God, Religion and Plato - 1293 Words

Plato brings up a lot of points in his discussions about the philosophy of God and of religion. Many of these points seem to foreshadow what the Christian faith teaches, ideas such as the highest forms, the cultivating a life for the afterlife, and the immortality of the soul, and the idea of just and unjust med and their rewards. Though some of these ideas need to be changed a bit to fit in with each other, the main idea behind their thoughts seem to be parallel. In the following paragraphs I will expand more on how the relationship between Plato’s philosophy of God and religion can be seen in the Christian faith. The first main point of Plato’s philosophy that foreshadows Christianity is the idea of the forms. Plato holds the idea that there are forms, which are the perfection of certain aspects, such as beauty, truth, goodness, etc. Plato says that these forms are the highest things, they are the really real, and that things on earth only participate in the forms. He also describes the forms as separate, simple, and eternal. These forms do not mix, like beauty and goodness are completely separate forms. They are simple in that they can’t be broken down; they just are beauty or goodness. Finally they are eternal meaning that the forms don’t die out like the things on earth, they have no physical body and therefor cannot die. Plato says that things on earth can participate in the forms in the sense that they reflect that form. If we take a flower for example, PlatoShow MoreRelatedPlato And Plato s The Apology1623 Words   |  7 Pagesdetermining how the world worked and its origins/cosmology, as oppose to philosophers such as Plato And Socrates who focused more on ethics or morality. Plato’s conception of God and religion can be depicted in his literatures â€Å"Euthyphro† and â€Å"The Apology† which he expresses through his writings of Socrates in dialogue formation. While one may assume that both Plato and Socrates shared analogous notions of God and religion it is impossible to truly know given the Socratic problem. The problem lies in thatRead MoreWhat did it mean for a man in Ancient Greece to lead a good life, according to Platos’s four dialogs in the Trial and Death of Socrates?1010 Words   |  5 PagesAncient Greece, leading a good life is rather more complex than it is in today’s society. It is evidenced in Plato’s four dialogs in The Trial and Death of Socrates. Through the dialogues of Socrates we can learn that in Ancient Greece education, religion, society in general, law and values played a major role on a person’s way of living a good life. In the dialogues of The Trial and Death of Socrates, society condemned those such as Socrates for changing or questioning their way of life. A personRead MoreThe Influence of Platos Theories on Chrisianity1169 Words   |  5 Pagesworship of these deities was the mainstream of religion during the Helleni stic period until the rise of the great philosophers. Amongst these philosophers, Plato emerged as one of the founding fathers of Western philosophy. Living from roughly 428 BCE until 348 BCE, Plato’s theories predated Christianity by at least four centuries. Because of this, it can be assumed that early Christian worshippers used Plato’s teachings as a basis for their religion. It is evident that there is a surprising amountRead MoreAnalysis Of Plato s The Euthyphro 1723 Words   |  7 Pagesof the greatest reflective thinkers of all time, Plato was the innovator of many written philosophical dialogues. Accompanied by his teacher, Socrates and his most notorious disciple, Aristotle, Plato set the groundworks of Western philosophy and science amid dialogues such as Apology, Euthyphro, Republic and Laws. These dialogues provided some of the earliest handlings of political inquiries from a philosophical viewpoint. In the Euthyphro, Plato composes a dialogue that transpires in 399 BC, weeksRead MoreThe Incompleteness of Pl atos Euthyphro Essay848 Words   |  4 Pagespiety is induced by the non-existence of the Gods, which they declare Socrates implied through out his life. Hence arises the purpose of this interpretation: to demonstrate, by shifting emphasis to the development of the dialogue, that its failure to define piety originates from the mistaken presupposition that doctrines -- systematic explications of religious beliefs -- existed within the ritual religions of the ancient Greeks. Since these religions did not contain doctrines, the presuppositionRead MoreEuthyphro Dialogue Essay examples1485 Words   |  6 PagesIn the dialogue Euthyphro (Cahn and Markie), Plato presents an argument against the divine command meta-ethical theory. While the argument is presented against the predominantly pantheistic Greek religions, the argument can be easily applied to the monotheistic Abrahamic religions. The dialogue starts off with the two main characters: Euthyphro and Socrates. Socrates has been indicted for corrupting the youth of Athens and Euthyphro is indicting his father for murdering a day-labourer who killedRead MorePlato s Redefinition Of Piety Essay1543 Words   |  7 Pagesremove assumptions and preconceived ideas of what religion and piety are about. James Schall, in his essay â€Å"What is Piety?† makes useful note of this sometimes overlooked, but obvious fact: Plato does not have revelation; that is, he does not have available an explanation of the inner life of the Godhead that is itself Trinity. Nor does he have a doctrine of Incarnation, wherein God is also revealed as a specific human being, God and man, one God, but two natures. Nor does he have such a thing asRead MoreSocrates, Plato, and Aristotle884 Words   |  4 PagesFarina Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, three men considered to be the quintessential basis of ancient Greek philosophy. Not only were they responsible for Greek enlightenment, but also foreshadowed the coming of Christ in there speculations. Plato, the protà ©gà © of Socrates, became the first to document the philosophy of his teacher, which in turn is passed down to Aristotle. This process of mentoring aided ancient man in the intellectual evolution of politics and religion, known as the linearRead MoreChristianity, Buddhism, And Confucianism872 Words   |  4 Pagesthere are many different thoughts and explanations about how to live, there is some common ground between them. Throughout the year 600 B.C.E. to the year 600 C.E. the ideas of religion such as Christianity, Buddhism, and Confucianism and philosophy like those of Plato, Laozi, and Socrates. From 600 B.C.E. to 600 B.C. religions began to impact the traditions and attitudes in Europe and Asia resulting in multiple differe nt, but yet similar approaches to the same goal of living morally and truthfullyRead MoreThe Dilemma Of The Euthyphro Dilemma952 Words   |  4 Pagesreaders many good points to understand relativism about morality and connect with religion. Also, this is these dialogues between Euthyphro and Socrates, and it find out in the Plato’s dialogue. In the Euthyphro, Socrates asks whether a thing is pious (or good or right) because it is loved by the Gods (or, in its secular form, ‘loved by someone’), or is a thing loved by the Gods (or someone) because it is pious (or good) (Plato, 1981, 10a); it can be considered one of the questions and the most luminous