The Ambiguity of Plato Essay -- Philosophy Essays

The Ambiguity of Plato For hundreds of years, Plato has been value as a writer, a master rhetorician, an artist, and above all, a philosopher however, Platos backlashes against sophistry and art have led to much confusion concerning his ideas and beliefs. John Poulakos says of Plato, For well-nigh rhetoricians Plato has always played the same role he assigned to the sophists--the adversary (Nienkamp 1). Plato will always appear to be the skilled rhetorician or artist who speaks out against rhetoric and art. In apologia and Phaedrus we see the office of Socrates rail against writing because it can quickly get out of train of the author and just as easily be misinterpreted, yet Plato is cognize for his skillful dialogical writing. In reference to the Divided Line, Plato informs us that art is angiotensin-converting enzyme of the lowest forms because it is no more than an illusion, yet Plato uses his artistic ability in Simile of a Cave to help us understand the move to knowle dge. This ambiguity within the texts leads to, what appears to be, Plato contradicting himself however, to fully understand these contradictions we must ask ourselves, Who is the genuine Plato? Platos contradictory nature and overall ambiguity make the lines of distinction in the midst of the writer, the rhetorician, the artist, and the philosopher become blurred, so it is difficult for anyone to understand or explain the authorized Plato.Jean Nienkamp says of Plato, He is the writer who writes that nothing of importance can be conveyed through and through writing the word-smith who argues that words are but imitations of imitations at the same snip that he insists on precise definitions, divisions... (1). In Phaedrus, Plato presents some of his more compelling arguments against writing. Most... ...1 23-44. Plato. Euthyphro. Trans. G.M.A. Grube. capital of Indiana Hacket Publishing Company Inc., 1981 5-22. Plato. Meno. Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Indianapolis Hacket Publishing Compa ny Inc., 1981 57-88. Plato. Phaedo. Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Indianapolis Hacket Publishing Company Inc., 1981 89-155.Plato. Phaedrus. Trans. A. Nehamas and P. Woodruff. Amherst Hermagoras Press, 1999 165-213.Plato. Simile of a Cave. The Republic. Trans. Desmond Lee. Boston Pearson Custom Publishing, 2002 1-9.Tejera, Victorino. The Apology and the Phaedo Platos Tragic Humor. Platos Dialogues One by One A Dialogical Interpretation. Lanham University Press of America, Inc., 1999.Thesleff, Holger. In Search of Dialogue. Platos Dialogues New Studies and Interpretations. Ed. Gerald A. Press. Lanham Rowan and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1993 259-266.