Socrates On Politics Essays - Socratic Dialogues, Dialogues Of Plato

Socrates On Politics Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher who was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens. His sentence was death, byway of drinking poison. However, prior to his execution day, a friend, Crito, offered Socrates an opportunity to flee Athens, and evade his death sentence. Socrates refused to run away, and he justified his reasons to Crito. I agree with Socrates' justifications for not escaping, he accepted his death justly and faced the sentence the Athenian court declared. Throughout the Crito, Socrates explains his reasoning for not evading the government. Socrates introduces several pivotal ideas in the dialogue, which led me to agree with his decision. The first idea requires a person to contemplate whether or not the society in which he lives has a just reasoning behind its' own standards of right and wrong. The second idea requires a person to have pride in the life that he leads. In establishing basic questions of these two concepts, Socrates has precluded his own circumstance and continues to prove that the choice he has made is just. "...I am the kind of man who listens only to the argument that on reflection seems best to me. I cannot, not that this fate has come upon me, discard the arguments used; they seem to me much the same." Socrates states that making a conscious choice to remain under the influence of a society is an unconscious agreement with that society to live your life by its' standards and virtues. It is by this notion that people live by today as well. For example, a person chooses to live in a country with a certain type of government. By making the choice to live in this country, the person silently agrees to abide by the laws of that country, or else suffer the consequences. It is to this principle that Socrates adheres to. After establishing the previous point, Socrates reinforces his decision by the fact that the laws and governing agents of the society must command a certain degree of respect. Any person who would disobey these laws creates a deliberate attempt to destroy them and implicitly the society that has imposed them. If the decisions of the city's governing agents are not thoroughly respected as just and cohesive parts of society, the very structure by which the society stands is subject to collapse. If a person is found to be in violation of what his society stands for and does not accept the consequences of his actions, then there cannot be a system of law in place to create order. "You must either persuade it or obey its orders, and endure in silence whatever it instructs you to endure, whether blows or bond, and if it leads you into to war or be wounded or killed you must obey." The society in which a person lives, creates a mutual relationship in which every person in that society is indebted to if he willingly accepts that society for his own. Socrates concludes that if he were to follow Crito's advice he would be committing several wrong actions against a society which he calls his own. In the time of the ancient Greeks, to disobey your won society, is the to betray what was taught to be right by parents. They pass on to their children what they hold to be true; for they brought a person into a society that they believed to be profound and just. In modern society we have similar beliefs. Parents raise and teach their children beliefs and morals that they also hold to be correct. Socrates states that by remaining a member of a society, one must in fact accept the society as their own. The agreement he made within his city to obey the laws, and to live as a good citizen makes the thought of exile shameful and therefore unacceptable. Running away from the decision that his own society has made would be an affirmation of his own guilt in the eyes of his family and peers. Although he may have been wrongly imprisoned and sentenced to death, he holds very little value in the belief that two wrongs can achieve a right. In this case the wrongs being his wrongful imprisonment, and his escape. Neither of these wrongs can achieve a justifiable pardon in society. He firmly stood before his own value system and only wished to preserve the society around him, the society that at one time accepted him. He indignantly renounced the idea of self-preservation and

The Flowers Essay

The Flowers Essay The Flowers Essay "...the days had never been as beautiful as these...each day a golden surprise." Surprise is the element Alice Walker presents in her story "The Flowers." It is at the heart of the meaning of this story which is driven forward by imagery, setting, and diction. In the beginning of the story, Walker utilizes diction that creates an atmosphere of euphoric childhood innocence. Myop, the main character, "skipped lightly." Walker describes the harvests, which evince "excited little tremors" in Myop as she anticipates the new day. This jocund diction continues into the second paragraph. Specifically, Myop feels "light and good" in the heat of the warm sun. In addition, ten year old Myop creates her own world in which nothing exists "but her song." In line 8, the use of onomatopoeia, "tat-de'ta'ta" reinforces the idea of a happy, carefree youth. Paragraph three, however, marks a small yet significant shift in the passage. Walker begins the paragraph with "Turning her back on the rusty boards of her family's sharecropper cabin, Myop..." Myop's world is not behind her, but moves forward to the familiar woods. As the story progresses, there is a significant shift in paragraphs four and five. Walker begins to prepare the reader for her profound conclusion. While Myop has often explored the woods behind the house with her mother, today she sets out alone and "made her own path." As she walks through the woods, she cautiously keeps an eye out for snakes. The solitude of her journey, and the possibility of danger, builds suspense and prepares the reader for the dark surprise of the ending. The diction of paragraphs four and five also contributes to the sudden shift in the passage. While the diction in the beginning was blithe, describing "beautiful," the language in paragraph five is negative, foreshadowing the conclusion. Specifically, Myop is disoriented by the, "strangeness of the land." It was "not as pleasant" as her usual expeditions. Furthermore, words such as "gloomy" and "damp" reiterate the dark setting and prepare the reader for

Depression and Cognitive Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Depression and Cognitive Style - Essay Example During depressive periods, ruminating on a problem may assist an individual in understanding why feelings of depression exist and how difficult issues may be solved. This may be because ruminating usually involves mentally analyzing a problem to assist oneself in achieving a resolution. However ruminating may be harmful as well, as "Women ruminate more than men, and rumination is a significant predictor of future depression even after the current level of depression is taken into account (citing Nolen-Hoeksema, Larson, & Grayson, 1999; Crawford & Unger 492). As my short survey supports, women use distractions less than men when depressed, which may result in "less effective problem solving, and fewer attempts to seek help from others (citing Broderick & Korteland, 2002; Crawford & Unger 492). ... This is unfortunate because distraction activities can entail engaging in activities the affected individual may enjoy, therefore, the result may be positively rewarding and assist in relieving a depressive state. Distraction activities to relieve depression may also have a long-term negative impact in some cases, as the depressed individual may substitute drinking, or other destructive behaviors for positive activities that may aid in relieving depression. This may result in the depressive state returning as the negative behavior only acts as a short-term solution for the problem, and not a cure. Possible Connection Between Cognitive Style and the Development of Major Depression As indicated, women ruminate more than men do, and ruminating behavior is a "significant predictor" of major depression in the future (citing Nolen-Hoeksema, Larson, & Grayson, 1999; Crawford & Unger 492). A depressed mood may be extended by rumination and create cognitive biases which may create vulnerability for normal depression that may play a role in the onset of clinical depression. Relationship Between Gender-Role Socialization, Gender Expectations, and Cognitive Style Early socialization creates differences between males and females in dealing with problems, including depression. Girls are taught to consider the feelings of others during conflicts, and rumination about problems was not discouraged. Males have reported that as young boys they were ignored or punished when expressing feelings of sadness, while being told boys should not ruminate about conflicts or issues (citing Broderick & Korteland, 2002; Crawford & Unger 492). Power and status in society has a great