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Single Idea 2149
[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / C. Ruling a State / 2. Leaders / d. Elites
]
Full Idea
The less keen the would-be rulers of a community are to rule, the better and less divided the administration of that community are bound to be.
Gist of Idea
Reluctant rulers make a better and more unified administration
Source
Plato (The Republic [c.371 BCE], 520d)
Book Ref
Plato: 'Republic', ed/tr. Waterfield,Robin [OUP 1993], p.248
The
502 ideas
from Plato
1655
|
If goodness needs true opinion but not knowledge, you can skip the 'examined life'
[Vlastos on Plato]
|
24224
|
An unexamined life is not worth living.
[Plato]
|
1590
|
The just man does not harm his enemies, but benefits everyone
[Plato]
|
13776
|
Truths say of what is that it is, falsehoods say of what is that it is not
[Plato]
|
13772
|
Is the being or essence of each thing private to each person?
[Plato]
|
13774
|
Things don't have every attribute, and essence isn't private, so each thing has an essence
[Plato]
|
13775
|
We only succeed in cutting if we use appropriate tools, not if we approach it randomly
[Plato]
|
13777
|
A name is a sort of tool
[Plato]
|
13778
|
A dialectician is someone who knows how to ask and to answer questions
[Plato]
|
13779
|
The natural offspring of a lion is called a 'lion' (but what about the offspring of a king?)
[Plato]
|
13780
|
Good people are no different from wise ones
[Plato]
|
13781
|
Soul causes the body to live, and gives it power to breathe and to be revitalized
[Plato]
|
13783
|
Even the gods love play
[Plato]
|
13785
|
'Arete' signifies lack of complexity and a free-flowing soul
[Plato]
|
13786
|
Wisdom is called 'beautiful', because it performs fine works
[Plato]
|
13787
|
Doesn't each thing have an essence, just as it has other qualities?
[Plato]
|
13788
|
If we made a perfect duplicate of Cratylus, there would be two Cratyluses
[Plato]
|
13789
|
Anyone who knows a thing's name also knows the thing
[Plato]
|
13790
|
A name-giver might misname something, then force other names to conform to it
[Plato]
|
13791
|
Things must be known before they are named, so it can't be the names that give us knowledge
[Plato]
|
2063
|
How can beauty have identity if it changes?
[Plato]
|
13792
|
There can't be any knowledge if things are constantly changing
[Plato]
|
24232
|
Truth is speaking what is and things that are
[Plato]
|
24233
|
If speech is making something, then lies are impossible
[Plato]
|
16120
|
Knowing how to achieve immortality is pointless without the knowledge how to use immortality
[Plato]
|
301
|
Only knowledge of some sort is good
[Plato]
|
302
|
What knowledge is required to live well?
[Plato]
|
303
|
Say how many teeth the other has, then count them. If you are right, we will trust your other claims
[Plato]
|
304
|
Beautiful things must be different from beauty itself, but beauty itself must be present in each of them
[Plato]
|
305
|
Something which lies midway between two evils is better than either of them
[Plato]
|
335
|
Do the gods also hold different opinions about what is right and honourable?
[Plato]
|
336
|
Is what is pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because they love it? (the 'Euthyphro Question')
[Plato]
|
337
|
It seems that the gods love things because they are pious, rather than making them pious by loving them
[Plato]
|
1654
|
In "Gorgias" Socrates is confident that his 'elenchus' will decide moral truth
[Vlastos on Plato]
|
4320
|
The popular view is that health is first, good looks second, and honest wealth third
[Plato]
|
114
|
Rhetoric can produce conviction, but not educate people about right and wrong
[Plato]
|
4321
|
We should test one another, by asking and answering questions
[Plato]
|
116
|
Rhetoric is irrational about its means and its ends
[Plato]
|
118
|
I would rather be a victim of crime than a criminal
[Plato]
|
24223
|
Admirable people are happy, and unjust people are miserable
[Plato]
|
119
|
A criminal is worse off if he avoids punishment
[Plato]
|
120
|
Should we avoid evil because it will bring us bad consequences?
[Plato]
|
122
|
Moral rules are made by the weak members of humanity
[Plato]
|
123
|
Do most people like equality because they are second-rate?
[Plato]
|
124
|
Does nature imply that it is right for better people to have greater benefits?
[Plato]
|
125
|
Is a gifted philosopher unmanly if he avoids the strife of the communal world?
[Plato]
|
128
|
Is it natural to simply indulge our selfish desires?
[Plato]
|
129
|
Do most people praise self-discipline and justice because they are too timid to gain their own pleasure?
[Plato]
|
130
|
Is the happiest state one of sensual, self-indulgent freedom?
[Plato]
|
131
|
If absence of desire is happiness, then nothing is happier than a stone or a corpse
[Plato]
|
4319
|
In a fool's mind desire is like a leaky jar, insatiable in its desires, and order and contentment are better
[Plato]
|
132
|
If happiness is the satisfaction of desires, then a life of scratching itches should be happiness
[Plato]
|
4322
|
In slaking our thirst the goodness of the action and the pleasure are clearly separate
[Plato]
|
134
|
Good and bad people seem to experience equal amounts of pleasure and pain
[Plato]
|
135
|
All activity aims at the good
[Plato]
|
136
|
Good should be the aim of pleasant activity, not the other way round
[Plato]
|
137
|
As with other things, a good state is organised and orderly
[Plato]
|
139
|
A good person is bound to act well, and this brings happiness
[Plato]
|
140
|
Self-indulgent desire makes friendship impossible, because it makes a person incapable of co-operation
[Plato]
|
141
|
A good citizen won't be passive, but will redirect the needs of the state
[Plato]
|
297
|
What is fine is the parent of goodness
[Plato]
|
298
|
While sex is very pleasant, it should be in secret, as it looks contemptible
[Plato]
|
299
|
What is fine is always difficult
[Plato]
|
291
|
Don't assume that wisdom is the automatic consequence of old age
[Plato]
|
293
|
Being unafraid (perhaps through ignorance) and being brave are two different things
[Plato]
|
8004
|
In 'The Laws', to obey the law is to be obey god
[Plato, by MacIntyre]
|
235
|
Virtue is the aim of all laws
[Plato]
|
236
|
Sound laws achieve the happiness of those who observe them
[Plato]
|
238
|
Children's games should channel their pleasures into adult activity
[Plato]
|
239
|
Education in virtue produces citizens who are active but obedient
[Plato]
|
4331
|
Education is channelling a child's feelings into the right course before it understands why
[Plato]
|
4332
|
Virtue is a concord of reason and emotion, with pleasure and pain trained to correct ends
[Plato]
|
240
|
It would be strange if the gods rewarded those who experienced the most pleasure in life
[Plato]
|
241
|
We ought to follow where the argument leads us
[Plato]
|
15447
|
We shouldn't always follow where the argument leads!
[Lewis on Plato]
|
242
|
The best people are produced where there is no excess of wealth or poverty
[Plato]
|
243
|
It is foolish to quarrel with the mind's own reasoning processes
[Plato]
|
245
|
Totalitarian states destroy friendships and community spirit
[Plato]
|
248
|
A serious desire for moral excellence is very rare indeed
[Plato]
|
249
|
People who value beauty above virtue insult the soul by placing the body above it
[Plato]
|
250
|
The best way to educate the young is not to rebuke them, but to set a good example
[Plato]
|
251
|
Truth has the supreme value, for both gods and men
[Plato]
|
253
|
Every crime is the result of excessive self-love
[Plato]
|
254
|
Excessive laughter and tears must be avoided
[Plato]
|
256
|
Virtue and great wealth are incompatible
[Plato]
|
257
|
Mathematics has the widest application of any subject on the curriculum
[Plato]
|
1402
|
Friendship is impossible between master and slave, even if they are made equal
[Plato]
|
259
|
Justice is granting the equality which unequals deserve
[Plato]
|
260
|
Control of education is the key office of state, and should go to the best citizen
[Plato]
|
262
|
Men and women should qualify equally for honours on merit
[Plato]
|
263
|
The only worthwhile life is one devoted to physical and moral perfection
[Plato]
|
264
|
The conquest of pleasure is the noblest victory of all
[Plato]
|
265
|
An action is only just if it is performed by someone with a just character and outlook
[Plato]
|
266
|
Injustice is the mastery of the soul by bad feelings, even if they do not lead to harm
[Plato]
|
269
|
Attempted murder is like real murder, but we should respect the luck which avoided total ruin
[Plato]
|
21257
|
Self-generating motion is clearly superior to all other kinds of motion
[Plato]
|
21258
|
The only possible beginning for the endless motions of reality is something self-generated
[Plato]
|
273
|
Movement is transmitted through everything, and it must have started with self-generated motion
[Plato]
|
21259
|
To grasp a thing we need its name, its definition, and what it really is
[Plato]
|
21260
|
Soul is what is defined by 'self-generating motion'
[Plato]
|
21261
|
Self-moving soul has to be the oldest thing there is
[Plato]
|
274
|
Soul must be the cause of all the opposites, such as good and evil or beauty and ugliness
[Plato]
|
21262
|
There must be at least two souls controlling the cosmos, one doing good, the other the opposite
[Plato]
|
21263
|
If all the motions of nature reflect calculations of reason, then the best kind of soul must direct it
[Plato]
|
21264
|
Mortals are incapable of being fully rational
[Plato]
|
21265
|
The heavens must be full of gods, controlling nature either externally or from within
[Plato]
|
275
|
Creation is not for you; you exist for the sake of creation
[Plato]
|
276
|
My individuality is my soul, which carries my body around
[Plato]
|
277
|
The Guardians must aim to discover the common element in the four cardinal virtues
[Plato]
|
278
|
If astronomical movements are seen as necessary instead of by divine will, this leads to atheism
[Plato]
|
168
|
To understand morality requires a soul
[Plato]
|
294
|
People say that friendship exists only between good men
[Plato]
|
295
|
The good is beautiful
[Plato]
|
1913
|
Is virtue taught, or achieved by practice, or a natural aptitude, or what?
[Plato]
|
1916
|
Even if virtues are many and various, they must have something in common to make them virtues
[Plato]
|
1918
|
How can you know part of virtue without knowing the whole?
[Plato]
|
11259
|
How can you seek knowledge of something if you don't know it?
[Plato]
|
1919
|
You don't need to learn what you know, and how do you seek for what you don't know?
[Plato]
|
5985
|
Seeking and learning are just recollection
[Plato]
|
5986
|
The slave boy learns geometry from questioning, not teaching, so it is recollection
[Plato]
|
1921
|
If virtue is a type of knowledge then it ought to be taught
[Plato]
|
1922
|
Spiritual qualities only become advantageous with the growth of wisdom
[Plato]
|
1923
|
As a guide to action, true opinion is as good as knowledge
[Plato]
|
20219
|
True opinions only become really valuable when they are tied down by reasons
[Plato]
|
1927
|
It seems that virtue is neither natural nor taught, but is a divine gift
[Plato]
|
16151
|
Plato moves from Forms to a theory of genera and principles in his later work
[Plato, by Frede,M]
|
15846
|
In Parmenides, if composition is identity, a whole is nothing more than its parts
[Plato, by Harte,V]
|
13986
|
Plato found antinomies in ideas, Kant in space and time, and Bradley in relations
[Plato, by Ryle]
|
14150
|
Plato's 'Parmenides' is perhaps the best collection of antinomies ever made
[Russell on Plato]
|
21821
|
Plato's Parmenides has a three-part theory, of Primal One, a One-Many, and a One-and-Many
[Plato, by Plotinus]
|
8937
|
Plato's 'Parmenides' is the greatest artistic achievement of the ancient dialectic
[Hegel on Plato]
|
210
|
It would be absurd to think there were abstract Forms for vile things like hair, mud and dirt
[Plato]
|
211
|
If admirable things have Forms, maybe everything else does as well
[Plato]
|
212
|
The whole idea of each Form must be found in each thing which participates in it
[Plato]
|
213
|
Each idea is in all its participants at once, just as daytime is a unity but in many separate places at once
[Plato]
|
214
|
If absolute greatness and great things are seen as the same, another thing appears which makes them seem great
[Plato]
|
215
|
If things partake of ideas, this implies either that everything thinks, or that everything actually is thought
[Plato]
|
216
|
If things are made alike by participating in something, that thing will be the absolute idea
[Plato]
|
218
|
Participation is not by means of similarity, so we are looking for some other method of participation
[Plato]
|
217
|
Nothing can be like an absolute idea, because a third idea intervenes to make them alike (leading to a regress)
[Plato]
|
219
|
If absolute ideas existed in us, they would cease to be absolute
[Plato]
|
220
|
The concept of a master includes the concept of a slave
[Plato]
|
221
|
Absolute ideas, such as the Good and the Beautiful, cannot be known by us
[Plato]
|
222
|
Only a great person can understand the essence of things, and an even greater person can teach it
[Plato]
|
223
|
If you deny that each thing always stays the same, you destroy the possibility of discussion
[Plato]
|
224
|
When questions are doubtful we should concentrate not on objects but on ideas of the intellect
[Plato]
|
13259
|
It seems that the One must be composed of parts, which contradicts its being one
[Plato]
|
225
|
The unlimited has no shape and is endless
[Plato]
|
2062
|
The only movement possible for the One is in space or in alteration
[Plato]
|
24231
|
The One is timeless, has no being or identity, and cannot be known
[Plato]
|
16150
|
One is, so numbers exist, so endless numbers exist, and each one must partake of being
[Plato]
|
15847
|
Two things relate either as same or different, or part of a whole, or the whole of the part
[Plato]
|
227
|
You must always mean the same thing when you utter the same name
[Plato]
|
228
|
Greatness and smallness must exist, to be opposed to one another, and come into being in things
[Plato]
|
229
|
The one was and is and will be and was becoming and is becoming and will become
[Plato]
|
15850
|
Anything which has parts must be one thing, and parts are of a one, not of a many
[Plato]
|
15849
|
Plato says only a one has parts, and a many does not
[Plato, by Harte,V]
|
231
|
Everything partakes of the One in some way
[Plato]
|
15851
|
Parts must belong to a created thing with a distinct form
[Plato]
|
232
|
Opposites are as unlike as possible
[Plato]
|
233
|
Some things do not partake of the One
[Plato]
|
234
|
We couldn't discuss the non-existence of the One without knowledge of it
[Plato]
|
16516
|
The ship which Theseus took to Crete is now sent to Delos crowned with flowers
[Plato]
|
350
|
In investigation the body leads us astray, but the soul gets a clear view of the facts
[Plato]
|
351
|
War aims at the acquisition of wealth, because we are enslaved to the body
[Plato]
|
9343
|
To achieve pure knowledge, we must get rid of the body and contemplate things with the soul
[Plato]
|
354
|
Wisdom makes virtue and true goodness possible
[Plato]
|
357
|
People are obviously recollecting when they react to a geometrical diagram
[Plato]
|
359
|
If we feel the inadequacy of a resemblance, we must recollect the original
[Plato]
|
360
|
We must have a prior knowledge of equality, if we see 'equal' things and realise they fall short of it
[Plato]
|
361
|
It is a mistake to think that the most violent pleasure or pain is therefore the truest reality
[Plato]
|
362
|
The greatest misfortune for a person is to develop a dislike for argument
[Plato]
|
363
|
Whether the soul pre-exists our body depends on whether it contains the ultimate standard of reality
[Plato]
|
364
|
One soul can't be more or less of a soul than another
[Plato]
|
13154
|
Do we think and experience with blood, air or fire, or could it be our brain?
[Plato]
|
13155
|
If you add one to one, which one becomes two, or do they both become two?
[Plato]
|
15859
|
To investigate the causes of things, study what is best for them
[Plato]
|
13156
|
Fancy being unable to distinguish a cause from its necessary background conditions!
[Plato]
|
1
|
There is only one source for all beauty
[Plato]
|
24227
|
One and one can only become two by sharing in Twoness
[Plato]
|
368
|
Other things are named after the Forms because they participate in them
[Plato]
|
21347
|
If Simmias is taller than Socrates, that isn't a feature that is just in Simmias
[Plato]
|
369
|
If the Earth is spherical and in the centre, it is kept in place by universal symmetry, not by force
[Plato]
|
370
|
Philosophy is a purification of the soul ready for the afterlife
[Plato]
|
24230
|
The Forms arise whenever we talk of something 'in itself'.
[Plato]
|
24225
|
Things like the Equal and the Beautiful, which are real, must be unchanging
[Plato]
|
24226
|
The soul on its own enters a pure, unchanging and eternal realm, and experiences wisdom
[Plato]
|
23997
|
Plato saw emotions and appetites as wild horses, in need of taming
[Plato, by Goldie]
|
143
|
The two ruling human principles are the natural desire for pleasure, and an acquired love of virtue
[Plato]
|
144
|
Reason impels us towards excellence, which teaches us self-control
[Plato]
|
146
|
Soul is always in motion, so it must be self-moving and immortal
[Plato]
|
148
|
If the prime origin is destroyed, it will not come into being again out of anything
[Plato]
|
9296
|
The soul is self-motion
[Plato]
|
150
|
We cannot conceive of God, so we have to think of Him as an immortal version of ourselves
[Plato]
|
149
|
There isn't a single reason for positing the existence of immortal beings
[Plato]
|
151
|
True knowledge is of the reality behind sense experience
[Plato]
|
152
|
The mind of God is fully satisfied and happy with a vision of reality and truth
[Plato]
|
153
|
It takes a person to understand, by using universals, and by using reason to create a unity out of sense-impressions
[Plato]
|
154
|
We would have an overpowering love of knowledge if we had a pure idea of it - as with the other Forms
[Plato]
|
155
|
Beauty is the clearest and most lovely of the Forms
[Plato]
|
156
|
Bad people are never really friends with one another
[Plato]
|
157
|
Most pleasure is release from pain, and is therefore not worthwhile
[Plato]
|
158
|
An excellent speech seems to imply a knowledge of the truth in the mind of the speaker
[Plato]
|
159
|
Only a good philosopher can be a good speaker
[Plato]
|
7953
|
Reasoning needs to cut nature accurately at the joints
[Plato]
|
16121
|
I revere anyone who can discern a single thing that encompasses many things
[Plato]
|
160
|
The highest ability in man is the ability to discuss unity and plurality in the nature of things
[Plato]
|
162
|
Can we understand an individual soul without knowing the soul in general?
[Plato]
|
165
|
If the apparent facts strongly conflict with probability, it is in everyone's interests to suppress the facts
[Plato]
|
166
|
A speaker should be able to divide a subject, right down to the limits of divisibility
[Plato]
|
5946
|
'Phaedrus' pioneers the notion of philosophical rhetoric
[Lawson-Tancred on Plato]
|
371
|
Reason, memory, truth and wisdom are far better than pleasure, for those who can attain them
[Plato]
|
373
|
Pleasure is certainly very pleasant, but it doesn't follow that all pleasures are good
[Plato]
|
374
|
If one object is divided into its parts, someone can then say that one are many and many is one
[Plato]
|
15845
|
It seems absurd that seeing a person's limbs, the one is many, and yet the many are one
[Plato]
|
4447
|
If the good is one, is it unchanged when it is in particulars, and is it then separated from itself?
[Plato]
|
15856
|
A thing can become one or many, depending on how we talk about it
[Plato]
|
376
|
Would you prefer a life of pleasure without reason, or one of reason without pleasure?
[Plato]
|
377
|
If you lived a life of maximum pleasure, would you still be lacking anything?
[Plato]
|
378
|
A life of pure pleasure with no intellect is the life of a jellyfish
[Plato]
|
379
|
The good must be sufficient and perfect, and neither intellect nor pleasure are that
[Plato]
|
381
|
We feel pleasure when we approach our natural state of harmony
[Plato]
|
382
|
It is unlikely that the gods feel either pleasure or pain
[Plato]
|
385
|
Some of the pleasures and pains we feel are false
[Plato]
|
386
|
Intense pleasure and pain are not felt in a good body, but in a worthless one
[Plato]
|
387
|
A small pure pleasure is much finer than a large one contaminated with pain
[Plato]
|
388
|
Hedonists must say that someone in pain is bad, even if they are virtuous
[Plato]
|
9865
|
Daily arithmetic counts unequal things, but pure arithmetic equalises them
[Plato]
|
389
|
How can you be certain about aspects of the world if they aren't constant?
[Plato]
|
9867
|
It is absurd to define a circle, but not be able to recognise a real one
[Plato]
|
14503
|
If a mixture does not contain measure and proportion, it is corrupted and destroyed
[Plato]
|
15857
|
Any mixture which lacks measure and proportion doesn't even count as a mixture at all
[Plato]
|
390
|
If goodness involves moderation and proportion, then it seems to be found in beauty
[Plato]
|
391
|
We could express the Good as beauty, proportion and truth combined
[Plato]
|
393
|
Good first, then beauty, then reason, then knowledge, then pleasure
[Plato, by PG]
|
392
|
Neither intellect nor pleasure are the good, because they are not perfect and self-sufficient
[Plato]
|
188
|
Socrates did not believe that virtue could be taught
[Plato]
|
189
|
If we punish wrong-doers, it shows that we believe virtue can be taught
[Plato]
|
190
|
If asked whether justice itself is just or unjust, you would have to say that it is just
[Plato]
|
191
|
Everything resembles everything else up to a point
[Plato]
|
192
|
Only one thing can be contrary to something
[Plato]
|
193
|
Some things are good even though they are not beneficial to men
[Plato]
|
20184
|
The only real evil is loss of knowledge
[Plato]
|
197
|
Some pleasures are not good, and some pains are not evil
[Plato]
|
20185
|
The most important things in life are wisdom and knowledge
[Plato]
|
200
|
People tend only to disapprove of pleasure if it leads to pain, or prevents future pleasure
[Plato]
|
202
|
No one willingly and knowingly embraces evil
[Plato]
|
203
|
Courage is knowing what should or shouldn't be feared
[Plato]
|
204
|
Socrates is contradicting himself in claiming virtue can't be taught, but that it is knowledge
[Plato]
|
2630
|
If Plato's God is immaterial, he will lack consciousness, wisdom, pleasure and movement, which are essential to him
[Cicero on Plato]
|
4115
|
Plato found that he could only enforce rational moral justification by creating an authoritarian society
[Williams,B on Plato]
|
1869
|
The good cannot be expressed in words, but imprints itself upon the soul
[Plato, by Celsus]
|
6562
|
Plato's reality has unchanging Parmenidean forms, and Heraclitean flux
[Plato, by Fogelin]
|
5945
|
The 'Republic' is a great work of rhetorical theory
[Lawson-Tancred on Plato]
|
5094
|
Plato's Forms are said to have no location in space
[Plato, by Aristotle]
|
12122
|
Plato mistakenly thought forms were totally abstracted away from matter
[Bacon on Plato]
|
5574
|
Plato's Forms not only do not come from the senses, but they are beyond possibility of sensing
[Plato, by Kant]
|
12043
|
Forms are not universals, as they don't cover every general term
[Plato, by Annas]
|
7
|
Surely you don't return a borrowed weapon to a mad friend?
[Plato]
|
2092
|
Simonides said morality is helping one's friends and harming one's enemies
[Plato]
|
5
|
Justice is merely the interests of the stronger party
[Plato]
|
8
|
Is right just the interests of the powerful?
[Plato]
|
6009
|
Psychic conflict is clear if appetite is close to the body and reason fairly separate
[Plato, by Modrak]
|
2093
|
You must never go against what you actually believe
[Plato]
|
2094
|
A thing's function is what it alone can do, or what it does better than other things
[Plato]
|
2095
|
If something has a function then it has a state of being good
[Plato]
|
2096
|
Is the function of the mind management, authority and planning - or is it one's whole way of life?
[Plato]
|
19946
|
Morality is a compromise, showing restraint, to avoid suffering wrong without compensation
[Plato]
|
10
|
After a taste of mutual harm, men make a legal contract to avoid it
[Plato]
|
12
|
If we were invisible, would the just man become like the unjust?
[Plato]
|
13
|
Is the supreme reward for virtue to be drunk for eternity?
[Plato]
|
2097
|
Isn't it better to have a reputation for goodness than to actually be good?
[Plato]
|
14
|
If the gods are non-existent or indifferent, why bother to deceive them?
[Plato]
|
15
|
Sin first, then sacrifice to the gods from the proceeds
[Plato]
|
16
|
We avoid evil either through a natural aversion, or because we have acquired knowledge
[Plato]
|
19889
|
People need society because the individual has too many needs
[Plato]
|
19890
|
All exchanges in a community are for mutual benefit
[Plato]
|
2120
|
God is responsible for the good things, but we must look elsewhere for the cause of the bad things
[Plato]
|
2061
|
The best things (gods, healthy bodies, good souls) are least liable to change
[Plato]
|
23767
|
The winds of the discussion should decide its destination
[Plato]
|
2123
|
Excessive pleasure deranges people, making the other virtues impossible
[Plato]
|
2126
|
A good community necessarily has wisdom, courage, self-discipline and morality
[Plato]
|
23561
|
People doing their jobs properly is the fourth cardinal virtue for a city
[Plato]
|
2127
|
The mind has parts, because we have inner conflicts
[Plato]
|
1737
|
The soul seems to have an infinity of parts
[Aristotle on Plato]
|
6041
|
There is a third element to the mind - spirit - lying between reason and appetite
[Plato]
|
23562
|
If the parts of our soul do their correct work, we will be just people, and will act justly
[Plato]
|
2129
|
Goodness is mental health, badness is mental sickness
[Plato]
|
2130
|
People often merely practice eristic instead of dialectic, because they don't analyse the subject-matter
[Plato]
|
2131
|
Is there anything better for a community than to produce excellent people?
[Plato]
|
2132
|
Only rule by philosophers of integrity can keep a community healthy
[Plato]
|
24228
|
Believers in the beautiful see that it is separate from things that participate in it
[Plato]
|
2133
|
Knowledge must be of the permanent unchanging nature of things
[Plato]
|
2134
|
Philosophers are concerned with totally non-physical pleasures
[Plato]
|
2135
|
Truth is closely related to proportion
[Plato]
|
24229
|
The true reality is organised and harmonised in a rational order
[Plato]
|
2136
|
Philosophers become as divine and orderly as possible, by studying divinity and order
[Plato]
|
23682
|
It would be absurd to be precise about the small things, but only vague about the big things
[Plato]
|
2137
|
The main aim is to understand goodness, which gives everything its value and advantage
[Plato]
|
2138
|
Pleasure is commonly thought to be the good, though the more ingenious prefer knowledge
[Plato]
|
2070
|
Even people who think pleasure is the good admit that there are bad pleasures
[Plato]
|
4007
|
For Plato we abandon honour and pleasure once we see the Good
[Plato, by Taylor,C]
|
2139
|
Every person, and every activity, aims at the good
[Plato]
|
2140
|
True belief without knowledge is like blind people on the right road
[Plato]
|
2141
|
I suggest that we forget about trying to define goodness itself for the time being
[Plato]
|
2142
|
The plurality of beautiful things must belong to a single class, because they have a single particular character
[Plato]
|
2143
|
Good has the same role in the world of knowledge as the sun has in the physical world
[Plato]
|
2144
|
Goodness makes truth and knowledge possible
[Plato]
|
21818
|
Being depends on the Good, which is not itself being, but superior to being
[Plato]
|
2145
|
In mathematics certain things have to be accepted without further explanation
[Plato]
|
2147
|
The sight of goodness leads to all that is fine and true and right
[Plato]
|
2148
|
To gain knowledge, turn away from the world of change, and focus on true goodness
[Plato]
|
4547
|
Plato measured the degree of reality by the degree of value
[Nietzsche on Plato]
|
2149
|
Reluctant rulers make a better and more unified administration
[Plato]
|
9861
|
The same thing is both one and an unlimited number at the same time
[Plato]
|
9862
|
To become rational, philosophers must rise from becoming into being
[Plato]
|
9863
|
We aim for elevated discussion of pure numbers, not attaching them to physical objects
[Plato]
|
9864
|
In pure numbers, all ones are equal, with no internal parts
[Plato]
|
8727
|
Geometry is not an activity, but the study of unchanging knowledge
[Plato]
|
8726
|
Geometry can lead the mind upwards to truth and philosophy
[Plato]
|
2151
|
Dialectic is the only method of inquiry which uproots the things which it takes for granted
[Plato]
|
2152
|
Dialectic is the highest and most important part of the curriculum
[Plato]
|
2153
|
Compulsory intellectual work never remains in the mind
[Plato]
|
2154
|
The ability to take an overview is the distinguishing mark of a dialectician
[Plato]
|
4011
|
For Plato, rationality is a vision of and love of a cosmic rational order
[Plato, by Taylor,C]
|
2155
|
True goodness requires mental unity and harmony
[Plato]
|
23316
|
For Plato and Aristotle there is no will; there is only rational desire for what is seen as good
[Plato, by Frede,M]
|
2156
|
There are three types of pleasure, for reason, for spirit and for appetite
[Plato]
|
2157
|
Nice smells are intensive, have no preceding pain, and no bad after-effect
[Plato]
|
2158
|
Pleasure-seekers desperately seek illusory satisfaction, like filling a leaky vessel
[Plato]
|
17
|
A Form applies to a set of particular things with the same name
[Plato]
|
2159
|
Craftsmen making furniture refer to the form, but no one manufactures the form of furniture
[Plato]
|
16565
|
Without the surface decoration, poetry shows only appearances and nothing of what is real
[Plato]
|
2160
|
Representation is two steps removed from the truth
[Plato]
|
2162
|
If theory and practice conflict, the best part of the mind accepts theory, so the other part is of lower grade
[Plato]
|
2163
|
Artists should be excluded from a law-abiding community, because they destroy the rational mind
[Plato]
|
2164
|
Bad is always destructive, where good preserves and benefits
[Plato]
|
2165
|
Something is unlikely to be immortal if it is imperfectly made from diverse parts
[Plato]
|
2166
|
We should behave well even if invisible, for the health of the mind
[Plato]
|
2168
|
Clever criminals do well at first, but not in the long run
[Plato]
|
5944
|
For Plato, virtue is its own reward
[Lawson-Tancred on Plato]
|
1636
|
Wickedness is an illness of the soul
[Plato]
|
1637
|
A soul without understanding is ugly
[Plato]
|
1638
|
Didactic education is hard work and achieves little
[Plato]
|
20478
|
In discussion a person's opinions are shown to be in conflict, leading to calm self-criticism
[Plato]
|
11278
|
What does 'that which is not' refer to?
[Plato]
|
1641
|
Some alarming thinkers think that only things which you can touch exist
[Plato]
|
7022
|
To be is to have a capacity, to act on other things, or to receive actions
[Plato]
|
1642
|
We must fight fiercely for knowledge, understanding and intelligence
[Plato]
|
1643
|
If statements about non-existence are logically puzzling, so are statements about existence
[Plato]
|
16122
|
Good thinkers spot forms spread through things, or included within some larger form
[Plato]
|
287
|
Good analysis involves dividing things into appropriate forms without confusion
[Plato]
|
1644
|
Dialectic should only be taught to those who already philosophise well
[Plato]
|
10422
|
The not-beautiful is part of the beautiful, though opposed to it, and is just as real
[Plato]
|
15855
|
If we see everything as separate, we can then give no account of it
[Plato]
|
1645
|
The desire to split everything into its parts is unpleasant and unphilosophical
[Plato]
|
10784
|
Whenever there's speech it has to be about something
[Plato]
|
16125
|
To reveal a nature, divide down, and strip away what it has in common with other things
[Plato]
|
279
|
Only divine things can always stay the same, and bodies are not like that
[Plato]
|
5961
|
The soul gets its goodness from god, and its evil from previous existence.
[Plato]
|
281
|
The arts produce good and beautiful things by preserving the mean
[Plato]
|
16123
|
Whenever you perceive a community of things, you should also hunt out differences in the group
[Plato]
|
16124
|
No one wants to define 'weaving' just for the sake of weaving
[Plato]
|
282
|
Non-physical beauty can only be shown clearly by speech
[Plato]
|
22559
|
Democracy is the worst of good constitutions, but the best of bad constitutions
[Plato, by Aristotle]
|
283
|
The question of whether or not to persuade comes before the science of persuasion
[Plato]
|
14177
|
Love assists men in achieving merit and happiness
[Plato]
|
170
|
The only slavery which is not dishonourable is slavery to excellence
[Plato]
|
171
|
Music is a knowledge of love in the realm of harmony and rhythm
[Plato]
|
172
|
Love of ugliness is impossible
[Plato]
|
173
|
Beauty and goodness are the same
[Plato]
|
174
|
True opinion without reason is midway between wisdom and ignorance
[Plato]
|
14178
|
Happiness is secure enjoyment of what is good and beautiful
[Plato]
|
175
|
Gods are not lovers of wisdom, because they are already wise
[Plato]
|
176
|
Love follows beauty, wisdom is exceptionally beautiful, so love follows wisdom
[Plato]
|
177
|
If a person is good they will automatically become happy
[Plato]
|
179
|
Love is desire for perpetual possession of the good
[Plato]
|
4026
|
Beauty is harmony with what is divine, and ugliness is lack of such harmony
[Plato]
|
180
|
We call a person the same throughout life, but all their attributes change
[Plato]
|
181
|
Only the gods stay unchanged; we replace our losses with similar acquisitions
[Plato]
|
14179
|
The finest branch of wisdom is justice and moderation in ordering states and families
[Plato]
|
182
|
The first step on the right path is the contemplation of physical beauty when young
[Plato]
|
1607
|
Diotima said the Forms are the objects of desire in philosophical discourse
[Plato, by Roochnik]
|
183
|
Stage two is the realisation that beauty of soul is of more value than beauty of body
[Plato]
|
184
|
Progress goes from physical beauty, to moral beauty, to the beauty of knowledge, and reaches absolute beauty
[Plato]
|
2045
|
Perception is infallible, suggesting that it is knowledge
[Plato]
|
2047
|
What evidence can be brought to show whether we are dreaming or not?
[Plato]
|
2050
|
It is impossible to believe something which is held to be false
[Plato]
|
2052
|
Eristic discussion is aggressive, but dialectic aims to help one's companions in discussion
[Plato]
|
2053
|
If you claim that all beliefs are true, that includes beliefs opposed to your own
[Plato]
|
2054
|
Clearly some people are superior to others when it comes to medicine
[Plato]
|
2056
|
Philosophers are always switching direction to something more interesting
[Plato]
|
2057
|
There must always be some force of evil ranged against good
[Plato]
|
2058
|
God must be the epitome of goodness, and we can only approach a divine state by being as good as possible
[Plato]
|
2059
|
How can a relativist form opinions about what will happen in the future?
[Plato]
|
2060
|
There seem to be two sorts of change: alteration and motion
[Plato]
|
2067
|
Our senses could have been separate, but they converge on one mind
[Plato]
|
2068
|
With what physical faculty do we perceive pairs of opposed abstract qualities?
[Plato]
|
2069
|
Thought must grasp being itself before truth becomes possible
[Plato]
|
2076
|
How can a belief exist if its object doesn't exist?
[Plato]
|
2078
|
You might mistake eleven for twelve in your senses, but not in your mind
[Plato]
|
10216
|
We master arithmetic by knowing all the numbers in our soul
[Plato]
|
2080
|
Things are only knowable if a rational account (logos) is possible
[Plato]
|
2081
|
Maybe primary elements can be named, but not receive a rational account
[Plato]
|
2082
|
A rational account is essentially a weaving together of things with names
[Plato]
|
15854
|
A primary element has only a name, and no logos, but complexes have an account, by weaving the names
[Plato]
|
15843
|
The whole can't be the parts, because it would be all of the parts, which is the whole
[Plato]
|
15844
|
A sum is that from which nothing is lacking, which is a whole
[Plato]
|
2083
|
Either a syllable is its letters (making parts as knowable as whole) or it isn't (meaning it has no parts)
[Plato]
|
2084
|
If a word has no parts and has a single identity, it turns out to be the same kind of thing as a letter
[Plato]
|
2085
|
Parts and wholes are either equally knowable or equally unknowable
[Plato]
|
2086
|
Understanding mainly involves knowing the elements, not their combinations
[Plato]
|
2087
|
A rational account might be seeing an image of one's belief, like a reflection in a mirror
[Plato]
|
2088
|
A rational account of a wagon would mean knowledge of its hundred parts
[Plato]
|
16126
|
Expertise is knowledge of the whole by means of the parts
[Plato]
|
2089
|
An inadequate rational account would still not justify knowledge
[Plato]
|
2090
|
A rational account involves giving an image, or analysis, or giving a differentiating mark
[Plato]
|
2091
|
Without distinguishing marks, how do I know what my beliefs are about?
[Plato]
|
5962
|
Plato says the soul is ordered by number
[Plato, by Plutarch]
|
12042
|
Plato's Forms were seen as part of physics, rather than of metaphysics
[Plato, by Annas]
|
24234
|
I have discussed the best constitution, and the kind of citizens it requires
[Plato]
|
24235
|
Female Guardians will have identical duties to the men
[Plato]
|
306
|
Nothing can come to be without a cause
[Plato]
|
20364
|
The apprehensions of reason remain unchanging, but reasonless sensation shows mere becoming
[Plato]
|
307
|
Something will always be well-made if the maker keeps in mind the eternal underlying pattern
[Plato]
|
308
|
If the cosmos is an object of perception then it must be continually changing
[Plato]
|
309
|
Clearly the world is good, so its maker must have been concerned with the eternal, not with change
[Plato]
|
24236
|
Some statements about what is obvious and stable are as irrefutable as possible
[Plato]
|
310
|
The creator of the cosmos had no envy, and so wanted things to be as like himself as possible
[Plato]
|
24238
|
The god found chaos, and led it to superior order
[Plato]
|
24237
|
The divine organiser of the world wanted it to have as little imperfection as possible
[Plato]
|
24239
|
Perfect goodness always produces perfect beauty
[Plato]
|
24240
|
Intelligence requires soul
[Plato]
|
24241
|
Beauty must always be perfect
[Plato]
|
24242
|
Is there a plurality (or even an infinity) of universes? No, because the model makes it unique
[Plato]
|
311
|
The cosmos must be unique, because it resembles the creator, who is unique
[Plato]
|
24243
|
The world-maker used the four elements and their properties in entirety
[Plato]
|
24244
|
The soul is a complex mixture of pure mind and changing matter
[Plato]
|
24245
|
The god created eternity in the sequence of the universe, and its image we call 'time'
[Plato]
|
312
|
Time came into existence with the heavens, so that there will be a time when they can be dissolved
[Plato]
|
24246
|
The sun was made for light, so we could learn numbers from astronomical movement
[Plato]
|
24247
|
The universe has four types of living being: gods, birds, fish, and land animals
[Plato]
|
24248
|
The god said human nature comes as the superior male, and inferior female
[Plato]
|
314
|
Heavenly movements gave us the idea of time, and caused us to inquire about the heavens
[Plato]
|
315
|
Philosophy is the supreme gift of the gods to mortals
[Plato]
|
316
|
Music has harmony like the soul, and serves to reorder disharmony within us
[Plato]
|
317
|
The universe is basically an intelligible and unchanging model, and a visible and changing copy of it
[Plato]
|
318
|
In addition to the underlying unchanging model and a changing copy of it, there must also be a foundation of all change
[Plato]
|
24249
|
The elements seem able to transmute into each other
[Plato]
|
24250
|
We should not pick out 'this' water, but only 'something of this sort'
[Plato]
|
321
|
For knowledge and true opinion to be different there must be Forms; otherwise we are just stuck with sensations
[Plato]
|
24251
|
If knowledge is just true belief, we are forced to rely on the senses
[Plato]
|
24252
|
Knowledge is taught, has logos, is unshakeable, and is rare
[Plato]
|
322
|
Intelligence is the result of rational teaching; true opinion can result from irrational persuasion
[Plato]
|
24253
|
Space is eternal and indestructible, but is only known by barely credible reasoning
[Plato]
|
24254
|
Two existing entities can never strictly coincide
[Plato]
|
324
|
Before the existence of the world there must have been being, space and becoming
[Plato]
|
325
|
We must consider the four basic shapes as too small to see, only becoming visible in large numbers
[Plato]
|
24255
|
Motion needs differing moved and mover, so it originates in diversity
[Plato]
|
24256
|
The spherical universe composed of four elements squeezes out every bit of void
[Plato]
|
326
|
For relaxation one can consider the world of change, instead of eternal things
[Plato]
|
24257
|
Unnatural modifications are painful, and restoring normality is pleasant
[Plato]
|
327
|
There are two types of cause, the necessary and the divine
[Plato]
|
24258
|
The gods placed the mortal soul in the chest
[Plato]
|
24259
|
Death in old age is a natural end, untroubled, and more pleasure than distress
[Plato]
|
328
|
Everything that takes place naturally is pleasant
[Plato]
|
330
|
No one wants to be bad, but bad men result from physical and educational failures, which they do not want or choose
[Plato]
|
331
|
Bad governments prevent discussion, and discourage the study of virtue
[Plato]
|
332
|
One should exercise both the mind and the body, to avoid imbalance
[Plato]
|
24260
|
The best part of the soul raises us up to the heavens, to which we are naturally akin
[Plato]
|
24261
|
Devotion to learning and applied intelligence leads to divine wisdom - if truth is available
[Plato]
|
334
|
Only bird-brained people think astronomy is entirely a matter of evidence
[Plato]
|
1651
|
Plato wanted to somehow control and purify the passions
[Vlastos on Plato]
|
17085
|
A good explanation totally rules out the opposite explanation (so Forms are required)
[Plato, by Ruben]
|
7503
|
Plato never refers to examining the conscience
[Plato, by Foucault]
|
2173
|
As religion and convention collapsed, Plato sought morals not just in knowledge, but in the soul
[Williams,B on Plato]
|
94
|
Pleasure is better with the addition of intelligence, so pleasure is not the good
[Plato, by Aristotle]
|
9274
|
Plato's legacy to European thought was the Good, the Beautiful and the True
[Plato, by Gray]
|
3324
|
Plato's whole philosophy may be based on being duped by reification - a figure of speech
[Benardete,JA on Plato]
|
593
|
Plato's holds that there are three substances: Forms, mathematical entities, and perceptible bodies
[Plato, by Aristotle]
|
13260
|
Plato says wholes are either containers, or they're atomic, or they don't exist
[Plato, by Koslicki]
|
13261
|
Plato sees an object's structure as expressible in mathematics
[Plato, by Koslicki]
|
13265
|
Plato was less concerned than Aristotle with the source of unity in a complex object
[Plato, by Koslicki]
|
565
|
The Forms cannot be changeless if they are in changing things
[Aristotle on Plato]
|
9607
|
The greatest discovery in human thought is Plato's discovery of abstract objects
[Brown,JR on Plato]
|
13263
|
We can grasp whole things in science, because they have a mathematics and a teleology
[Plato, by Koslicki]
|
563
|
If gods are like men, they are just eternal men; similarly, Forms must differ from particulars
[Aristotle on Plato]
|
556
|
If there is one Form for both the Form and its participants, they must have something in common
[Aristotle on Plato]
|
3039
|
When Diogenes said he could only see objects but not their forms, Plato said it was because he had eyes but no intellect
[Plato, by Diog. Laertius]
|
557
|
A Form is a cause of things only in the way that white mixed with white is a cause
[Aristotle on Plato]
|
20906
|
Platonists argue for the indivisible triangle-in-itself
[Plato, by Aristotle]
|
11237
|
Only universals have essence
[Plato, by Politis]
|
11238
|
Plato and Aristotle take essence to make a thing what it is
[Plato, by Politis]
|
17948
|
Plato's Forms meant that the sophists only taught the appearance of wisdom and virtue
[Plato, by Nehamas]
|
14502
|
Plato's idea of 'structure' tends to be mathematically expressed
[Plato, by Koslicki]
|
23890
|
For Plato true wisdom is supernatural
[Plato, by Weil]
|
3060
|
Plato never mentions Democritus, and wished to burn his books
[Plato, by Diog. Laertius]
|
23891
|
Two contradictories force us to find a relation which will correlate them
[Plato, by Weil]
|
17947
|
Plato decided that the virtuous and happy life was the philosophical life
[Plato, by Nehamas]
|
6015
|
Plato, unusually, said that theoretical and practical wisdom are inseparable
[Plato, by Kraut]
|
2912
|
Plato is boring
[Nietzsche on Plato]
|
1526
|
Almost everyone except Plato thinks that time could not have been generated
[Plato, by Aristotle]
|