Platonic Academy. Plato and his academy What is Plato's academy

Near Athens, in a grove dedicated to the hero Cadmus. Subsequently, these philosophers diverged in their views and direction, and thus gave rise to later researchers to divide the school of Plato into Ancient, Middle and New Academy.

The great Greek philosopher Plato

The successor of the founder of the institution and the head Ancient Academy was Speusippus , the nephew of Plato, who died in 339 BC. He taught for money and thus followed the example of the sophists, against whose greed Socrates and Plato armed themselves so strongly. Speusippus turned the Academy into a school for orators and statesmen, and more closely connected Pythagoreanism with Plato's philosophy. The main goal of his school was to prepare figures for public life, and in order to achieve it, they say, he bought the secrets of Isocrates, the most famous of the Greek teachers of eloquence. If this is true, then one cannot attach great importance to the rhetorical teaching and practical activities of Academician Speusippus, because these secrets, of course, consisted only of rules and instructions, with the help of which, without having oratorical talents, one could learn in a purely mechanical way to express gracefully, to speak fluently and eloquently. These secrets can be compared to guidelines for writing poetry without the slightest poetic talent. With his Pythagorean direction, Speusippus had the same influence on the education of politicians, and, consequently, on the state life itself, as well as his rhetorical teaching. Under him, the Platonic Academy was in the closest connection with the great Pythagorean-aristocratic alliance in Sicily. Having fully assimilated the spirit of his teaching, Speusippus found in the highest Athenian society, which had lost all its former energy and was now looking for food only for imagination, even more sympathy than his teacher, Plato. The distinction he made between the truths assigned to the uninitiated in the mysteries of the Pythagoreans and others accessible only to the initiates, or, as the ancients expressed it, between exoteric and esoteric teachings, was also met with great approval by the higher classes. Under Speusippus, the Academy became the spiritual center of the aristocrats and educated Athenians, and was so successful that even women followed its direction and indulged in the sweet dreams of Platonic-Pythagorean philosophy.

Thus, Speusippus, following the main principles of the teachings of Plato, gave his philosophy and academic school a different direction. He paid special attention to that part of Plato's philosophy that had a connection with Pythagoreanism, dealt mainly with issues of state structure and explained the relationship of his teaching to the entire existing order and to individuals.

The location of the Platonic school (Academy Grove) on the map of ancient Athens

His successor at the Academy, Xenocrates , who lived until 314 and also kept to the main foundations of Plato's philosophy, followed the direction given by Speusippus. Like his predecessor, he was of the opinion that public life, with all its needs, should be the main subject of teaching at the Academy. Under him, the Platonic Academy remained a school where the upper classes of the Greek people, who ruled the state, were educated. How great the influence of the Academy was can best be judged by the fact that all the celebrities of the Greek world came to Athens, where they mainly tried to show themselves at the Academy. Under Xenocrates, the significance of the Academy, as a school in which statesmen received education, increased so much that even Alexander the Great himself asked Xenocrates for advice on public administration. The same Macedonian king once sent Xenocrates and the Academy 50 talents (about 65,000 rubles in silver), which, however, the philosopher did not accept out of respect for the Athenian people, who did not like royal gifts.

After Xenocrates, the Platonic Academy was headed by Polemon, Krates And Crantor. From all the information that we have about the first and last, it is clear that these philosophers were also followers of Plato and followed the direction laid down by their predecessors. Polemon wrote an essay in which he carries out the idea that the highest bliss lies in living in accordance with nature. In other words, he preached what, among the later Greeks and Romans, constituted the highest worldly wisdom of the statesman, who acted according to his moral principles as long as circumstances allowed, otherwise he followed the personal interests or impulses of his own nature. Crantor wrote a book about sorrows, which is also closely related to the main goal of Plato's Academy. All philosophical schools of later antiquity considered it necessary to prepare future statesmen for the impermanence of happiness, and the treatise on sorrows was prompted precisely by this consideration.

Plato's school got its name from the fact that classes were held in the halls of the gymnasium in the vicinity of Athens, called the Academy (after the Greek hero Academ). Near this gymnasium, Plato acquired a small plot of land where the members of his school could gather and live.

The Garden of the Academy, apparently, was a public park, accessible to anyone who wanted to walk, exercise or talk. It became an adornment of the city, and the road to it from Athens was all framed with stone steles in memory of the ancient heroes. In this quiet corner outside the city, philosophy and memories of great ancestors coexisted.

Although the Platonic Academy is considered the prototype of modern institutions of higher education, it was a union of sages who served Apollo and the Muses. No wonder the house of Plato, who was in the same place, was called the "house of the muses" - Museion.

origins

While studying at the Academy, Plato combined the teachings of Socrates and the teachings of the Pythagoreans, whom he met during his first trip to Sicily. From Socrates, he took the dialectical method, irony, interest in ethical problems; from Pythagoras he inherited the ideal of the common life of philosophers and the idea of ​​education with the help of symbols based on mathematics, as well as the possibility of applying this science to the knowledge of nature.

Political focus

Plato meant by politics not only the education of capable statesmen, but simply noble and just people, because the duty of the philosopher is to act. And for such an upbringing, an intellectual and spiritual community was necessary, which was entrusted with the task of forming new people, no matter how much time it took. The members of the Academy constituted a community of people free and equal, for they alike strove for virtue and for joint research.

Convinced that a decent life can only be led in a perfect state, Plato creates for his students the conditions of an ideal state, so that for the time being - in the absence of the opportunity to govern any real state - they govern themselves according to the norms of an ideal state.

“Justice preserves the state as much as the human soul, therefore, since it is impossible to always maintain the correct state structure, it is necessary to build it within oneself.”

Training at the Academy

Among the most famous teachers of the Platonic Academy, besides Plato himself, were the mathematician and astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus and the philosopher Aristotle. Scholarchs who headed the Academy after Plato: Speusippus, Xenocrates, Polemon, Crates. In the later history of the existence of the Academy, it is customary to single out the Middle and the New Academy. The middle (or 2nd) Academy originates from Arcesilaus, its main direction is skepticism and consistent criticism of any philosophical dogma (primarily Stoicism, the most popular at that time). This trend was further developed in the so-called. New Academy (or 3rd) under Carneades. The break with skepticism that emerged under Philo of Larissa, the head of the so-called. 4th Academy, finally takes place under Antiochus of Ascalon, who founded his "Ancient Academy" (5th) and revived dogmatic Platonism. In the 4th-6th centuries. AD The Athenian school of Neoplatonism recognized itself as the successor to Plato's Academy and resumed this name as the name of the school. The Neoplatonic Academy was closed by Emperor Justinian in 529.

Yu. A. Shichalin

In his dialogue "Feast" Plato gives an image of love as a desire for birth and gaining immortality. And he speaks of a category of people in whom it is not the body that is fruitful, but the soul, and who give birth to their creations in art, science or legislation. However, for such a birth, the union of close souls is necessary. According to the philosopher L. Robin, “a fruitful soul bears fruit only in communion with another soul, in which it recognizes the necessary qualities; communication is unthinkable without a living word, without daily conversations that involve a life together organized for spiritual purposes ... - in a word, without a philosophical school, similar to the one that was conceived and created by Plato ... "

In Plato's school, education was carried out within a community, a group, a close circle of friends, where sublime love reigned. The members of the Academy were divided into two groups: senior (scientists and teachers) and junior (students), because, according to Plato, real philosophy can only exist in a constant dialogue between teachers and students within the walls of the school.

A necessary element of the teaching system at the Academy was dialectics. But it was not meant to be a technique of argument (as was customary in Plato's time), but a spiritual exercise involving inner transformation. Genuine dialogue is possible only when the speakers strive for dialogue. Dialogue teaches not to impose your opinion on another person, but to put yourself in the place of another and overcome the limitations of your own point of view. And, overcoming themselves, to gain experience of striving for the truth and the Good. Thus, it was not so much the subject of the dispute that was important, but the very possibility of the transformation of a person.

Philosophical way of life

The main task of Plato's pedagogical activity was the formation of a harmoniously developed person - through everyday efforts and a philosophical lifestyle. Plato describes this way of life as follows: one must love virtue more than pleasures, give up sensual pleasures, observe, in particular, moderation in food, and live every day in such a way as to have as much power over oneself as possible.

Spiritual exercises were also practiced at the Academy, among them preparation for sleep, which Plato speaks of when he starts talking about unconscious desires, about terrible and wild urges to violence that lurk in every person. In order not to have such dreams, it is necessary in the evening, going to sleep, every time to prepare yourself, awakening the rational beginning of the soul with the help of inner speech and reasoning about lofty subjects and indulging in reflections. Plato advised a little sleep: “And who among us cares most about the rationality of life, let him stay awake as long as possible, while observing what is good for his health. If this becomes a habit, then people's sleep will be short."

Another exercise is to remain calm in adversity and not be indignant; for this, we should call for help maxims that can change our inner mood. Thus, we must explain to ourselves that the good and bad sides of these misfortunes are unknown to us, that murmuring will lead to nothing, that none of human affairs deserves a particularly serious attitude towards it, and we must, as if playing dice, accept things as they are and act in accordance with what has befallen us.

The true birth of mathematics is associated with the Academy. It was even inscribed on the gates of the Academy: “Let no non-geometer enter!” Geometry and other mathematical sciences were of paramount importance in teaching. But they constituted only the first stage in the formation of the future philosopher. They also performed a kind of ethical function, as they allowed the mind to be cleared of sensory representations.

Plato's Academy was a brotherhood of people whose unity consisted in choosing a single way of life, a form of life given by the great teacher. The Academy will be famous among posterity both for the merits of its students and for the perfection of its organization. The memory of this philosophical school will be preserved throughout the subsequent history of philosophy, and the Platonic Academy will become a model for many other schools.

religious-philosophical union founded by Plato c. 385 BC near Athens in the gardens dedicated to the mythical hero Academ. A wide range of disciplines was developed at the Academy: philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, natural science, etc. The special role of mathematics is emphasized in the motto of the Academy: "Let no non-geometer enter!" In 529, by decree of Emperor Justinian, all pagan philosophical schools in Athens were closed.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

ACADEMY PLATONOVSKAYA

?????????) - philosophy. Plato's school, founded by him c. 387 BC in a park near Athens and named the Academy after the mythic. the hero of Academ (????????). A. p. was a philosopher. a society for the veneration of the muses, headed by a sholarch - a person chosen from among the representatives of the school. Almost a thousand-year history of A. p. was the history of the struggle of the ancient. idealism with materialism. Proceeding from the objective idealism of Plato, at different stages of its history, arts and crafts fell under the influence of other idealistic. schools and opposed antique. materialism. T. n. The ancient (1st) academy, headed first by Plato himself, and then successively by his students Speusippus (c. 348 - c. 339 BC), Xenocrates of Chalcedon (c. 339 - c. 315 BC), Polemon (c. 315 - c. 270 BC) and Crates (c. 270 - c. 265 BC), was influenced by Pythagoreanism, dealing with ch. arr. mystical mathematics and the peculiar dialectics and natural philosophy built on it, respectively. implications for ethics. Idealistic in the foundations of its teaching, the Ancient Academy played a certain role in the development and dissemination of mathematics and astronomy (Heraclid of Pontus, Eudoxus of Cnidus, Philip of Opuntus). From Arcesilaus (265-241 BC), A. p. enters the path of skepticism. This period of its history was called the Middle (2nd) Academy. Its representatives were Lacid of Cyrene (241 or 240-224 or 222), Telekl, Evander, Hegesin. Carneades of Cyrene is the founder of the so-called. The new (3rd) academy, which deepened the skepticism of the Middle Academy and fiercely attacked the dogmatism of the Stoics. Academician skepticism was a return to the Socratic methods of philosophy. Carneades was followed by his relative of the same name as the head of the Academy, after him by Crates of Tarsus and then Clytomachus of Carthage (c. 129 - c. 110 BC). The successors of Clitomachus were Philo of Larissa (teacher of Cicero) (4th academy) and Antiochus of Ascalon (5th academy). Under these leaders, the Academy began to noticeably move away from skepticism and move onto the path of eclecticism, trying to combine the philosophy of Plato and the contemporary schools of Stoicism, Pythagoreanism and the peripatetic school. From the 4th–5th centuries (Plutarch of Athens) The Academy is strongly associated with Neoplatonism. In 529 imp. Justinian in order to combat the tongue. ideology closed the Academy, confiscated its property and dismissed the academicians, who since then began to seek refuge outside of Greece. During the Renaissance under the name. "Platonic" existed in Florence (1459-1521) academy, osn. Cosimo Medici. Ch. its representative was Marsilio Ficino. The Academy successfully fought against the scholasticized Aristotle, translated and commented on the works of Plato. She sought to give her Platonism a secular character. Lit.: History of Philosophy, vol. 1, M., 1940, p. 249-58, 306-309; Richter R., Skepticism in Philosophy, vol. 1, St. Petersburg, 1910, p. 45–84; I. K. [Korsunsky], Sayings of the most ancient Greek thinkers..., Kharkov, 1887 (see sections 29, 30, 47, 48); Zeller, E., Die Philosophie der Griechen, Tl 2–3, Abtl. l, 5 Aufl., Lpz., 1922–23; Schmekel A., Die Philosophie der mittleren Stoa, B., 1892; Seel O., Die Platonische Akademie, Stuttgart, 1953. A. Losev. Moscow.

M.W7 y. to m.: "., after 12 years of wandering, in the fortieth anniversary of - in the heyday (acme), as with the Greeks of that time, Plato returned to Athens. In the same year, he acquires a grove in the green outskirts of Athens, which bore the name of the hero Academ, and establishes his own school - the famous Academy, which lasted almost a whole millennium, until 529 AD. e., when it was closed under the emperor Justinian.

Above the entrance to the Academy there was an inscription: "Negeometer - let it not enter." True, in Plato's school they were engaged not only in mathematical disciplines, but also in questions of philosophy, politics and law. "Geometry" in this case was understood, not without Pythagorean influence, not as a highly specialized field of knowledge, but rather as a universal, mathematically interpreted method of operating with ideal entities in all areas of knowledge.

A vivid example of this is Plato's distinction between simple (arithmetic) and geometric equality, which was used to contrast the democratic understanding of equality and justice ("by number") with the aristocratic concept of equality and justice ("by dignity").

In the Academy, according to the information that came down, strict morals reigned and restraint in the manifestation of feelings was encouraged. Plato himself, from his youthful years, behaved so seriously that no one saw him laugh out loud and have fun. With age, he became an increasingly withdrawn person, but with his students he was simple and accessible, good-naturedly enduring their enthusiasm and criticism. In connection with Aristotle's critical remarks, he once said: "This colt kicks its mother." Aristotle, the most famous of Plato's students, entered his school in 367 BC. e. 17-year-old boy from the small town of Stagir and stayed at the Academy (first as a student and then as a teacher) for twenty years, until the death of its founder.

The fame of the Platonic Academy grew rapidly, young men from all over Hellas studied there. Girls were also admitted to the Academy (perhaps also under the influence of Pythagorean unions), some of them (for example, Axiothea from Phlius) dressed like a man.

A number of graduates of the Academy later became well-known scientists, philosophers, politicians, legislators.

Plato's studies at the Academy were interrupted twice by his two more visits to Sicily in 366 and in 361-360. BC e. The circumstances of these trips, which shed further light on Plato's indefatigable efforts to reform politics through philosophy, were as follows. In 367 BC. e. Dionysius the Elder finally died. Power in Syracuse passed to his son Dionysius the Younger, whose tyranny continued his father's work.

Dion in his letters to Plato in every possible way convinced

gave him that a favorable time had come for the practical implementation in Sicily of Plato's ideas about a just state structure, especially emphasizing the youth of the new ruler, his reverence for Plato and the desire for philosophy and education. Dion asked Plato to arrive in Syracuse as quickly as possible, while others did not have time to drag the tyrant Dionysius in the opposite direction. Persistently called Plato to himself and Dio himself! shsii.

Plato, who was in his 62nd year, hesitated, but he did not embark on a long journey and again fell into the shoes of tyranny, political strife, slander and violence. During Plato's sojourn and Syracuse, Dion was accused of conspiring against Dionysius in order to establish his tyranny and expelled with dishonor. Rumors reached Plato himself about the order to catch and execute him. True, the matter did not come to execution, but Plato was under supervision for some time and he was not allowed to go home.

Dionysius, who was jealous of the friendship between Plato and Dion, solicited the philosopher's praises, but did not begin to comprehend his ideas, not bs: “for fear of losing my money because of such activities, in the end, not having achieved his goal, he let go of 1 Naton n Athens.

And the third time Plato visited Syracuse in order to achieve reconciliation between Dionysius and Dion, who was in exile. He failed to achieve this. In order to escape from Syracuse again, Plato had to resort to the help of Archytas of Tarentum. On the way to Athens in the ZbO BC. e. During the Olympic Games, Plato met Dion at Olympia. Dion began to persuade Plato to take part in the overthrow of Dionysius, which he was preparing, but Plato refused this.

Later, Dion achieved a temporary victory over Dionysius, but soon (in 354 or 353 BC) was stabbed to death by his former supporter, the Athenian Callippus, who, by the way, in his

the turn was stabbed with the same dagger by the Pythagorean Leptin. Philosophy, emerging from the silence of the cabinets into the corridors of power, stumbled upon a knife or grabbed it itself.

This experience, of course, did not pass for Plato - an eyewitness of events - in vain. Tired of the intrigues and violence associated with political practice, he, according to Diogenes Laertes, no longer "was engaged in state affairs, although it is clear from his writings that he was a statesman" (III, 23). So Plato refused to invite him as a legislator to Megapolis, because, as he understood, the founders of the policy (Arca-Dyans and Thebans) were not willing to observe equality.

Plato devoted the rest of his life to his favorite philosophical and scientific studies at the Academy, to work on dialogues. Old age fettered his legs, burdened his body with various Gkm1s:shami. But the philosopher's mind, like an unquenchable lantern, cut through the approaching darkness with its bright light.

Plato died in 347 BC. e. at the age of 80. Shortly before his death, he saw in a dream that he turned into a swan, flies from tree to tree and causes a lot of trouble for birders. Socratic Simmias interpreted this in such a way that Plato will remain elusive for those who want to interpret him - for interpreters are like bird-catchers trying to track down the thoughts of ancient authors, but he is elusive because his writings allow interpretations both physical, and ethical, and theological, and many others.

Friends and students buried 11laton on the territory of the Academy. A message has been preserved (Diogenes Laertes III, 43-44) about two inscriptions on the tomb of the philosopher.

The first one goes like this:

Knowing the measure and righteous disposition is an excellent inter mortals, This divine man is buried here Aristocles. If any of the people achieve great wisdom, - "" This - more than all: envy - something in front of him. "

Here is the second inscription:

IN the earth hid the remains of Plato to me deep, Spirit but his immortal lives in the host of the blessed. Son of Ariston, you knew the insight of divine life. And among the most worthy we honor in the near and far land.

Plato's testament has also been preserved, testifying to the average, if not modest, material prosperity of the philosopher. Incomparably richer, as befits a true philosopher, is his spiritual and creative heritage, which includes both Plato's numerous works and the world-historical role of the school he founded.

The creative evolution of Plato's views is distinguished by a relentless search for truth and an indefatigable thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Plato studied persistently with his predecessors (and, before \ Heraclitus, Socrates, the Pythagoreans, Parmenides, Zeno, the Sophists and many other thinkers), agreeing and arguing with them, creatively synthesizing their valuable and productive concepts with their own deep and original views, with their discoveries and findings in the field of philosophy (KO (| X "THE THOUGHT.

Plato spent most of his life in Athens, to the Academy with his students. Here the philosopher wrote works, to which he gave a highly artistic { the venous form of the dialogues (the main character I in them is Socrates, who usually expresses the thoughts of the author himself). There are more than 20 of them in total (not counting more than 10 dialogue ". gov, whose belonging to Plato is doubtful); he also owns more than a dozen letters. As established by philological science and historians of ancient Greek philosophy, Plato wrote the dialogues! Salat approximately in the following chronological sequence, "dovateli justice. In the early period (90s of the GU century BC):" Apology of Socrates "," Crito "," Euthyphro "," Laches "," Foxy "," Charmides "," Protagoras ", the first book of" State

In other words, he seeks to analyze various concepts (usually of a moral nature) and find their generic essence. In the period that is considered transitional (80s of this century): "Gorgias", "Menon", "Eutydem", "Cratyl". In these works, the concept of ideas interpreted as special entities independent of things is defined, the relativism of the sophists is criticized, the Orphic-Pythagorean doctrine of immortality and the cycle of souls is considered.

In the mature period (70-60s), Phaedo, Feast, Phaedrus and most of the State (books II-X) were written. In these dialogues, the theory of ideas that determine the things and phenomena of a particular world has already been developed in detail. In the dialogues Theaetetus, Parmashd, Sophist, Politician, Philebus, Timaeus and Critias * questions of logic, epistemology, dialectics of categories (higher kinds of being in Parmenides and Sophist), cosmology (in Timaeus) are considered. They are relatively rare mythological motifs.

In the last, late period, Plato wrote the most extensive dialogue - "Laws", in which he sought to bring his theory of the state closer to real life. It should be borne in mind that in the named works of Plato there is no systematic, consistent, thoughtful development of this or that idea or concept. While formulating many deep thoughts on a variety of occasions, the author did not think about their systematization.

The following is an excerpt from the work of Albin, one of Plato's students! ia, is published in the translation of Yu. A. Shichalin according to the edition as an appendix to Plato's book "Dialogues" (M., 1986). Excerpts from the works of Plato are published according to the following editions: Works, part III (“Politics or the State”), part V (“Theaetetus”) and part VI (“Politician”, “Parmenides”, “Timaeus”), translated by V.P.

Karpova., St. Petersburg, 1863-1879; Creations, vol. IV ("Phileb", translated by N. Tomasov). L., 1929 and vol. XIII (“Laws”, translated by A. N. Yegunov). Pg., 1923; From-

swearing dialogues (“Feast”, “Phaedrus”, “Phaedo”, translated by S. Apt, A. Egunov and S. Markish). M., 1965; Works in 3 volumes, v. 1 ("Memnon"). M., 1968 and Sophist. Kyiv, 1907, translated by S. A. Ananyin; Dialogues (“Evti-dem”, translated by S. Ya. Sheinman-Topshtein). M., 1986. The selection of excerpts was made by VF Asmus.

-* ".,. ..;,..:,. ". . ; ;>i.|i;

vv .""" . ",." " ""(NC

->*"f. ./-L \#*J*>

ALBIN

"TEXTBOOK OF PLATON'S PHILOSOPHY"

XVII. 1. The gods molded man chiefly from earth, fire, air, and water, borrowing a certain part of them; they fastened them with invisible bonds and thus created a kind of single body, and they placed the dominant part of the soul in the head, as if seeding the brain with it; on the face they placed the sense organs that carry out the corresponding service; from smooth and even triangles, used in the opening of the elements, they made up the bone marrow, which should Oyl produce seed; they made the bone h:i msmli, wielded by the brain and heated several times with iodine and fire; veins - from bone and flesh; and the flesh itself was cooked in a kind of leaven, salty and bitter.

2. They surrounded the brain with bone, and the bones themselves were fastened with veins, thanks to which articulations and joints were obtained; they covered them, as if sticking around with flesh, denser in some places, less so in others, so that the body was comfortable.

3. From the same they wove the internal organs, the stomach and around it - the twists of the intestines, and above, from the oral cavity, the respiratory canal leading to the lungs, and the throat leading to the esophagus. Food, getting into the stomach, is crushed and softened with the help of hot air, and after a corresponding change

niya spreads throughout the body; two veins running along the ridge cross the head, meeting each other, and from the head they are divided into many nerves.

4. Having created man, the gods combined with his body the soul that dominated him, and the leading part of the soul was deliberately placed in the head region, where the beginnings of nerves and lived, as well as sources of experiences that could lead to insanity; and the sense organs around the head are, as it were, guardians of the leading principle.

The beginnings of reasoning, choice and evaluation are also placed here; a little lower they placed the sensual principle of the soul, and the ardent one in the region of the heart; the lusty principle is placed in the lower abdomen and in the area around the 4th navel; these beginnings will be discussed below.

XVII/. 1. Having installed luminous eyes on the face, the gods forced them to restrain the fiery light enclosed in the body, the smoothness and density of which made it related, in their opinion, to daylight. This inner light, the purest and most transparent, pours easily through the eyes as a whole, but especially easily through their middle. Colliding, like like with like, with light from outside, it creates visual sensations. Therefore, at night, when the light disappears or is obscured, the stream of light ceases to rush to the air around us and, being kept inside, calms and disperses our internal impulses and thereby causes sleep; as a result of this, the eyelids move together in sleep.

2. With the onset of complete calm, short-term dreams come; but if some movements remain, we are overcome by prolonged dreams. This is how - in reality and in a dream - imaginary representations are created, and after them - images in mirrors and other transparent and smooth objects that arise by reflection. At the same time, an impression of convexity, depth and extension is created in the mirror, and different images are obtained here due to the fact that the rays of light either repel from different parts or slide off.

yut from bulges, or flow into depressions; therefore, in one case, the left appears to be right, in the other, the same thing is displayed, in the third, what is more distant turns into close, and vice versa.

XDL1. Hearing arose for the sake of recognizing sounds; hearing begins with movement in the region of the head and ends in the region of the liver. Sound through the ears strikes the brain and blood and reaches the very soul; high sound - from fast movement, shshkiy - from slow, loud

"(1lsduk> shchaya ability - for i users, consisting of it and to the acceptance of smells. Smell is a sensation, descending - ( P- vessels in the nostrils to the umbilical region. Nida papakh are not namable, with the exception of two primary ones - pleasant and unpleasant, which are called fragrance and stench. Every smell is denser than air, but finer than water; this is proof, "is called by what is odorous, in an understandable way, called-

“8 that which is in a certain incomplete state and retains the properties common to air and water, such as steam and fog, is waking up; the state of the transition of water into air or vice versa is just accessible to the sense of both.

i, Mkus Lot was created for the sake of recognizing the most p;i (personal goch.pissah substances; they stretched from ii. "iijKU dossrdts.1 vessels that should evaluate and judge the taste of these sensations, and, comparing and different-

*. limping the impact of oozing substances, determine the times! stitch between them.

4. There are seven types of substances that cause different taste sensations: sweet, sour, tart, caustic, salty, pungent and bitter. Of these, the sweet has a nature opposite to all others, and pleasantly penetrates the moisture around the tongue. Of the rest, the sour one stirs and corrodes; of the substances that compress and close the pores, the caustic is more rough, and the tart is less.

5. The gods adapted the tactile faculty for the perception of hot and cold, soft

and hard, light and heavy, smooth and rough, so that such differences can be judged. That which, when touched, yields, we call malleable, and that which does not yield, we call intractable; it depends on the foundation of the bodies themselves: that which has a greater foundation is stable and solid, and that, the foundation of which is small, is pliable, soft and easily changed. Rough can be considered that which is heterogeneous and hard, smooth - homogeneous and dense. The sensations of hot and cold, being the most opposite, arise from opposite causes. One, causing splitting by sharp and rapid mobility of the parts, causes a feeling of warmth. The feeling of coldness is caused by the entrance of the larger, which displaces the smaller and smaller and forcibly takes their place: for it is then that a certain shaking and trembling begins, and at the same time a feeling of freezing arises in the bodies.

XX. Heavy and light should never be defined in terms of the concepts of top and bottom, since "top" and "bottom" do not mean anything; in fact, since the sky as a whole is spherical and perfectly aligned with its outer side, it is not correct to call one thing in it up, and the other down. Heavy is that which can hardly be moved from its natural place; easy - that without labor; moreover, heavy is made up of many parts, and light is made up of a few.

XXI. We breathe like this: from the outside we are enveloped in a large volume of air; this air through the mouth, nostrils and other ways that are in the body and seen by the mind, penetrates inside, and when heated, rushes out to the same air; and how much it comes out, the same amount of air from outside enters inside; so, with the continuous completion of this cycle, inhalations and exhalations are obtained.

XXII. The causes of illness are many. First, the excess and lack of elements, as well as their transition to unusual places. Secondly, birth

the reverse of the homogeneous, for example, when blood, bile or mucus is excreted from the flesh, this means nothing more than the decomposition of the flesh. It is mucus that represents the decomposition of young flesh, sweat and tears - a kind of mucus serum. The mucus, coming out, causes rashes and lichen, and mixing inside with black blood, excites the so-called sacred disease; acrid and salty mucus is the cause of catarrhs; all inflammations are caused by bile, and in general bile and phlegm cause a thousand different ailments. Continuous fever arises from an excess of fire, daily from air, three days from codes, four days from earth.

XXIII. 1. Now let's talk about the soul; although it may seem that we are repeating ourselves, let's start with the following. As we have already shown, the gods who created the mortal generations received from the first god an immortal human soul and added to it two mortal parts. So that the divine and immortal part of the soul would not be suppressed by the insignificance of the mortal part, they placed it, as it were, in the fortress of the human body and, having intended it for control and domination, gave it a place in the golons, the form of which is similar to the form of the universe; they destined the disgraced body for submission to it, added it as a carrier, and in different parts of it they placed other mortal parts of the soul.

2. They placed the ardent principle in the heart, the lustful one in the middle region, between the navel and the diaphragm, tying it like some kind of mad and wild animal. To help the heart, they adapted the lungs, making them soft, bloodless and porous like a sponge in order to soften the blows of the heart seething with anger. The liver, thanks to its sweetness and bitterness, awakens the lustful beginning of the soul and tames it; moreover, the liver causes prophetic dreams, because it, being smooth, dense and shiny, reflects the power coming from the mind. The spleen helps the liver by cleansing it

and giving it a gloss; it absorbs harmful secretions arising from certain diseases of the liver.

XXIV. 1. That the three parts of the soul correspond to its three powers, and that these parts take their places according to a certain design, may be seen from the following. First, that which is divided by nature is different; and senses and reason are separated by nature, since one is related to thinking, and the other to pains and pleasures; besides, animals also have feelings.

2. Since the senses and the mind are indeed different by nature, they must also be placed separately, since in the end they come into conflict with each other; but nothing can come into conflict with itself, and the opposite /(\iyyy cannot be in the same place at the same time.

3. The example of Medea shows how the ardor of passions comes into conflict with reason; she says like this:

I know that villainy is conceived by me, But the ardor of passions is stronger than understanding.

(Euripides. Medea, 1078-1079)

And in Laius, who kidnaps Chrysippus, passion also comes into conflict with reason; he says like this:

That is the greatest misfortune for people, That they act badly, knowing better.

(Euripides. Poems from the tragedy Chrysippus, which has not come down to us)

4. The fact that reason differs from feelings can also be judged on the basis of the fact that reason and feelings are brought up differently; the first is through learning, and the second is through the acquisition of good habits<...>.

THE DOCTRINE ABOUT "IDEAS"

“After this,” I said, “our nature, from the side of education and ignorance, like this state. Imagine people, as it were, in an underground cave dwelling, which has an entrance open from above and long throughout the cave for light. Let people live in Pei from childhood, shackled in their legs and nicely, so that, while staying here, they could only see what is in front of them, and could not turn their heads around from the bonds. Let the light reach them from the fire burning far above and behind them, and between the fire and the prisoners on high, let there be a road against which imagine a wall built like screens that conjurers put up before the audience when they show their tricks because of them. . “I imagine,” he said. “Look: past this wall, people are carrying various vessels, statues and figures that are exposed above the wall, now human, now animals, now stone, now wooden, made in various ways, and that some of those carrying make sounds, while others are silent.” - "Strange outline of your image and strange prisoners," he said. - "Similar to us," - and said. - “Ra.chns, do you think that for the first time these prisoners, both in themselves and in each other, saw something else, and not the shadows that fell from the fire on the cave in front of them?” “How else,” he said, “if they are forced to remain with their heads motionless all their lives?” - “And the objects carried - are they not the same?” - "What else?" “So, if they are able to talk to each other, don’t you think that they will imagine that, in naming what they see, they are naming what they carry?” - "Necessary". “But what if in this dungeon an echo resounded directly against them, how soon would one of the passers-by make sounds, do you think they would relate these sounds to something else, and not to a passing shadow?” “I swear by Zeus, not to another,” he said. “Yes, and the truth, - prim-

I forked, - these people will no doubt revere nothing but shadows. “Very necessary,” he said. “Watch, then,” I continued, “let them, given their nature, have to be released from their bonds and be cured of meaninglessness, whatever it may be; let one of them be untied, suddenly forced to stand up, turn his neck, walk and look upward at the light: while doing all this, would he not feel pain and from the brilliance, would he not feel powerless to look at what he had previously seen shadows? And what do you think he would say if someone began to tell him that then he saw trifles, and now, turning closer to what is and is more real, he contemplates more correctly, and even if, pointing to every passing object, he was urged to answer the question, what is he, would he, you think, get into difficulty and would not think that what he saw then was truer than what he points out now? “Of course,” he spat. “Yes, even if they forced him to look at the light, wouldn’t he suffer with his eyes, wouldn’t he run, turning towards what he could see, and wouldn’t he think that it really was more clearly indicated?” “Yes,” he said. “If someone,” I continued, “would forcibly draw him along a rocky and steep shoot and would not leave until he pulled him out into the sunlight, would he not be sick and vexed with the one who was attracting him, and when he came out into the light, could his eyes blinded by the brilliance even see objects now called true?” “Suddenly, of course, they could not,” he said. “11, I think, a habit would be needed for anyone who wants to contemplate higher things: at first he would easily look only at the shadows, then at the figures of people and other objects reflected in the water, and finally at the objects themselves; and of these those in the sky and the sky itself would be easier to see at night, looking at the radiance of the stars and the moon, than during the day - the sun and the properties of the sun. - "How not easier!" “And only, finally, already, I think, would I be able to see and contemplate the sun - not its image in the water and in a foreign place, but the sun itself in itself, in its own

his area." “Necessary,” he said. “And after that, I would only conclude about it that it means times and years and, in a visible place, controlling everything, is in some way the cause of everything that his comrades saw.” “It is clear,” he said, “that he would have gone from that to that.” “Well, remembering the first life, the wisdom there, and the prisoners of that time, don’t you think that he will please his change, and regret others?” - "And very". - “Recalling also the honors and praises that were then given to them from each other, and the rewards to those who, with an ephemeral just looked at the passing and shmmatel, noticed that it usually happens first, that then, what goes together, and from this MoiymecTBCHHO guessed what would be - whether he would be addicted, you think, to these things and crai icT whether to envy people between them honorable and governmental, or will it rather come to the idea of ​​Homer and strongly want to go to the village to work for another person, the poor, and endure whatever it is, than be led by such opinions and live like that? “So I think,” he said, “it’s better to accept all kinds of torment than to live in the local way.” “Note, too,” I continued, “that if such a man went down again into the same infirmary and sat down, after the sunny snow, would not his eyes suddenly be enveloped in darkness?” “Of course,” he said. “But, pointing again, if necessary, to the former shadows and arguing with those eternal prisoners until he became stupefied, having restored his sight - which requires a short-term habit - would he not arouse laughter in them and would they not say that, having been above, he returned with damaged eyes and that therefore one should not even try to ascend upwards? And whoever would undertake to solve them and announce them, they would kill him, if only they could take them in their hands and kill them. “Definitely,” he said. “So this image, dear Glavkon,” I continued, “should be added to what was said before, likening the visible area of ​​\u200b\u200bvision to life in a prison, and the light of fire in it to the power of the sun. If, moreover,

If you live that the ascent upward and the contemplation of what is above is the rapture of the soul to a place conceivable, then you will not deceive my hope, which you wish to hear about. God knows if this is true; but what appears to me appears as follows: within the limits of knowledge, the idea of ​​the good is scarcely contemplated; but, being an object of contemplation, it gives the right to conclude that she is the cause of everything right and beautiful in everything, giving birth to light and its master in the visible, and the mistress herself in the conceivable, giving truth and mind, and that whoever wants to be wise in private and public matters should see her. “I have the same thoughts,” he said, “if only I could somehow.” “Well, accept that thought, too,” I said, “and don’t be surprised that the local aliens do not want to live like human beings, but ascend with their souls to dwell there; for it is natural, if only, according to the outlined image, is just (State, 514 A - 517D).

I want to show you the kind of reason that I have explored, and here I am again returning to the well-known and heard a hundred times, and I start from it, assuming as a basis that there is beauty in itself, and good, and great, and everything else. If you agree with me and admit that this is the case, I hope this will allow me to discover and show you the reason for the immortality of the soul. (Phaedo, 100 V).

Whoever, correctly guided, has reached such a degree of knowledge of love, at the end of this path will suddenly see something surprisingly beautiful in nature, that very thing, Socrates, for the sake of which all previous works were undertaken, something, firstly, eternal, that is, knowing neither birth, nor death, nor growth, nor impoverishment, and secondly, not in something beautiful, but in something ugly, not once, somewhere, for someone and compared with something beautiful e, but at another time, in another place, for another and in comparison with another, ugly. This beauty will appear to him not in the form of some face, hands or other part of the body, not in the form of some kind of speech or science, not in something else, whether it be an animal, earth, sky or

(Greek Ακαδημία Πλάτωνος; English Akadimia Platonos)

Opening hours: around the clock.
How to get there: Metro station metaxourghio, walk from the metro along Lenorman street 1 km, then turn left onto Tripoleos street, which will lead to Plato's Academy.

The archaeological site "Academy of Plato" is located in the suburbs of Athens, which got its name from the founder of the most famous school of philosophy - Plato.
Plato was born in 427 BC in Athens. According to ancient tradition, his birthday is considered to be 7 tharhelion (May 21), a holiday on which, according to mythological legend, the god Apollo was born on the island of Delos. Plato grew up in a family of aristocratic origin, the clan of his father Ariston was erected, according to legend, to the last king of Attica - Codru, and the ancestor of Periktiona, Plato's mother, was the Athenian reformer Solon.

Around 407 BC, Plato met Socrates and became one of his most enthusiastic students. After his death, he left Athens and spent about twelve years traveling. Returning to his homeland, Plato, in 387 BC, founded a scientific school-Academy, which was located on a plot specially bought for this purpose, a garden that bore the name of the ancient hero Academ. It was the first truly scientific school in the history of mankind.

Apparently, Plato bought some kind of dwelling, probably with the financial support of his Syracusan friend Dion, settled there and received his students, while the main activity of the philosophical school took place in the garden of the Academy, which remained open to the public. Some time later, in the garden, Plato erected the sanctuary of the Muses (to which his nephew Speusippus later, after taking office as head of the school, added a statue of the Graces).

Exactly how the privately owned school operated is not very clear. There is, however, numerous evidence that most of the philosophical discussions took place in the garden of the Academy, either in the fresh air or in some kind of closed room, in the building of the gymnasium.


Students at the Academy had to not only master the rational method of thinking through the study of mathematics and logic, but also achieve inner transformation. Their main goal was to be the pursuit of the highest good. Plato created a community, an educational environment, relatively independent of the policy, which formed a spiritually developed individual, capable of thinking and living rationally. Dialogue, as one of the main forms of education and upbringing, is not the imposition of one's point of view on another, but a joint search for truth. He taught to put oneself in the place of another, and thereby overcome the limitations of one's own point of view. The interlocutors, as it were, discovered in themselves the truth that exists objectively, independently of them.

Usually, in the course of academic studies, a “thesis” was put up for discussion, that is, an interrogative sentence like: can virtue be taught? One of the two interlocutors disputed the thesis, while the other defended it. At the same time, the first asked the second questions, cleverly choosing them so that in his answers he was forced to admit something contrary to the thesis he defended.

At the Academy, mathematics was of fundamental importance: the members of the Academy were the geometer and astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus, the astronomer Heraclid of Pontus, the geometer Menechmus, and others. At the entrance to his academy, Plato made an inscription: "Let no one enter here who does not know geometry." The high appreciation of mathematics was determined by the philosophical attitudes of Plato: he believed that mathematics lessons are an important stage on the way to the knowledge of ideal truths.

The garden of the Academy was a favorite place for disputes between philosophers and geometers, and it was here that the basic principles on which geometry should be built were first developed. In connection with the solution of construction problems, the Academy developed the concept of “the locus of points”, as a continuous series of points that satisfies a certain condition. Plato and his students considered the construction to be geometric if it was carried out with the help of a compass and a ruler, if other drawing tools were used in the construction process, then such a construction was not considered geometric.


For the education of women, among the Athenian philosophers, only Socrates and Plato advocated. The fair sex also studied at Plato's Academy, and their education was encouraged. The main part of the students of the Academy were foreigners who, in view of the strictest law prohibiting women from appearing in public places, came to lectures dressed in a man's suit.

Plato believed that women should be given "a similar birth and upbringing", so that women could do "the same thing", "together" (with men). The thinker also stated about the inclination of women to philosophy. What he had the courage to say about a woman philosopher who knows how to cognize “being and truth” at a time when women were considered inferior beings and humiliated in every possible way testifies to his very high level of gender consciousness.

Plato himself taught at the Academy for almost 40 years.The Academy existed for several centuries, and was closed as a pagan one in 529 AD by the decree of the Christian emperor Justinian I. Despite this, the influence of Plato and the Academy is great, and for centuries formed one of the main directions of European philosophy - Platonism and Neoplatonism.

Plato, who emphatically did not take part in the political life of Athens, considered the creation of a project of an ideal state and the education of a philosopher capable of state activity as the main task of his philosophical and pedagogical activity. Trying to realize his ideal, Plato twice (in 366 and 361 BC) made trips to the court of the Sicilian tyrant Dionysius the Younger; trips ended in failure, but until the last days of his life, Plato continued to develop a plan for ideal legislation.Be that as it may, a whole series of mysteries remains unresolved, connected with the nature and structure of the Academy founded by Plato and inherited by his successors, as well as concerning the nature of the doctrine to which he came at the end of his life.

Quotes.

Without the funny one cannot know the serious.
Wealth is not blind at all, it is perspicacious.
In their disasters, people tend to blame fate, the gods, and everything else, but not themselves.
Education is the acquisition of good habits.
Everyone is at war with everyone, both in public and private life, and each with himself.
States will not get rid of troubles until they are ruled by philosophers.
A fool can be recognized by two signs: he asks a lot about things that are useless to him, and speaks out about what he is not asked about.
Each of us is a half of a person cut into two flounder-like parts, and therefore everyone is looking for the corresponding half.
Eloquence is like cooking for the soul.
Love is the desire to be loved.
To win friends, rate their services higher than they do themselves, and your favors lower than friends seem to think.



Recent section articles:

The meaning of Fedor Vasilyevich Chizhov in a brief biographical encyclopedia In the center of business Russia
The meaning of Fedor Vasilyevich Chizhov in a brief biographical encyclopedia In the center of business Russia

Today, when disputes about Russia and Russians are being conducted with such bitterness, it is inevitable to turn to the life and ideas of F.V. Chizhov, a physicist and...

USSR: what the Soviet people were proud of and what they were not told about
USSR: what the Soviet people were proud of and what they were not told about

On December 30, 1922, at the First All-Union Congress of Soviets, the heads of delegations signed the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR. Initially, the USSR included ...

Plato and his academy What is Plato's academy
Plato and his academy What is Plato's academy

Near Athens, in a grove dedicated to the hero Cadmus. Subsequently, these philosophers diverged in views and direction, and thus gave rise to later ...