Essay --

Nathan VailNovember 8, 2013Dr. ReeveMeaning and Language Platos CratylusPlato was a pioneer in intimately all the topics philosophers have dealt with ever since the 4th century BCE. Language is no exception. Plato was perhaps the first person to tackle the philosophy of language in the Cratylus, a subject that, since the German philosopher and logician Gottlob Frege, analytic philosophers have been extremely interested in language. The dialogue doesnt tackle all of the problems of language, but it directs its attention toward the call into questions How to delivery get meaning? Do they exist a priori in nature or do we agree on the basis of convention? To answer this question is to show how words (or symbols) get their power to communicate and to establish something fundamental about what language is. The obvious starting point is that someone has to say that a sound represents a particular item. If I say, Guhgaska, that means nothing, it is gibberish. But if I say the name Plato, then that has meaning, especially if the listener knows what that sound/symbol is a reference to. In this paper I plan on showing that Socrates encourages Cratylus to adopt some of Hermogenes views, and vice versa, through a conversational dialectic that adopts some(prenominal) points for consideration (which be unmistakably sophist). What Socrates concludes the dialogue with is a mixture of naturalist and conventional claims, and nominalist and realist philosophies. Cratylus was a devout follower of Heraclitus, the ancient Greek philosopher who said that you baset step into the same river once, and you cant talk about things because they keep changingyou can only point at them with your finger. As we are introduced to Cratylus, we discover that he thinks a name is ... ...(making them concede to certain points to the others argument), language is then naturalistic and conventional, and this, it turns out, is the most logical and pragmatic approach. at that place may be an arbi ter of words and grammar, but not even she or he can stop words that spring naturally into existence. For example, every(prenominal) language has some form of onomatopoeia, but in different languages the sounds they are trying to imitate vary wildly. In one way, Cratylus is correct in expect that words and symbols have a nature and attempt to represent objects in the external world. Yet imitation cannot match the original form of the objectso there is a degree of failure. The rest of the language is dictated by convention (numbers, grammar, etc.) and through the dialectic between Cratylus and Hermogenes, Socrates creates a marriage between nominalist and realist philosophy.

Hamlet - The Imbalance of the Idealistic Mind and Human Nature Essay

crossroads - The Imbalance of the Idealistic Mind and Human Nature It is much heard Nobody is Perfect. This phrase is often used as a rationalization of foolish human mistakes that could have been prevented. However, this statement has a much more profound significance. It contains an important lesson that guides or rather should guide people through life. By admitting that nobody is perfect, the individual demonstrates a deeper understanding of the human nature and k at a timeledgeable self. This knowledge is essential to the individuals creation of healthy relationships with ones surrounding. For as Robert A. Johnson asserts in his book, He, perfection or a good score is not required but awareness is(76). In William Shakespeares play, Hamlet, the main character experiences enormous inner turmoil, for he fails to acknowledge the human tendency for imperfection, or more strongly emphasizing, the human proneness to err. With his reverend perception of the world crushed by his fa thers death and the incestuous remarriage of his glorified mother, Hamlet unconsciously throws himself into a reality, in which he develops a deep rancor for humanity, and more specifically, for his mother, Queen Gertrude. His frustrating disorientation and misunderstanding of his situation is not brought upon by the repressed sexual desires gaining control of Hamlets mind, as Sigmund Freud would have it (119), however, it is, perhaps, the necessity, forcing him to abandon his security, that causes Hamlet to become paralyzed in his meditation of inward thoughts(Coleridge 95), thus, precluding his ability to act upon his deepest desire to avenge the wrongs. When King Hamlet, Prince Hamlets father, was still alive, the prince... ... now if it be not now/ yet it will come - the readiness is all. Since no man, of/ aught he leaves, knows what ist to leave betime, let be(5, II, 202-206), Hamlet demonstrates hes newly found understanding as wellspring as contentment with his self, for he has come to terms with the non-idealistic world and reached tao, the middle way(Johnson 38). Through accepting his new identity as it should be in the context of the whole universe, the prince stopped attempting to find everything its place, but rather he allows for the natural order to occur. Accordingly, he is able reason and act in unity with his mind, for he has reached the Grail Castle, the inner reality, a vision, poetry, a mystical experience, and it can not be found in any outer place(Johnson 56). plant life CitedShakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. David Bevington. New York Longman,1997.