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  • Essay / Plato's theories on human flourishing

    Plato is known as a psychologist and philosopher, who was the student of Socrates but also the teacher of Aristotle. Plato's main goal was to help people find a sense of complete fulfillment, or what he called "Eudaimonia." He recorded his thoughts and theories in 36 dialogues that explored Plato's four main ideas for becoming your most fulfilled self. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. His first point of view was that we need to think more. Plato believed that people almost never think long enough about the things we do and how we choose to live. He observed that people often just followed what others seemed to be doing or made decisions based on popular opinions. Instead, Plato advised that through "Socratic discussion" and careful examination of our own ideas (sometimes with the help of a trusted peer), we would be able to know ourselves better and would not be therefore not influenced by our instincts or impulsive emotions. Plato's accomplishment was knowing how to love correctly. He wrote a book called The Symposium in which he says, “True love is admiration.” The book describes Plato's view that when you fall in love with someone, it is because you recognize that they have certain characteristics that you wish you had in yourself. Additionally, Plato suggests that by becoming closer and more intimate with your partner, you will gradually adapt their admirable traits, helping you get closer to your most fulfilled self. Closely related to this concept, the third theory concerns the importance of beauty. . Plato is credited as the first person to truly question how we determine something so beautiful. He believed that just as we notice attractive qualities in people, we unconsciously notice these same elements in objects. If I felt like I lacked peace and quiet, for example, I might find a calming piece of art more captivating than a relatively calm and quiet person. Additionally, Plato considered beauty to be so important because, because of our attraction to things containing the aspects we lack, we are more likely to eventually adapt those aspects to ourselves. And finally, his fourth point of view was about changing society. Plato stands out as the very first utopian thinker, meaning he thought a lot about what politics and society would be like in an ideal world. His book titled The Republic describes several steps that Plato thought Athens should take in order to help everyone find eudaimonia. He wanted there to be better role models, control over who speaks to the public and about what, an education that not only included traditional subjects but also taught students how to be better humans and, perhaps, this which contrasts most with popular views - that children be raised by guardians who were more suited to raising them than their own parents. When it comes to Plato's methodology, much is unknown because he lived so long ago. However, it is assumed that all of his theories were inspired by Socrates (and other philosophical influencers of the time) or drawn from Plato's own observations, meaning that his ideals were not supported by proper scientific evidence but simply through life experiences (of others and of one's own experiences). clean).Keep..