Plato :: essays research papers

Plato's works, perhaps the most consistently popular and influential philosophic writings ever published, consist of a series of dialogues in which the discussions between Socrates and others are presented with infinite charm. Most of our knowledge of Socrates is from these dialogues, and which views are Socrates' and which are Plato's is anybody's guess. (Plato cautiously never introduced himself into any of the dialogues.) Like Socrates, Plato was chiefly interested in moral philosophy and despised natural philosophy (that is, science) as an inferior and unworthy sort of knowledge. There is a famous story (probably apocryphal and told also of Euclid of a student asking Plato the application of the knowledge he was being taught. Plato at once ordered a slave to give the student a small coin that he might not think he had gained knowledge for nothing, then had him dismissed from school. To Plato, knowledge had no practical use, it existed for the abstract good of the soul. Plato was fond of mathematics because of its idealized abstractions and its separation from the merely material. Nowadays, of course, the purest mathematics manages to be applied, sooner or later, to practical matters of science. In Plato's day this was not so, and the mathematician could well consider himself as dealing only with the loftiest form of pure thought and as having nothing to do with the gross and imperfect everyday world. And so above the doorway to the Academy was written, "Let no one ignorant of mathematics enter here." Plato did, however, believe that mathematics in its ideal form could still be applied to the heavens. The heavenly bodies, he believed, exhibited perfect geometric form. This he expresses most clearly in a dialogue called Timaeus in which he presents his scheme of the universe. He describes the five (and only five) possible regular solids -- that is, those with equivalent faces and with all lines and angles, formed by those faces, equal. Plato :: essays research papers Plato's works, perhaps the most consistently popular and influential philosophic writings ever published, consist of a series of dialogues in which the discussions between Socrates and others are presented with infinite charm. Most of our knowledge of Socrates is from these dialogues, and which views are Socrates' and which are Plato's is anybody's guess. (Plato cautiously never introduced himself into any of the dialogues.) Like Socrates, Plato was chiefly interested in moral philosophy and despised natural philosophy (that is, science) as an inferior and unworthy sort of knowledge. There is a famous story (probably apocryphal and told also of Euclid of a student asking Plato the application of the knowledge he was being taught. Plato at once ordered a slave to give the student a small coin that he might not think he had gained knowledge for nothing, then had him dismissed from school. To Plato, knowledge had no practical use, it existed for the abstract good of the soul. Plato was fond of mathematics because of its idealized abstractions and its separation from the merely material. Nowadays, of course, the purest mathematics manages to be applied, sooner or later, to practical matters of science. In Plato's day this was not so, and the mathematician could well consider himself as dealing only with the loftiest form of pure thought and as having nothing to do with the gross and imperfect everyday world. And so above the doorway to the Academy was written, "Let no one ignorant of mathematics enter here." Plato did, however, believe that mathematics in its ideal form could still be applied to the heavens. The heavenly bodies, he believed, exhibited perfect geometric form. This he expresses most clearly in a dialogue called Timaeus in which he presents his scheme of the universe. He describes the five (and only five) possible regular solids -- that is, those with equivalent faces and with all lines and angles, formed by those faces, equal.

The production possibility curve

Introduction:The production possibility curve is a curve that represents the total number of goods and services that can be produced in an economy given certain levels of resources in the economy, the productions possibility curve helps check whether an economy has idle resources and if an economy produces optimally then this will result into economic growth, there are factors that lead to a shift in the production possibility curve, this includes changes in technology, change in the productivity of factors of production and increased efficiency and finally the curve will shift as a result of increased resources in the economy.Production possibility curve:The production possibility curve is a curve that represents the maximum or optimal resource usage when both goods and services are produced, the production possibility curve shows the position in which an economy can be producing its goods and services, an economy that produces below the production possibility curve is said to have idle resources, when the point is on the production possibility curve then the economy is optimally using all the resources available in an economy to produce both goods and services.The diagram below shows the production possibility curve:The above diagram is the production possibility curve, when the economy produces at point A then the economy is under producing and there are idle resource in the economy, if the economy produces at point B then the economy is producing optimally where there are no idle resources in the economy, point C is unachievable and an economy cannot produce at this point, this is because the point is above the production possibility curve.Shift in the production possibility curve:The production possibility frontier will shift outward if there is increased productivity in the factors of production. If the productivity of the factors of production improves then the production possibility curve will shift outwards as follows:The other factors that will cause the possibility production curve to shift is the improvement of technology, the curve will shift outward if there is an improvement in the technology in the economy.The discovery and exploitation of resources in the economy will also cause a shift in the production possibility curve, if there is a discovery and the exploitation of resources that are used in the production of goods and services then the curve will shift outwards.Effects of producing more goods for the future to the PPC:When an economy produces more goods then it is possible to achieve the point where the economy utilises all its factors of production and the point of production will be at along the curve, the excess production of goods and services will also tend to influence producers to explore new resources for production and this will lead to a shift in the curve to a higher level.Conclusion:The production possibility curve depicts the total number of goods and services that can be produced in an economy given th e level of resources in the economy, the productions possibility curve helps check whether an economy has idle resources and if an economy produces optimally then this will result into economic growth.  There are factors that lead to a shift in the production possibility curve, this includes changes in technology, change in the productivity of factors of production and increased efficiency and finally the curve will shift as a result of increased resources in the economy.If an economy produces more goods then it achieve the point where the economy utilises all its factors of production and the point of production will be at along the curve, the excess production of goods and services will also tend to influence producers to explore new resources for production and this will lead to a shift in the curve to a higher level.References:Brian Snow (1997) Macroeconomics: Introduction to Macroeconomics, Rout ledge publishers, UK

Innate Evilness Within Humans And Nature In Herman...

Many individuals have proclaimed and expressed their opinion on how in today’s society the human kind exists in a broken world, with broken people, and broken ideas. From a young age, humans are not taught how to be a bully, how to attack someone, or how to be evil. Instead humans are taught how to control themselves and how to act politely. This only happens because inside of humans and nature is evil. Humans are taught how to be good to control the evil that dominantly exists inside. As seen in Moby Dick, Herman Melville conveys the idea of innate evilness within humans and nature through Ishmael looking for remedies to evil, through the wicked behavior seen in actions taken by nature, and through referencing Ahab’s actions to Satan. As†¦show more content†¦Ishmael was intrigued by the flames on the ship and he thought they were soothing to his soul. Ironically, the fire was not acting as a remedy to his cause, but instead just amplified the flame of evilness inside of him to a greater degree. Ishmael would express how it is important to, â€Å"Look not too long in the face of the fire, O man! Never dream with thy hand on the helm! Turn not thy back to the compass; accept the first hint to the hitching tiller; believe not the artificial fire, when its redness makes makes all things look ghastly† (492). Ishmael almost capsized the boat because his first thought tempted him into the fire. Even on the sea, Ishmael’s scene to get away from the evil spirit that lives inside of him, it still dwells. Again Melville shows that humans are innately evil, Ishmaels instinct was to turn towards the fire which set him into a dream state, but then he resumed guiding the boat. Ishmael, and at a larger reference of humans, need to be entertained, need something to occupy their time and energy to prevent them from turning to evil. Ishmael needed to fulfill his craving of the sea to stay in the right state of mind, and not dwell to far in th e state of evilness. Without the sea one could conclude Melville tried to illustrate Ishmael would of been driven to darkness. Nature, like man, also contains principles of innate evilness, which is displayed through the actions of nature that Melville describes, including those of sharks and of Moby Dick.