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Ideas of Plato, by Text

[Greek, 428 - 347 BCE, Athenian pupil of Socrates. Founded Academy in Athens 385. Travelled to Italy and Sicily. Taught Aristotle. Died in Athens.]

400BCE Lysis
214d p.147 294 People say that friendship exists only between good men
216d p.150 295 The good is beautiful
398BCE Euthyphro
07e p.27 335 Do the gods also hold different opinions about what is right and honourable?
10a p.31 336 Is what is pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because they love it? (the 'Euthyphro Question')
10e p.31 337 It seems that the gods love things because they are pious, rather than making them pious by loving them
392BCE Hippias Major
297b p.255 297 What is fine is the parent of goodness
299a p.257 298 While sex is very pleasant, it should be in secret, as it looks contemptible
304e p.265 299 What is fine is always difficult
387BCE Gorgias
p.117 1654 In "Gorgias" Socrates is confident that his 'elenchus' will decide moral truth [Vlastos]
451e p.11 4320 The popular view is that health is first, good looks second, and honest wealth third
455a p.17 114 Rhetoric can produce conviction, but not educate people about right and wrong
462a p.28 4321 We should test one another, by asking and answering questions
465a p.32 116 Rhetoric is irrational about its means and its ends
469c p.40 118 I would rather be a victim of crime than a criminal
472e p.46 119 A criminal is worse off if he avoids punishment
480a p.60 120 Should we avoid evil because it will bring us bad consequences?
483b p.65 122 Moral rules are made by the weak members of humanity
483c p.66 123 Do most people like equality because they are second-rate?
483d p.66 124 Does nature imply that it is right for better people to have greater benefits?
485d p.68 125 Is a gifted philosopher unmanly if he avoids the strife of the communal world?
491e p.79 128 Is it natural to simply indulge our selfish desires?
492a p.79 129 Do most people praise self-discipline and justice because they are too timid to gain their own pleasure?
492c p.79 130 Is the happiest state one of sensual, self-indulgent freedom?
492e p.80 131 If absence of desire is happiness, then nothing is happier than a stone or a corpse
493b p.80 4319 In a fool's mind desire is like a leaky jar, insatiable in its desires, and order and contentment are better
494c p.82 132 If happiness is the satisfaction of desires, then a life of scratching itches should be happiness
497d p.88 4322 In slaking our thirst the goodness of the action and the pleasure are clearly separate
498c p.90 134 Good and bad people seem to experience equal amounts of pleasure and pain
499e p.93 135 All activity aims at the good
500a p.93 136 Good should be the aim of pleasant activity, not the other way round
506e p.104 137 As with other things, a good state is organised and orderly
507c p.105 139 A good person is bound to act well, and this brings happiness
507e p.106 140 Self-indulgent desire makes friendship impossible, because it makes a person incapable of co-operation
517b p.120 141 A good citizen won't be passive, but will redirect the needs of the state
385BCE Meno
70a p.115 1913 Is virtue taught, or achieved by practice, or a natural aptitude, or what?
72c p.117 1916 Even if virtues are many and various, they must have something in common to make them virtues
79c p.127 1918 How can you know part of virtue without knowing the whole?
80d05 p.880 11259 How can you seek knowledge of something if you don't know it?
80e p.128 1919 You don't need to learn what you know, and how do you seek for what you don't know?
81d p.880 5985 Seeking and learning are just recollection
85d p.886 5986 The slave boy learns geometry from questioning, not teaching, so it is recollection
87c p.141 1921 If virtue is a type of knowledge then it ought to be taught
88c p.142 1922 Spiritual qualities only become advantageous with the growth of wisdom
97b p.153 1923 As a guide to action, true opinion is as good as knowledge
98a3 p.895 20219 True opinions only become really valuable when they are tied down by reasons
99e p.156 1927 It seems that virtue is neither natural nor taught, but is a divine gift
384BCE The Symposium
180b p.45 14177 Love assists men in achieving merit and happiness
184c p.51 170 The only slavery which is not dishonourable is slavery to excellence
187c p.55 171 Music is a knowledge of love in the realm of harmony and rhythm
201a p.78 172 Love of ugliness is impossible
201c p.78 173 Beauty and goodness are the same
202a p.80 174 True opinion without reason is midway between wisdom and ignorance
202c p.80 14178 Happiness is secure enjoyment of what is good and beautiful
204a p.82 175 Gods are not lovers of wisdom, because they are already wise
204b p.83 176 Love follows beauty, wisdom is exceptionally beautiful, so love follows wisdom
205a p.84 177 If a person is good they will automatically become happy
206a p.86 179 Love is desire for perpetual possession of the good
206d p.489 4026 Beauty is harmony with what is divine, and ugliness is lack of such harmony
207d p.88 180 We call a person the same throughout life, but all their attributes change
208b p.89 181 Only the gods stay unchanged; we replace our losses with similar acquisitions
209a p.90 14179 The finest branch of wisdom is justice and moderation in ordering states and families
210a p.92 182 The first step on the right path is the contemplation of physical beauty when young
210a4- p.199 1607 Diotima said the Forms are the objects of desire in philosophical discourse [Roochnik]
210b p.92 183 Stage two is the realisation that beauty of soul is of more value than beauty of body
211c p.94 184 Progress goes from physical beauty, to moral beauty, to the beauty of knowledge, and reaches absolute beauty
383BCE The Apology
38a p.125 1655 If goodness needs true opinion but not knowledge, you can skip the 'examined life' [Vlastos]
382BCE Phaedo
058a p.50 16516 The ship which Theseus took to Crete is now sent to Delos crowned with flowers
065c p.109 350 In investigation the body leads us astray, but the soul gets a clear view of the facts
066c p.111 9343 To achieve pure knowledge, we must get rid of the body and contemplate things with the soul
066c p.111 351 War aims at the acquisition of wealth, because we are enslaved to the body
069b p.115 354 Wisdom makes virtue and true goodness possible
073a p.121 357 People are obviously recollecting when they react to a geometrical diagram
074e p.124 359 If we feel the inadequacy of a resemblance, we must recollect the original
075a p.124 360 We must have a prior knowledge of equality, if we see 'equal' things and realise they fall short of it
084c p.136 361 It is a mistake to think that the most violent pleasure or pain is therefore the truest reality
089d p.144 362 The greatest misfortune for a person is to develop a dislike for argument
092d p.148 363 Whether the soul pre-exists our body depends on whether it contains the ultimate standard of reality
093b p.149 364 One soul can't be more or less of a soul than another
097a p.153 13154 Do we think and experience with blood, air or fire, or could it be our brain?
097d p.84 15859 To investigate the causes of things, study what is best for them
097d p.154 13155 If you add one to one, which one becomes two, or do they both become two?
099c p.157 13156 Fancy being unable to distinguish a cause from its necessary background conditions!
100c p.159 1 There is only one source for all beauty
102a p.161 368 Other things are named after the Forms because they participate in them
102b-c p.88 21347 If Simmias is taller than Socrates, that isn't a feature that is just in Simmias
108e p.171 369 If the Earth is spherical and in the centre, it is kept in place by universal symmetry, not by force
114b p.178 370 Philosophy is a purification of the soul ready for the afterlife
381BCE Laches
188b p.96 291 Don't assume that wisdom is the automatic consequence of old age
197b p.109 293 Being unafraid (perhaps through ignorance) and being brave are two different things
380BCE Protagoras
320b p.51 188 Socrates did not believe that virtue could be taught
324c p.56 189 If we punish wrong-doers, it shows that we believe virtue can be taught
330c p.62 190 If asked whether justice itself is just or unjust, you would have to say that it is just
331d p.64 191 Everything resembles everything else up to a point
332c p.65 192 Only one thing can be contrary to something
333e p.67 193 Some things are good even though they are not beneficial to men
345b p.776 20184 The only real evil is loss of knowledge
351d p.88 197 Some pleasures are not good, and some pains are not evil
352d p.782 20185 The most important things in life are wisdom and knowledge
354a p.90 200 People tend only to disapprove of pleasure if it leads to pain, or prevents future pleasure
358d p.95 202 No one willingly and knowingly embraces evil
360d p.98 203 Courage is knowing what should or shouldn't be feared
361b p.99 204 Socrates is contradicting himself in claiming virtue can't be taught, but that it is knowledge
379BCE Euthydemus
289b p.726 16120 Knowing how to achieve immortality is pointless without the knowledge how to use immortality
292b p.349 301 Only knowledge of some sort is good
293a p.351 302 What knowledge is required to live well?
294c p.353 303 Say how many teeth the other has, then count them. If you are right, we will trust your other claims
301a p.366 304 Beautiful things must be different from beauty itself, but beauty itself must be present in each of them
306a p.374 305 Something which lies midway between two evils is better than either of them
377BCE Cratylus
385b p.105 13776 Truths say of what is that it is, falsehoods say of what is that it is not
385e p.103 13772 Is the being or essence of each thing private to each person?
386d p.104 13774 Things don't have every attribute, and essence isn't private, so each thing has an essence
387a p.104 13775 We only succeed in cutting if we use appropriate tools, not if we approach it randomly
388a p.106 13777 A name is a sort of tool
390c p.109 13778 A dialectician is someone who knows how to ask and to answer questions
393b p.112 13779 The natural offspring of a lion is called a 'lion' (but what about the offspring of a king?)
398b p.116 13780 Good people are no different from wise ones
399d p.118 13781 Soul causes the body to live, and gives it power to breathe and to be revitalized
406c p.124 13783 Even the gods love play
415d p.133 13785 'Arete' signifies lack of complexity and a free-flowing soul
416d p.134 13786 Wisdom is called 'beautiful', because it performs fine works
423e p.140 13787 Doesn't each thing have an essence, just as it has other qualities?
432c p.148 13788 If we made a perfect duplicate of Cratylus, there would be two Cratyluses
435d p.151 13789 Anyone who knows a thing's name also knows the thing
436c p.152 13790 A name-giver might misname something, then force other names to conform to it
438b p.153 13791 Things must be known before they are named, so it can't be the names that give us knowledge
439e p.155 2063 How can beauty have identity if it changes?
440a p.155 13792 There can't be any knowledge if things are constantly changing
375BCE works
p.8 9607 The greatest discovery in human thought is Plato's discovery of abstract objects [Brown,JR]
p.16 11238 Plato and Aristotle take essence to make a thing what it is [Politis]
p.16 11237 Only universals have essence [Politis]
p.34 556 If there is one Form for both the Form and its participants, they must have something in common [Aristotle]
p.34 557 A Form is a cause of things only in the way that white mixed with white is a cause [Aristotle]
p.43 2173 As religion and convention collapsed, Plato sought morals not just in knowledge, but in the soul [Williams,B]
p.57 9274 Plato's legacy to European thought was the Good, the Beautiful and the True [Gray]
p.58 17085 A good explanation totally rules out the opposite explanation (so Forms are required) [Ruben]
p.61 23890 For Plato true wisdom is supernatural [Weil]
p.62 563 If gods are like men, they are just eternal men; similarly, Forms must differ from particulars [Aristotle]
p.64 565 The Forms cannot be changeless if they are in changing things [Aristotle]
p.70 23891 Two contradictories force us to find a relation which will correlate them [Weil]
p.81 3324 Plato's whole philosophy may be based on being duped by reification - a figure of speech [Benardete,JA]
p.88 1651 Plato wanted to somehow control and purify the passions [Vlastos]
p.96 13260 Plato says wholes are either containers, or they're atomic, or they don't exist [Koslicki]
p.98 13261 Plato sees an object's structure as expressible in mathematics [Koslicki]
p.98 14502 Plato's idea of 'structure' tends to be mathematically expressed [Koslicki]
p.100 13263 We can grasp whole things in science, because they have a mathematics and a teleology [Koslicki]
p.103 20906 Platonists argue for the indivisible triangle-in-itself [Aristotle]
p.106 2912 Plato is boring [Nietzsche]
p.117 17947 Plato decided that the virtuous and happy life was the philosophical life [Nehamas]
p.118 17948 Plato's Forms meant that the sophists only taught the appearance of wisdom and virtue [Nehamas]
p.120 13265 Plato was less concerned than Aristotle with the source of unity in a complex object [Koslicki]
p.171 593 Plato's holds that there are three substances: Forms, mathematical entities, and perceptible bodies [Aristotle]
p.175 1526 Almost everyone except Plato thinks that time could not have been generated [Aristotle]
p.276 7503 Plato never refers to examining the conscience [Foucault]
p.314 94 Pleasure is better with the addition of intelligence, so pleasure is not the good [Aristotle]
p.336 3039 When Diogenes said he could only see objects but not their forms, Plato said it was because he had eyes but no intellect [Diog. Laertius]
p.393 3060 Plato never mentions Democritus, and wished to burn his books [Diog. Laertius]
p.405 6015 Plato, unusually, said that theoretical and practical wisdom are inseparable [Kraut]
374BCE The Republic
p.25 6562 Plato's reality has unchanging Parmenidean forms, and Heraclitean flux [Fogelin]
p.27 4115 Plato found that he could only enforce rational moral justification by creating an authoritarian society [Williams,B]
p.63 5094 Plato's Forms are said to have no location in space [Aristotle]
p.79 5945 The 'Republic' is a great work of rhetorical theory [Lawson-Tancred]
p.82 12043 Forms are not universals, as they don't cover every general term [Annas]
p.82 2630 If Plato's God is immaterial, he will lack consciousness, wisdom, pleasure and movement, which are essential to him [Cicero]
p.91 1869 The good cannot be expressed in words, but imprints itself upon the soul [Celsus]
p.110 12122 Plato mistakenly thought forms were totally abstracted away from matter [Bacon]
p.395 5574 Plato's Forms not only do not come from the senses, but they are beyond possibility of sensing [Kant]
331c p.8 7 Surely you don't return a borrowed weapon to a mad friend?
332d p.10 2092 Simonides said morality is helping one's friends and harming one's enemies
338c p.18 5 Justice is merely the interests of the stronger party
339a p.19 8 Is right just the interests of the powerful?
339b p.345 6009 Psychic conflict is clear if appetite is close to the body and reason fairly separate [Modrak]
350e p.37 2093 You must never go against what you actually believe
353a p.40 2094 A thing's function is what it alone can do, or what it does better than other things
353b p.41 2095 If something has a function then it has a state of being good
353d p.41 2096 Is the function of the mind management, authority and planning - or is it one's whole way of life?
359a p.46 19946 Morality is a compromise, showing restraint, to avoid suffering wrong without compensation
359a p.46 10 After a taste of mutual harm, men make a legal contract to avoid it
360c p.48 12 If we were invisible, would the just man become like the unjust?
363d p.51 13 Is the supreme reward for virtue to be drunk for eternity?
365b p.53 2097 Isn't it better to have a reputation for goodness than to actually be good?
365d p.54 14 If the gods are non-existent or indifferent, why bother to deceive them?
365e p.54 15 Sin first, then sacrifice to the gods from the proceeds
366c p.55 16 We avoid evil either through a natural aversion, or because we have acquired knowledge
369b p.117 19889 People need society because the individual has too many needs
369c p.118 19890 All exchanges in a community are for mutual benefit
379c p.74 2120 God is responsible for the good things, but we must look elsewhere for the cause of the bad things
380e p.1019 2061 The best things (gods, healthy bodies, good souls) are least liable to change
394d p.90 23767 The winds of the discussion should decide its destination
402e p.101 2123 Excessive pleasure deranges people, making the other virtues impossible
427e p.133 2126 A good community necessarily has wisdom, courage, self-discipline and morality
433d p.1065 23561 People doing their jobs properly is the fourth cardinal virtue for a city
439b p.149 2127 The mind has parts, because we have inner conflicts
439b p.212 1737 The soul seems to have an infinity of parts [Aristotle]
441a p.152 6041 There is a third element to the mind - spirit - lying between reason and appetite
441d p.1073 23562 If the parts of our soul do their correct work, we will be just people, and will act justly
444e p.157 2129 Goodness is mental health, badness is mental sickness
454a p.165 2130 People often merely practice eristic instead of dialectic, because they don't analyse the subject-matter
456e p.169 2131 Is there anything better for a community than to produce excellent people?
473d p.193 2132 Only rule by philosophers of integrity can keep a community healthy
479e p.202 2133 Knowledge must be of the permanent unchanging nature of things
485d p.205 2134 Philosophers are concerned with totally non-physical pleasures
486d p.206 2135 Truth is closely related to proportion
500d p.224 2136 Philosophers become as divine and orderly as possible, by studying divinity and order
504e p.302 23682 It would be absurd to be precise about the small things, but only vague about the big things
505a p.230 2137 The main aim is to understand goodness, which gives everything its value and advantage
505b p.230 2138 Pleasure is commonly thought to be the good, though the more ingenious prefer knowledge
505c p.231 2070 Even people who think pleasure is the good admit that there are bad pleasures
505d p.70 4007 For Plato we abandon honour and pleasure once we see the Good [Taylor,C]
505d p.231 2139 Every person, and every activity, aims at the good
506c p.232 2140 True belief without knowledge is like blind people on the right road
506e p.233 2141 I suggest that we forget about trying to define goodness itself for the time being
507b p.233 2142 The plurality of beautiful things must belong to a single class, because they have a single particular character
508c p.235 2143 Good has the same role in the world of knowledge as the sun has in the physical world
508e p.236 2144 Goodness makes truth and knowledge possible
509b p.1130 21818 Being depends on the Good, which is not itself being, but superior to being
510c p.238 2145 In mathematics certain things have to be accepted without further explanation
517c p.244 2147 The sight of goodness leads to all that is fine and true and right
518c p.245 2148 To gain knowledge, turn away from the world of change, and focus on true goodness
518d p.308 4547 Plato measured the degree of reality by the degree of value [Nietzsche]
520d p.248 2149 Reluctant rulers make a better and more unified administration
525a p.1141 9861 The same thing is both one and an unlimited number at the same time
525b p.1142 9862 To become rational, philosophers must rise from becoming into being
525d p.1142 9863 We aim for elevated discussion of pure numbers, not attaching them to physical objects
526a p.1142 9864 In pure numbers, all ones are equal, with no internal parts
527a p.258 8727 Geometry is not an activity, but the study of unchanging knowledge
527b p.258 8726 Geometry can lead the mind upwards to truth and philosophy
533c p.266 2151 Dialectic is the only method of inquiry which uproots the things which it takes for granted
534e p.268 2152 Dialectic is the highest and most important part of the curriculum
536e p.271 2153 Compulsory intellectual work never remains in the mind
537c p.271 2154 The ability to take an overview is the distinguishing mark of a dialectician
537d p.92 4011 For Plato, rationality is a vision of and love of a cosmic rational order [Taylor,C]
554e p.292 2155 True goodness requires mental unity and harmony
577e p.20 23316 For Plato and Aristotle there is no will; there is only rational desire for what is seen as good [Frede,M]
580d p.326 2156 There are three types of pleasure, for reason, for spirit and for appetite
584b p.332 2157 Nice smells are intensive, have no preceding pain, and no bad after-effect
586b p.335 2158 Pleasure-seekers desperately seek illusory satisfaction, like filling a leaky vessel
596a p.345 17 A Form applies to a set of particular things with the same name
596b p.345 2159 Craftsmen making furniture refer to the form, but no one manufactures the form of furniture
601a p.1205 16565 Without the surface decoration, poetry shows only appearances and nothing of what is real
602c p.354 2160 Representation is two steps removed from the truth
603a p.355 2162 If theory and practice conflict, the best part of the mind accepts theory, so the other part is of lower grade
605b p.358 2163 Artists should be excluded from a law-abiding community, because they destroy the rational mind
608e p.364 2164 Bad is always destructive, where good preserves and benefits
611b p.367 2165 Something is unlikely to be immortal if it is imperfectly made from diverse parts
612b p.368 2166 We should behave well even if invisible, for the health of the mind
613b p.370 2168 Clever criminals do well at first, but not in the long run
Ch.9 p.70 5944 For Plato, virtue is its own reward [Lawson-Tancred]
372BCE Clitophon
410b p.101 1590 The just man does not harm his enemies, but benefits everyone
368BCE Theaetetus
152c p.31 2045 Perception is infallible, suggesting that it is knowledge
158b p.42 2047 What evidence can be brought to show whether we are dreaming or not?
167a p.57 2050 It is impossible to believe something which is held to be false
167e p.58 2052 Eristic discussion is aggressive, but dialectic aims to help one's companions in discussion
171a p.64 2053 If you claim that all beliefs are true, that includes beliefs opposed to your own
171e p.65 2054 Clearly some people are superior to others when it comes to medicine
172d p.67 2056 Philosophers are always switching direction to something more interesting
176a p.72 2057 There must always be some force of evil ranged against good
176c p.73 2058 God must be the epitome of goodness, and we can only approach a divine state by being as good as possible
178c p.76 2059 How can a relativist form opinions about what will happen in the future?
181d p.81 2060 There seem to be two sorts of change: alteration and motion
184d p.86 2067 Our senses could have been separate, but they converge on one mind
185d p.88 2068 With what physical faculty do we perceive pairs of opposed abstract qualities?
186c p.90 2069 Thought must grasp being itself before truth becomes possible
189a p.95 2076 How can a belief exist if its object doesn't exist?
195e p.106 2078 You might mistake eleven for twelve in your senses, but not in your mind
198b p.219 10216 We master arithmetic by knowing all the numbers in our soul
201d p.115 2080 Things are only knowable if a rational account (logos) is possible
201e p.116 2081 Maybe primary elements can be named, but not receive a rational account
202b p.116 2082 A rational account is essentially a weaving together of things with names
202b01-3 p.223 15854 A primary element has only a name, and no logos, but complexes have an account, by weaving the names
204e p.227 15843 The whole can't be the parts, because it would be all of the parts, which is the whole
205a p.227 15844 A sum is that from which nothing is lacking, which is a whole
205b p.121 2083 Either a syllable is its letters (making parts as knowable as whole) or it isn't (meaning it has no parts)
205d p.122 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
205e p.123 2085 Parts and wholes are either equally knowable or equally unknowable
206b p.123 2086 Understanding mainly involves knowing the elements, not their combinations
206d p.124 2087 A rational account might be seeing an image of one's belief, like a reflection in a mirror
207b p.125 2088 A rational account of a wagon would mean knowledge of its hundred parts
207c p.230 16126 Expertise is knowledge of the whole by means of the parts
208b p.126 2089 An inadequate rational account would still not justify knowledge
208c p.127 2090 A rational account involves giving an image, or analysis, or giving a differentiating mark
209b p.128 2091 Without distinguishing marks, how do I know what my beliefs are about?
366BCE Phaedrus
p.113 23997 Plato saw emotions and appetites as wild horses, in need of taming [Goldie]
237d p.36 143 The two ruling human principles are the natural desire for pleasure, and an acquired love of virtue
237e p.37 144 Reason impels us towards excellence, which teaches us self-control
245c p.49 146 Soul is always in motion, so it must be self-moving and immortal
245d p.49 148 If the prime origin is destroyed, it will not come into being again out of anything
245e p.49 9296 The soul is self-motion
246d p.51 149 There isn't a single reason for positing the existence of immortal beings
246d p.51 150 We cannot conceive of God, so we have to think of Him as an immortal version of ourselves
247c p.52 151 True knowledge is of the reality behind sense experience
247d p.52 152 The mind of God is fully satisfied and happy with a vision of reality and truth
249b p.55 153 It takes a person to understand, by using universals, and by using reason to create a unity out of sense-impressions
250d p.57 154 We would have an overpowering love of knowledge if we had a pure idea of it - as with the other Forms
250e p.57 155 Beauty is the clearest and most lovely of the Forms
255b p.63 156 Bad people are never really friends with one another
258e p.69 157 Most pleasure is release from pain, and is therefore not worthwhile
259e p.71 158 An excellent speech seems to imply a knowledge of the truth in the mind of the speaker
261a p.73 159 Only a good philosopher can be a good speaker
265d p.82 7953 Reasoning needs to cut nature accurately at the joints
266b p.82 160 The highest ability in man is the ability to discuss unity and plurality in the nature of things
266b p.543 16121 I revere anyone who can discern a single thing that encompasses many things
270c p.89 162 Can we understand an individual soul without knowing the soul in general?
272e p.93 165 If the apparent facts strongly conflict with probability, it is in everyone's interests to suppress the facts
277b p.100 166 A speaker should be able to divide a subject, right down to the limits of divisibility
Ch.10 p.85 5946 'Phaedrus' pioneers the notion of philosophical rhetoric [Lawson-Tancred]
364BCE Parmenides
p.27 16151 Plato moves from Forms to a theory of genera and principles in his later work [Frede,M]
p.28 13986 Plato found antinomies in ideas, Kant in space and time, and Bradley in relations [Ryle]
p.44 8937 Plato's 'Parmenides' is the greatest artistic achievement of the ancient dialectic [Hegel]
p.105 15846 In Parmenides, if composition is identity, a whole is nothing more than its parts [Harte,V]
p.355 14150 Plato's 'Parmenides' is perhaps the best collection of antinomies ever made [Russell]
p.357 21821 Plato's Parmenides has a three-part theory, of Primal One, a One-Many, and a One-and-Many [Plotinus]
130d p.211 210 It would be absurd to think there were abstract Forms for vile things like hair, mud and dirt
130d p.213 211 If admirable things have Forms, maybe everything else does as well
131a p.213 212 The whole idea of each Form must be found in each thing which participates in it
131b p.215 213 Each idea is in all its participants at once, just as daytime is a unity but in many separate places at once
132a p.217 214 If absolute greatness and great things are seen as the same, another thing appears which makes them seem great
132c p.219 215 If things partake of ideas, this implies either that everything thinks, or that everything actually is thought
132e p.221 216 If things are made alike by participating in something, that thing will be the absolute idea
133a p.221 217 Nothing can be like an absolute idea, because a third idea intervenes to make them alike (leading to a regress)
133a p.221 218 Participation is not by means of similarity, so we are looking for some other method of participation
133c p.223 219 If absolute ideas existed in us, they would cease to be absolute
133e p.225 220 The concept of a master includes the concept of a slave
134c p.227 221 Absolute ideas, such as the Good and the Beautiful, cannot be known by us
135a p.227 222 Only a great person can understand the essence of things, and an even greater person can teach it
135c p.229 223 If you deny that each thing always stays the same, you destroy the possibility of discussion
135e p.231 224 When questions are doubtful we should concentrate not on objects but on ideas of the intellect
137c09 p.95 13259 It seems that the One must be composed of parts, which contradicts its being one
137e p.237 225 The unlimited has no shape and is endless
138b p.372 2062 The only movement possible for the One is in space or in alteration
144a p.377 16150 One is, so numbers exist, so endless numbers exist, and each one must partake of being
146b p.379 15847 Two things relate either as same or different, or part of a whole, or the whole of the part
147d p.269 227 You must always mean the same thing when you utter the same name
149e p.277 228 Greatness and smallness must exist, to be opposed to one another, and come into being in things
155d p.295 229 The one was and is and will be and was becoming and is becoming and will become
157c p.123 15849 Plato says only a one has parts, and a many does not [Harte,V]
157c p.301 231 Everything partakes of the One in some way
157c p.389 15850 Anything which has parts must be one thing, and parts are of a one, not of a many
157d p.389 15851 Parts must belong to a created thing with a distinct form
159a p.307 232 Opposites are as unlike as possible
159d p.309 233 Some things do not partake of the One
160d p.313 234 We couldn't discuss the non-existence of the One without knowledge of it
359BCE The Sophist
228b p.17 1636 Wickedness is an illness of the soul
228d p.18 1637 A soul without understanding is ugly
230a p.20 1638 Didactic education is hard work and achieves little
230b p.250 20478 In discussion a person's opinions are shown to be in conflict, leading to calm self-criticism
237c p.257 11278 What does 'that which is not' refer to?
246b p.39 1641 Some alarming thinkers think that only things which you can touch exist
247e p.269 7022 To be is to have a capacity, to act on other things, or to receive actions
249c p.43 1642 We must fight fiercely for knowledge, understanding and intelligence
250d p.45 1643 If statements about non-existence are logically puzzling, so are statements about existence
253d p.49 287 Good analysis involves dividing things into appropriate forms without confusion
253d p.276 16122 Good thinkers spot forms spread through things, or included within some larger form
253e p.49 1644 Dialectic should only be taught to those who already philosophise well
257d p.281 10422 The not-beautiful is part of the beautiful, though opposed to it, and is just as real
259e p.57 1645 The desire to split everything into its parts is unpleasant and unphilosophical
259e p.283 15855 If we see everything as separate, we can then give no account of it
262e p.286 10784 Whenever there's speech it has to be about something
356BCE The Statesman
264e p.289 16125 To reveal a nature, divide down, and strip away what it has in common with other things
269b p.18 279 Only divine things can always stay the same, and bodies are not like that
273b p.23 5961 The soul gets its goodness from god, and its evil from previous existence.
284b p.35 281 The arts produce good and beautiful things by preserving the mean
285b p.328 16123 Whenever you perceive a community of things, you should also hunt out differences in the group
285d p.329 16124 No one wants to define 'weaving' just for the sake of weaving
286a p.37 282 Non-physical beauty can only be shown clearly by speech
302e p.85 22559 Democracy is the worst of good constitutions, but the best of bad constitutions [Aristotle]
304c p.58 283 The question of whether or not to persuade comes before the science of persuasion
353BCE Philebus
11b p.51 371 Reason, memory, truth and wisdom are far better than pleasure, for those who can attain them
13b p.54 373 Pleasure is certainly very pleasant, but it doesn't follow that all pleasures are good
14e p.57 374 If one object is divided into its parts, someone can then say that one are many and many is one
14e p.402 15845 It seems absurd that seeing a person's limbs, the one is many, and yet the many are one
15a p.403 4447 If the good is one, is it unchanged when it is in particulars, and is it then separated from itself?
15d p.403 15856 A thing can become one or many, depending on how we talk about it
20e p.67 376 Would you prefer a life of pleasure without reason, or one of reason without pleasure?
21a p.67 377 If you lived a life of maximum pleasure, would you still be lacking anything?
21c p.68 378 A life of pure pleasure with no intellect is the life of a jellyfish
22b p.69 379 The good must be sufficient and perfect, and neither intellect nor pleasure are that
31d p.86 381 We feel pleasure when we approach our natural state of harmony
33b p.88 382 It is unlikely that the gods feel either pleasure or pain
42c p.106 385 Some of the pleasures and pains we feel are false
45e p.112 386 Intense pleasure and pain are not felt in a good body, but in a worthless one
53b p.124 387 A small pure pleasure is much finer than a large one contaminated with pain
55b p.128 388 Hedonists must say that someone in pain is bad, even if they are virtuous
56d p.446 9865 Daily arithmetic counts unequal things, but pure arithmetic equalises them
59b p.135 389 How can you be certain about aspects of the world if they aren't constant?
62a p.451 9867 It is absurd to define a circle, but not be able to recognise a real one
64d p.454 14503 If a mixture does not contain measure and proportion, it is corrupted and destroyed
64e p.145 390 If goodness involves moderation and proportion, then it seems to be found in beauty
64e p.454 15857 Any mixture which lacks measure and proportion doesn't even count as a mixture at all
65a p.145 391 The good involves beauty, proportion and truth
67a p.149 392 Neither intellect nor pleasure are the good, because they are not perfect and self-sufficient
67a p.149 393 Good first, then beauty, then reason, then knowledge, then pleasure [PG]
352BCE Letter Seven
334 p.127 168 To understand morality requires a soul
349BCE Timaeus
p.81 12042 Plato's Forms were seen as part of physics, rather than of metaphysics [Annas]
p.223 5962 Plato says the soul is ordered by number [Plutarch]
28a p.40 306 Nothing can come to be without a cause
28a p.1234 20364 The apprehensions of reason remain unchanging, but reasonless sensation shows mere becoming
28b p.40 307 Something will always be well-made if the maker keeps in mind the eternal underlying pattern
28d p.41 308 If the cosmos is an object of perception then it must be continually changing
29a p.41 309 Clearly the world is good, so its maker must have been concerned with the eternal, not with change
29e p.42 310 The creator of the cosmos had no envy, and so wanted things to be as like himself as possible
31c p.43 311 The cosmos must be unique, because it resembles the creator, who is unique
38c p.52 312 Time came into existence with the heavens, so that there will be a time when they can be dissolved
47a p.65 314 Heavenly movements gave us the idea of time, and caused us to inquire about the heavens
47b p.65 315 Philosophy is the supreme gift of the gods to mortals
47d p.65 316 Music has harmony like the soul, and serves to reorder disharmony within us
48e p.67 317 The universe is basically an intelligible and unchanging model, and a visible and changing copy of it
49b p.67 318 In addition to the underlying unchanging model and a changing copy of it, there must also be a foundation of all change
51d p.71 321 For knowledge and true opinion to be different there must be Forms; otherwise we are just stuck with sensations
51e p.71 322 Intelligence is the result of rational teaching; true opinion can result from irrational persuasion
52d p.72 324 Before the existence of the world there must have been being, space and becoming
56c p.79 325 We must consider the four basic shapes as too small to see, only becoming visible in large numbers
59c p.84 326 For relaxation one can consider the world of change, instead of eternal things
68e p.96 327 There are two types of cause, the necessary and the divine
81e p.111 328 Everything that takes place naturally is pleasant
86e p.117 330 No one wants to be bad, but bad men result from physical and educational failures, which they do not want or choose
87b p.118 331 Bad governments prevent discussion, and discourage the study of virtue
88c p.118 332 One should exercise both the mind and the body, to avoid imbalance
91d p.123 334 Only bird-brained people think astronomy is entirely a matter of evidence
348BCE The Laws
p.55 8004 In 'The Laws', to obey the law is to be obey god [MacIntyre]
631a p.54 235 Virtue is the aim of all laws
631b p.55 236 Sound laws achieve the happiness of those who observe them
643c p.72 238 Children's games should channel their pleasures into adult activity
643e p.73 239 Education in virtue produces citizens who are active but obedient
653b p.1344 4331 Education is channelling a child's feelings into the right course before it understands why
653c p.1344 4332 Virtue is a concord of reason and emotion, with pleasure and pain trained to correct ends
662c p.99 240 It would be strange if the gods rewarded those who experienced the most pleasure in life
667a p.106 241 We ought to follow where the argument leads us
667b p.100 15447 We shouldn't always follow where the argument leads! [Lewis]
679b p.122 242 The best people are produced where there is no excess of wealth or poverty
689b p.136 243 It is foolish to quarrel with the mind's own reasoning processes
697d p.149 245 Totalitarian states destroy friendships and community spirit
718e p.179 248 A serious desire for moral excellence is very rare indeed
727e p.190 249 People who value beauty above virtue insult the soul by placing the body above it
729c p.193 250 The best way to educate the young is not to rebuke them, but to set a good example
730c p.194 251 Truth has the supreme value, for both gods and men
731e p.196 253 Every crime is the result of excessive self-love
732c p.197 254 Excessive laughter and tears must be avoided
742e p.212 256 Virtue and great wealth are incompatible
747a p.218 257 Mathematics has the widest application of any subject on the curriculum
757a p.229 1402 Friendship is impossible between master and slave, even if they are made equal
757d p.230 259 Justice is granting the equality which unequals deserve
765e p.241 260 Control of education is the key office of state, and should go to the best citizen
802a p.289 262 Men and women should qualify equally for honours on merit
807c p.297 263 The only worthwhile life is one devoted to physical and moral perfection
840c p.339 264 The conquest of pleasure is the noblest victory of all
862b p.371 265 An action is only just if it is performed by someone with a just character and outlook
863e p.374 266 Injustice is the mastery of the soul by bad feelings, even if they do not lead to harm
877a p.397 269 Attempted murder is like real murder, but we should respect the luck which avoided total ruin
894d p.1551 21257 Self-generating motion is clearly superior to all other kinds of motion
895a p.424 273 Movement is transmitted through everything, and it must have started with self-generated motion
895a p.1551 21258 The only possible beginning for the endless motions of reality is something self-generated
895d p.1552 21259 To grasp a thing we need its name, its definition, and what it really is
896a p.1552 21260 Soul is what is defined by 'self-generating motion'
896b p.1553 21261 Self-moving soul has to be the oldest thing there is
896d p.427 274 Soul must be the cause of all the opposites, such as good and evil or beauty and ugliness
896e p.1553 21262 There must be at least two souls controlling the cosmos, one doing good, the other the opposite
897c p.1554 21263 If all the motions of nature reflect calculations of reason, then the best kind of soul must direct it
897d p.1554 21264 Mortals are incapable of being fully rational
899b p.1556 21265 The heavens must be full of gods, controlling nature either externally or from within
903c p.437 275 Creation is not for you; you exist for the sake of creation
959a p.512 276 My individuality is my soul, which carries my body around
965d p.525 277 The Guardians must aim to discover the common element in the four cardinal virtues
967a p.527 278 If astronomical movements are seen as necessary instead of by divine will, this leads to atheism