Socrates returns to the seeming versus being argument when he discusses imitation. The imitator (sophist, or poet?) is the one who sees objects as seeming; he takes the truth and interprets it a particular way--the way he sees fit. The philosopher sees objects for what they are in their state of being (nature), so he is seeing their truth, but does not claim to know how or why? Ugh, I'm gonna stop there on this part.
So, for each thing there are three different applications of the thing: use, make, and imitation/painter, carpenter, and god. Okay, got that, but I still fail how to see how we went from imitation to discussing souls, Socrates.
The only part that I registered with any level of understand is the portion of the dialogue located on page 287, 603c: "Then in all this ... arising at the same time." Socrates is talking about battling with oneself when one approaches a decision with the soul to act one way or "ten thousand" other ways. The questions make sense to me and I can relate, but I still don't see how we got here.
I was amazed when Socrates actually makes a valid statement rather than questioning good and bad: "What destroys and corrupts everything is the bad, and what saves and benefits is the good." Then I got lost again when he started discussing the body and soul, the destruction of the body in relation to the soul.
Perhaps class will clear things up tomorrow, but to be frank (though my name is not), I've been a little foggy on most of this with the exception of that which I had already studied in PY-101.
Council, I apologize for this lackluster blog.
Commented Regis's
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