Philosophy Assignment: Philosophers and their Theories

Philosophy
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Write a full essay: be sure to include NAMES of philosophers, THEORIES explained in full detail, EXAMPLES for each theory, YOUR OPINION and WHY you have that opinion. Choose 2 philosophers from the first half of the semester. Explain why you choose them in terms of what theories they gave us. Give an example for each theory based on modern day life and show how philosophy is still viable today.Do you think philosophy is a lost art form or something that we simply overlook, but utilize daily in everything we do? Why! Plato
Plato, one of the early Greek philosophers and a student of Socrates argued that man ought to gain knowledge through philosophical reading rather than perception. Plato explains this in the ‘Myth of the Cave’ where he presupposed that people who rely on sensory knowledge fail to seek the truth and may misunderstandings because of their perceptions. To differentiate between an illusion and reality, then one must be willing to explore different viewpoints to get a deeper understanding. The Myth of the Cave gives an example where people in a cave are bound and can only see shadows passing through and have no knowledge of the outside, but one man escapes and tells his former colleagues what he has seen outside but they did not believe him.
I believe that Plato’s viewpoint is plausible since the cave represents darkness and ignorance, and people have limited thinking when they are exposed to the same things. On the other hand, those who explore and go beyond what they are exposed to different aspects of life. People tend to believe what they see in the world around them. Merely imitating what is in the immediate surrounding limits people’s ability to use critical thinking skills. In the modern world, Plato’s philosophy is applicable as people are exposed to materialism and secularism, while increasingly ignori...