Introduction
Philosophy is a science that will never stop surprising one with the questions it poses. The more answers one gets the more new questions arise. Below are just a few examples of what can be called controversial ideas in philosophy. They made me think that one and the same question may have diametrically opposed answers.
Discuss
One of the most enigmatic philosophers for me is Plato. At first sight Plato’s Republic is a story of an ideal state created by the author. But Plato’s idea is more complicated – the state is invented to demonstrate the problem of human behavior. The ideal state approached Plato’s answering the question “What does it mean to be good?” This is a means that helps the philosopher to demonstrate that ethics, i.e. personal behavior is a part of politics, i.e. group behavior. Plato’s message is that if people are able to work out the right ways to organize the polis, the latter will be healthy and individual happiness will be irrelevant.
Most of all I was interested in the allegory of the cave. It is told and then interpreted by the character of Socrates in the seventh book. The allegory is preceded by the analogy of the divided line and metaphor of the son. The thing is that Plato believed in learning only through experience. According to the philosopher one has to travel from the visible realm (image making and sensitivity) to the invisible realm (reasoning and understanding). The allegory of the cave is a symbol of this trek and the way it is perceived by those who are still in a lower realm. Plato sees all people as prisoners who live in cave. What one believes to be a reality is just a shadow on the wall. But the knowledge that one accumulates is the light that helps him or her understand the form of “The Good”.
Republic is Plato’s masterpiece that reflects his views not only on politics and philosophy, but on education as well. One of the author’s concerns is how the guardians or rulers of the Kallipolis should be brought up effectively. Plato sees philosopher-kings as the most successful specimens of the ruling class. He believes that if the ideal city starts to exist philosophers are to become kings and philosophize adequately.
Special care should be taken to these philosopher-kings’ education: it should start with the general primary education, should last up to the age of eighteen and include two years of intense physical training. For those who succeed in their studies Plato suggests ten years of mathematical education, as, according to him, forms (i.e. archetypes) cannot be comprehended without mastering mathematics. Then come five years of training in dialectic and fifteen years of studying polis. The final goal of this education is the kings’ understanding the form of “The Good”.
Descartes was the first philosopher who wondered how certain one can be about the world around. He rejected any idea as certain and tried to discover the basis of certainty. He used the methods of doubting to work out principles which cannot be doubted. He concluded that human knowledge cannot be used as a reliable principle for being certain or uncertain, as it is based on perceptions only, moreover they are not necessarily correct. The only thing Descartes is sure of is that physical things exist and that while doubting the only thing one should not doubt is doubting itself.
What is also interesting is how Descartes attempts to prove the reliability of the senses: according to him, the idea that God exists ensures the reliability of our senses. He uses empirical methods to use observations to guide and test his theory.
Descartes is considered to be one of the greatest rationalists (along with Leibnitz and Kant). The main principle of the rational philosophical method is that only views appealing to reason can serve as source for knowledge or justification. As rationalists argue, reason, not experience, is most important for acquisition of knowledge. They believe that there are three types of knowledge: innate (basic instincts and innate concepts that one possesses), truths that are not known since one’s birth, but can be worked out independently of experience of the world and truths that though grounded partially on experience but cannot be derived from experience alone.
There exists one more theory of knowledge – skepticism. Descartes contributed significantly to development of this philosophical theory making attempts to find absolute certainty the philosophy should be based on. Skeptics doubt the possibility of the knowledge in the first place and argue that belief in something does not necessarily justify an assertion of knowledge of it.
Conclusion
It is obvious that there are plenty of opportunities for one engaged in discovering the mysteries of philosophy. But it is also obvious that there is no guarantee that the answers to all questions can be found. At least, the theories and the works mentioned above helped me to approach the understanding of life – in its various forms and modifications.