Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on PIEPER’S INTERPRETATION OF THE THEMES OF PLATO’S PHAEDRO
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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper discusses the main theme of Josef Pieper's In Defense of Philosphy as exampled in the Phaedo by Plato. Quotes cited from text. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_MBpieper.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
spent recollecting the information which the soul already intrinsically knew. In a type of author/character debate, Plato explores the premises of his theory by having Socrates debate them. Josef Pieper,
upon his analysis of Platos Phaedo, offers ample questions for the philosophy scholar and the intellectually curious to ponder. When one reads Piepers book, In Defense of Philosophy, it becomes
evident that if the student picks up nothing more, Pieper hopes to make the case for philosophy being more than a mere intellectual study of long dead scholars. But rather,
he hopes that the reader and the student will take with them the understanding that "to engage in philosophy means to reflect on the totality of things we encounter, in
view of their ultimate reasons; and philosophy, thus understood, is a meaningful, even necessary endeavor, with which man, the spiritual being, cannot dispense"(Pieper 1). Pieper shows how philosophy and the
exploration of ones spiritual nature is related closely to the study of art and religious beliefs. Philosophy, then, according to Pieper, is a study of that which is really true.
A meditation on truth then is what separates mankind from the other mammals on the planet and indicates that man, alone, is in need of self-reflection. It is this self-reflection
that leads Socrates to the conclusion that he will not be exiled from his beloved home, but would rather die a martyr for his beliefs. However, Pieper believed that Platos
death had deeper implication, especially as he lies dying. Plato died in tune with the world as an example of how things are related and should be examined. The last
person to see Plato alive are not the politicians who have sentenced him to death, nor his family members. Rather, the last person to see him was a flute girl.
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