Sample Essay On Pursuit Of Knowledge

I think the pursuit of knowledge is the greatest form of living since it demands more than mere true belief knowledge contributes to the extra ingredient beyond true belief. Knowledge is valuable to a person since it enables one to have preparedness and an expectation of survival advantage. The persistence of knowledge to a person will enable them to maintain the appropriate belief state through time and changing situations Socrates concluded that knowledge of the road to Larissa is no more valuable than true belief for the intent of getting to Larissa. Socrates failed to take into consideration that one might need to prepare for any eventuality along the way. The externalist view concerning knowledge does not require the conscious access of the reasons and the arguments while it has trouble in explaining why knowledge is more valuable than mere true belief.
Knowledge and its pursuit entail the act of keeping up to date with the latest progress in a particular field (Scaltsas, 2012). In the current world, a person may use the internet to keep up to date since it is easy and effective to deliver endless updates with its instantaneous searches and reams of information. I concur with Platonic dialogue entitled Republic that links virtue with knowledge, role of forms to guide political choices, equation of knowledge, and transcendent of non-human category. Plato appears to give the audience what they need in his dialogue to accord with our age and skeptical pluralism.
In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” Reeve (2004) says that, “compare the effect of education in obtaining and lack of it.” Socrates imagines human with no education as humans that survive in caves. They cannot be able to see anything in front of them since it is dark. Education provides light that helps one to surge forward.
Reeve (2004) observes, “a person that cannot change from darkness to light is in a state of confusion and his soul is in the same state where it is unable to observe anything.” Socrates imagines darkness to resemble ignorance or lack of education. An ignorant person laughs in an absurd way in the presence of an intellectual thought since he is already accustomed to being in the dark. In contrast, an educated person will be full of surprise when he or she stumbles upon an ignorant person. His experience in the educated world will make him pity the former since he or she has come from light above.
Plato likens the cave dwellers to the dead when he asserts, “education is not what some people boastfully declare it to be.” In essence, every soul has the power to learn and make a transformation from a region of darkness to one of light. The author compares light as the good. One must turn around and decide to learn to be able to see the good since it resembles a light. The failure to adhere to education concepts is similar to a person that turns in the wrong direction such a person remains in darkness since he or she cannot see the light.
In the Ethics of Belief, Clifford informs the story of a ship owner that doubted the ability of his ship where he even contemplated an overhaul or refitting in a bid to overcome the melancholy effects. Later on, he considered the many safe voyages he had made and thought the ship would provide the same result while the outcome was contrary to his belief. He is responsible for the calamity for, not conducting a patient investigation concerning the soundness of the ship. The existence of the belief did not emanate from fair inquiry before the performance of duty. The man relied on insufficient evidence since he had a responsibility of extending judgment in the doubtful case.
Scaltsas (2012) states that Plato in Republic claims that knowledge are not a type of belief. In retro respect, the power of knowledge is different from the power of belief. Knowledge cannot have an analysis that combines truth, belief, and other factors. The power of knowledge does not work the same way with the power of belief. Plato’s conception of knowledge is a constitutional conception concerned with the ontological status and their nature.
In the end analysis of Republic v Socrates there seems to be a logical gap between knowledge and opinion to justify the rule by philosophers concerning an ideal city. Socrates assumes that the theory of powers has two criteria while in reality they generate four outcomes. Contemporary metaphysics is an attempt of Socrates to individuate powers so that he can depict the power of manifestation to direct a change of power.

References

Clifford W. K. (2009). The Ethics of Belief (5th ed.). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Reeve C.D.C. (2004). Plato Republic: The allegory of the cave. Brea, CA: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Scaltsas, T. (2012). Knowledge as ‘True Belief Plus Individuation’ in Plato. Topoi, 31(2), 137- 149. www.journals.usp.br/filosofiaantiga/article/download/79887/pdf_9