Archive for the ‘belief’ tag
R&L Thread 1: Plato and the Sophists
This is an open thread to share your thoughts on this week’s reading and lectures. You must leave a comment in this thread by Tuesday’s class to receive participation credit for this week. The following questions are merely prompts to stimulate your mind, but feel free to raise and answer any other on-topic question. You can comment on any topic raised in class this week. There is no word limit on your comment, but it must demonstrate some minor effort on your part to think critically about the topics raised in class. You may also respond to another student’s comments in this thread, or questions raised in lecture. Any substantive post beyond the first will count towards your reply requirements.
- Are all beliefs merely opinion? What is the value of an opinion, and how do we distinguish those from genuine knowledge?
- Why is persuasion and rhetoric a bad thing on Plato’s and Socrates’ view? Do you agree or disagree?
- Protagoras said “Man is the measure of all things.” Does that apply to mathematical and geometric truths as well? Does 1+1=2 simply because we say so, or does it reveal a deeper truth about the world?
- Is the unexamined life worth living? Why or why not?
- What is the area of a circle? How do you know for sure?
- Should we trust our reason and intellect over our senses? How deep does the distinction between the visible realm and the intelligible realm go?
- Can someone be taught an ‘eternal truth’, in Plato’s sense?