Biography of Plato Essay Example for Free

Biography of Plato Essay Plato was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, rhetorician, writer, founder of Academy, and even a double Olympic champion. He was born in 427 BCE in family of wealthy and influential Athenian parents: Ariston and Perictione. Platos real name was Aristocles. For his athletic figure his wrestling coach called him Plato, which means â€Å"broad†. As Plato was from a wealthy family, he got the best teachers of that time, who taught him music, grammar and athletics. At the age of 20 years old, Plato meets Socrates, who became his teacher, mentor and closest person. Eight years with Socrates influenced Platos life path. After Socrates died, Plato travels to Egypt, Italy, Sicily and Cyrene. Then he came back and opened his famous philosophical Academy. The Academy was an institution of higher education. Such philosophers as Aristotle, Heraclitus, Crates and Xenocrates attended Platos Academy. Plato’s writings are dialogues and letters to his teacher Socrates, which talks about a variety of different topics, ranging from philosophy to ethic, from mathematics to rhetoric. In these dialogs Plato used Socrates as a fictional person. His early dialogues are typically devoted to investigation of a single issue, where results are rarely achieved. The middle age dialogs developed, expressed, and defended Platos conclusions about central philosophical issues. And his later writings often modify or abandon the structure of a dialogue, they were critical examinations of the theory of forms, discussions of the problem of knowledge and cosmological speculations. Platos most famous works are: The Apology of Socrates, The Symposium and The Republic. Plato started the very first University in Europe – The Academy in 387 BC in Athens. Though the Academic was not open for the public, it did not charge fees for education there. Therefore no formal teachers or students, but there was unspoken distinction between teachers and students. One of the most famous Platos student, who also attended Academy for more than 20 years was Aristotle. There are evidences of lectures given in the Academy, such as Platos lecture On the Good and The use of dialectic. Academy continued on for nearly 1000 years until it was closed by emperor Justinian, because it was believed not to follow the Christian religion. Plato died on the day of his birthday at 347 BC. It is unknowing how he died, there are multiple versions from committing suicide to according to The American Scholar, Plato died in his bed, whilst a young girl played the flute to him. Plato moves his finger to indicate the beat and rhythm to get the right measure for her. When the girl gets the right measure, Plato died listening to the correct measure. References: Schall, James V. , â€Å"On the Death of Plato. † The American Scholar 65 (1996): 401-15. Print. Kemerling, Garth. â€Å"Plato. † Philosophy pages. Web. 9 Aug. 2006 Kraut, Richard, Plato, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed. ), .

Factors that Effet the Price Depreciation of a Car :: Economics Transportation Essays

Factors that Effet the Price Depreciation of a Car What factors effect the Price depreciation of a car and how? As a common teenager I am reaching the legal driving age and will soon require a car. As for most teenagers my age a new car is expensive so a second hand car would by more appropriate. For this project I will be looking at cars from two data sources: * The Primary Source. I will be doing my own research by using an "Auto Freeway" magazine for second hand cars and a "What Car?" magazine to find the prices of the cars when they are new. (Information Provided: Car Make, Car Model, Price When New. Price Second Hand, Age, Colour, Engine Size, Mileage) * The Secondary Source. I will be provided with this data. (Information Provided: Car Make, Car Model, Price When New. Price Second Hand, Age, Colour, Engine Size, Mileage, MPG, Fuel Type, Service History, MOT, Tax, Owners, Insurance Group, Doors, Seats, Style, Gearbox, Central Locking, Air Conditioning, Airbags) Since the magazine is not a totally reliable source I could not research as much information for the primary source as the secondary source. After I have 100 results of each source I will use systematic sampling by selecting every second car to cut my results into half from both sources. I will compare both sources. With my results I will calculate the Price Depreciation (%) showing by how much percent the car has decreased from the (Price When New). I suspect that there will be several trends and patterns in the results. The lack of information in the primary source means that I can only make 3 successful hypotheses: * The Older the car the higher the Price Depreciation * The Higher the Mileage the higher the Price Depreciation * The Engine Size would have a very little correlation if any, but if it does the correlation would be, the Bigger the Engine Size the Lower the Price Depreciation To get my primary data I will be using a random sampling. To do this I will use the random button on my calculator. I will pres it twice: first time I will take the last two digits for the page number and then I will press it again and use the last 2 digits for the car number in the page. If there is no such page or car then I will repeat the procedure. I am using Random Sampling because since I don't get told what order the cars are in. Due to this Cluster Sampling cannot be used because the group selected could be only for one make of cars.

Babette’s Feast and the Power of Art Essay

When all deadlines are met and time is out in my favor, one can usually find me sitting comfortably on the couch with a bowl of popcorn on one hand and a remote control on the other. Watching movies has always been one of my favorite leisure. Although I try to see films from different parts of the world as much as I can, perhaps like the many others who belong in my generation, Hollywood movies are always top of the list. Seldom do I find fascination with other international productions especially European ones. They are slow-paced, often more serious and â€Å"less entertaining† than those produced in Hollywood. However, watching the Danish film â€Å"Babette’s Feast† made me reconsider and view European films with a different lens – one with a little more appreciation and interest. While the slow pacing is inherent to this kind of cinema, they also present a different style and meat altogether, leaving more room for its audience to think rather than just instant gratification offered by most American movies. This is very evident in Babette’s Feast. In its subtlety and simplicity, together with the use of brilliant metaphors and symbolisms, it was able to uncover the transforming power of art with beauty and sophistication. Babette’s Feast tells the story of two pious sisters whose lives were changed by their French servant, who was apparently an unspoken artist, Babette. One of the images that constantly reappear all throughout the movie, especially in the beginning, is the image of the dried fish. This symbolizes the life of Martina and Philippa and perhaps even those in the community who was devoted to the preaching of their father that to attain salvation, one must deprive himself all physical or worldly pleasures including food. They lived a life of unhealthy simplicity and unreasonable meagerness. Their simple and puritan way of living is so extreme that it has become dreary and ironically â€Å"lifeless†, like a dried fish in contrast to the delectable meal of Babette in the end. Another powerful symbolism is Babette’s washing of the window from the outside. It speaks to me as if Babette was trying to show the sisters what they have been missing for the longest time. Their world and their lives are similar to the dirty windows Babette were washing – dark and clouded by their austere beliefs. Because of the hyperbolic focus on spirituality, they were blinded from the beauty and joy of the outside world, from the other things that life has to offer including the love from men they rejected when they were young. Through Babette’s feast, which they initially refuted as they believed it was sinful, the sisters were opened to a new world from which they were hiding, to a reality where â€Å"righteousness and bliss [..] kiss†, where the spirit and the flesh are both nourished and nurtured without choosing or isolating one from the other. This reconciliation is symbolized by the candlelight snuffed out in the end. Aside from Babette’s art which is the sumptuous food she prepared very well, another integral element that played a significant role in the transformation of the sisters and the other members of the congregation is the character of General Loewenhielm, one of the sisters’ ex lover. If the sisters lived a deprived life, a deprivation not of accident but of choice, the general was at the other end of the spectrum. He symbolizes everything the sisters were not – luxurious and powerful. He enjoyed a life of abundance and glory. Because of this background, the general honestly and wholeheartedly enjoyed the feast while the others remained skeptical, refusing to surrender to their delight of the food. It was also the general who had this realization that there is joy both from bodily and spiritual nourishment, as he was dumfounded to partake in such kind of dinner in an unexpected place, considering it then as a grace and blessing from the heavens. All in all, Babette as an artist was successful. Like a masterpiece that brings joy to its audience, her feast was able to transform and bring love and happiness on the table, to the people who received her art. And this is what is meant by her statement, â€Å"an artist is never poor.† Her talent, which was able to transcend the material, and her ability to do her very best, is her wealth. Indeed, art has a very strong power to transform. Not only did Babette’s art transformed the characters in the story but the movie itself, as a form of art, was able to transform its viewers, me included. It may not be able to provide the â€Å"fun† from the thrilling and idealistic yet shallow plot of Hollywood movies but it was able to deliver something deeper and more delicate, something worthy of admiration and appreciation.

Education During Reconstruction During The Civil War

â€Å"Education during Reconstruction† In the south before during and after the reconstruction was a time for educational growth. Many states were just beginning to provide public education. The education system was trialed and errored to become the system that we know today during this era. The civil war brought separation of races but also families, the radical republicans stressed education during the reconstruction to avert the attention of the people from the war and racial issues. Before the civil war few states provided public education, but local churches and citizens started schools. Where teachers were left to their own devices and the day-to-day running of the school. The schools schedule was based upon the agricultural†¦show more content†¦They encouraged educational growth stating it was the key to social progress. They established the Freedmen’s Bureau in order to encourage the education growth of the country. It was passed by Congress in March of 1865 to help assist the former slaves in their transition to freedom. The Bureau distributed clothing, food, and offered military protection to students and teachers. The Bureau established schools, hospitals, and teacher training centers. They began establishing schools for the newly freed slaves in mid-1865. â€Å"In a free country the ballot should be available to every citizen, a school room open to every child† From the first days of their freedom Freedmen demanded formal education. Students from all ages, children and adults, crowded into the school. The schools began to become overcrowded and it was difficult to get a seat in the school. It was unlikely that 10 percent of the state’s African Americans population could find a seat in the school during reconstruction. The children were taught during the day. The teachers of the new students often claimed that they’re students had no idea how to learn in a class room or behave. The adults went to school as the children did, the adults attended school at night and were taught to read and write. The adults often learned to read so they would be able to read the Bible on their own. The teachers were both males and