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| Posted By: Stethoscope Boy Posted On: Mar 29, 2009 Views: 870 | Explanation for Plato Quote "As being is to becoming, so is truth to belief. If then, Socrates, amid the many opinions about the gods and the generation of the universe, we are not able to give notions which are altogether and in every respect exact and consistent with one another, do not be surprised. Enough if we deduce probabilities as likely as any others; for we must remember that I who am the speaker and you who are the judges are only mortal men". (Plato) I really like this quote but have a hard time understanding most of it, hopefully one of you could help out, thanks. |
| Posted By: Stethoscope Boy Posted On: Apr 2, 2009 Views: 856 | RE: Explanation for Plato Quote Keith......anybody......? |
| Posted By: Luke Posted On: Jun 11, 2009 Views: 791 | RE: Explanation for Plato Quote Forgive me for not being as schooled in the history of ancient philosophy as I'd like to be. However, I'll give you my input, which is entirely an educated guess. "As being is to becoming, so is truth to belief." This part I feel is a big clue. Being is a result of becoming, or said another way becoming is followed by being. So is the case with truth and belief. Truth should be seen as a result of belief. At least, what we take to be true, is based on our belief. In this respect truth is not already there and existent, it is rather created from our belief systems. "...amid the many opinions about the gods and the generation of the universe, we are not able to give notions which are altogether and in every respect exact and consistent with one another, do not be surprised." Our beliefs may not always result in perfect cohesion with one another, this is to be expected. "Enough if we deduce probabilities as likely as any others; for we must remember that I who am the speaker and you who are the judges are only mortal men." The best we can do with our beliefs is make reasonable, educated assumptions about reality. We may falter ( for example: both me as the theorist, and you as the rest if the scientific community), but that is to be expected by us mere mortals. It should never impede our pursuit of the truth, even if we will be incapable of ever discovering it. |
| Posted By: Keith Mayes Posted On: Jun 16, 2009 Views: 784 | RE: Explanation for Plato Quote Well said Luke. I happen to really like that quote, which is why I put it in. Yes, you are right, in short it means that we are only able to make educated guesses about the laws of the universe, and as mere mortals that is the best we can do, even if we find some inconsistencies. Also that truth grows from belief, which is very true, for every fact that we hold true has at its very foundation just a belief. A great quote from a great man. |