The Ambiguity of Plato Essay -- Philosophy Essays

The Ambiguity of Plato For hundreds of years, Plato has been admired as a writer, a master rhetorician, an artist, and above all, a philosopher however, Platos backlashes against sophistry and art perk up led to much confusion concerning his ideas and beliefs. John Poulakos says of Plato, For most rhetoricians Plato has always played the same role he assigned to the sophists--the enemy (Nienkamp 1). Plato will always go forth to be the skilled rhetorician or artist who speaks out against rhetoric and art. In Apology and Phaedrus we see the character of Socrates rail against report because it can quickly get out of control of the author and just as easily be misinterpreted, yet Plato is known for his skillful dialogical writing. In reference to the Divided Line, Plato informs us that art is one 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 project the journey to knowledge. This ambiguity within the t exts leads to, what appears to be, Plato contradicting himself however, to fully understand these contradictions we must ask ourselves, Who is the real Plato? Platos contradictory nature and overall ambiguity make the lines of distinction mingled with the writer, the rhetorician, the artist, and the philosopher become blurred, so it is difficult for anyone to understand or explain the real Plato.Jean Nienkamp says of Plato, He is the writer who writes that nothing of importance can be conveyed through writing the word-smith who argues that words are but imitations of imitations at the same time that he insists on precise definitions, divisions... (1). In Phaedrus, Plato presents some of his more powerful arguments against writing. Most... ...1 23-44. Plato. Euthyphro. Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Indianapolis Hacket issue Company Inc., 1981 5-22. Plato. Meno. Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Indianapolis Hacket Publishing Company Inc., 1981 57-88. Plato. Phaedo. Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Indianapolis Ha cket 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.