totality of many, and finally, how many ideas are completely separated from each other. All this is called being able to distinguish by gender, how much each can interact (with the other) and how much not.

social philosophy

Of great interest is the social Plato. In fact, he was the first of the Greek thinkers who gave systematic exposition of the doctrine of the state and society, which he, apparently, actually identified.

Plato's State

The state, according to Plato, arises from the natural need of people to unite in order to facilitate the conditions of their existence. According to Plato, the state “emerges ... when each of us cannot satisfy himself, but still needs a lot. Thus, each person attracts first one, then another to satisfy a particular need. Feeling the need for many things, many people gather together to live together and help each other: such a joint settlement is what we call the state ... ". Developing the concept of an ideal state, Plato proceeds from the correspondence that, in his opinion, exists between the cosmos as a whole, the state and the individual human soul. In the state and in the soul of each individual person, there are the same beginnings. The three principles of the human soul, namely, rational, furious and lustful, in the state correspond to three similar principles - deliberative, protective and business, and the latter, in turn, forms three estates - philosophers-rulers, warrior-defenders and producers (artisans and farmers) . The state, according to Plato, can be considered fair only if each of its three classes does its job in it and does not interfere in the affairs of others. At the same time, a hierarchical subordination of these principles is assumed in the name of preserving the whole.

The state may have three main forms of government - monarchy, aristocracy and democracy. In turn, each of them is divided into two forms. A legitimate monarchy is the power of an enlightened king, an illegitimate one is tyranny; the power of the enlightened and the few is the aristocracy, the power of the few who think only of themselves is the oligarchy. Democracy as the rule of all can be legal and illegal. Plato's sympathies are unambiguously on the side of royal power. Each form of the state, according to Plato, perishes because of internal contradictions. Therefore, in order not to create prerequisites for unrest in society, Plato advocates moderation and average prosperity and condemns both excessive wealth and extreme poverty.. Plato characterizes government as a royal art, the main thing for which will be the presence of true royal knowledge and the ability to manage people. If the rulers have such data, then it will no longer matter whether they rule according to laws or without them, voluntarily or against their will, whether they are poor or rich: it will never and in no case be correct to take this into account.