Western Civ I Questions: Week 5

As I prepare to write a post concerning ancient Western civilization, I stop to ask myself a few questions, find your personal answers if you wish, this will likely come up in my next or last post and might interest you further.

Plato

• Plato is very unclear on his beliefs, he explains concepts he believes to be true, that exclude him from many religious categories. However, later many Christians go on to agree with Plato in many ways, although not always all of them. In what ways do you think Plato might have influenced the ways Christians practice, and their specific beliefs, ever varying?

• In Plato's The Republic, he describes his ideal civilization. Many have criticized him, mocked him, and disagreed with his view on this matter entirely. I myself am one of those people, but take a close look at our civilization today, is it so different from what Plato describes?

Aristotle

• Why is it that so many philosophers focused so much on the concept of change? To us it is simple that change exists, and it is eternal, but even that isn't always so simple, why was it so profound, and is it still?

• Aristotle found that there is seemingly no end purpose to anything within our lives. If you want to get a job, one could ask why, well to get money, but why do you want the money, Aristotle realized that this is the endless loop. Why do we as human creatures act out of more than instinct. Aristotle's answer to this problem, was happiness. So I ask you, what is happiness?