Greek Philosophy and Living a Good Life

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses four important philosophers in world history, Plato, Socrates, St. Augustine and Immanuel Kant, who all had good but different ideas about living a good life. Socrates was Plato's teacher, St. Augustine came centuries later and Kant was from the 18th century. The paper describes what all of them suggested about living a good life and how it applies to the writer.

From the Paper:

" Plato was Socrates' student who wrote about Socrates' trial, conviction, and execution. Plato was obviously very influenced by his teacher Socrates, and Plato expressed this in his Dialogues. Another of Plato's own concerns about the importance of truth had to do with leadership. For instance Plato believed that rulers should only rule based on truth and reason and that the way to best live life itself was also based on truth and reason. This is something I agree with very strongly. When it comes to the Iraq war, for example, I feel that America's current leaders decided to start the war based not on truthfulness and reason, but for baser motives, such as coercion and a desire to expand their geographical and financial power. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Kant's Moral Philosophy." 10 Dec 2007 <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ kant-moral/html>
• "Plato's Ethics: An Overview." 11 Dec 2007 <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ plato-ethics/html>

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