Apollodorus

I think that's another self-inflicted misunderstanding and confusion of yours. I have explained to you that "Neoplatonism" is a modern anti-Platonist ...

I'm beginning to think that it's all Greek to him :grin:

Sorry, but I don't know what you are talking about. Of course you can believe that Plato was an atheist if that makes you happy. All I'm saying is tha...

Plato’s philosophy is a form of monistic idealism that holds that consciousness (nous) is the only absolute reality, and entails a hierarchy of realit...

As already demonstrated on the other thread (on Socrates), the objective examination of the Platonic texts allows no other conclusion than that Socrat...

The "problem" is not the problem of the Platonists. It is your problem and the problem of other atheists that insist that Plato was an atheist without...

However, as already demonstrated on the other thread, that line of argument is too flawed to even qualify as an argument. It proves absolutely nothing...

I'm afraid that proves absolutely nothing. "Secrets" can mean anything. It certainly doesn't have to mean atheism and is in no way, form or shape "con...

Correct. But the question is why he wanted it. One theory has it that he did it (1) to win the elections and (2) because he thought that the Remainer ...

Socrates says very clearly that “it turns out that the soul is immortal” (Phaedo 114d) and that “therefore we ought to try to escape from earth to the...

Correct. Perhaps he tended to be more critical of those philosophies or philosophers that were critical of of his theories. But that's another story.

Plato clearly says, through Socrates and others, that the soul is immortal - the bit that you left out from the Phaedo in your translation. As immorta...

I'd rather not go into Gnosticism as I hear I am already on the mods' black list and I'm sure some think that this thread isn't something that should ...

It is a well-known fact that in ancient philosophy, astronomy was used as an analogy for psychological and metaphysical phenomena. Given that Plato be...

Good question. It is hard to imagine, I think. In some traditions, it is common practice to imagine oneself as a dead and decomposing body eaten by wo...

Well, I think everyone has their own perception of what constitutes “truth” and some may not even believe that such a thing exists. And it is in the h...

Sounds like a reasonable assumption to me. If, as Plato and other philosophers claim, we really are a non-physical entity called "soul" and, in partic...

I think that's exactly it. We may say "doors of perception" or, as Plato does, "instrument or organ of perception": "It is indeed no trifling task, bu...

Speaking of angels, I think they play an important role in Christianity. How would you say they should be interpreted or analyzed philosophically? And...

Though Freud did make some interesting contributions, it must not be forgotten that he was quite critical of philosophy as he was of religion. So, I d...

Good point. I suppose people can be afraid of the unknown. So, they need years of philosophy to take away that fear before they take the big step (or ...

I think it is a philosophy that believes in metaphysical realities. So, it can be (1) religion on one level, (2) philosophy on another, and (3) mystic...

This is a passage from Plato (among many others) that I find worthwhile thinking about: “It is indeed no trifling task, but very difficult to realize ...

I'm not an expert on fishing, but I was wondering if fish really bleed to death from a hook in their mouth? If anything, I would have thought they mig...

Maybe.

Is there a reason why I shouldn't know? I disagree with his policies and those of the Rockefellers, or corporate groups in general for that matter. Bu...

A Chinese friend told me (over a Peking duck dinner) :wink:

I don't care too much about formal philosophy, either, and for the stated reasons. Just recently, I had a discussion with a group of intelligent and e...

Correct. The leading strategists were the Rockefellers. David Rockefeller visited China in 1973 and returned full of praise for its “dedicated adminis...

That statement might be the beam of light to take us out of the wilderness and bring us (back) to the right path. I agree with @Angelo that better org...

I think so too. However, I think that it is essential to understand the terminology used. The fact of the matter is that the following association of ...

Well, every religious or philosophical system, indeed, every person has their own conception of ethics. There is not much we can do about it. And, no,...

Of course every word has more than one meaning. But I think when Aristotle, for example, speaks of theoria of divine realities he means "contemplation...

Actually, we were beginning to think that you might be an acquaintance of Banno, that's why he changed his identity to deflect attention from what's g...

Lol I'm afraid that is not a Christian source. This is more like it: "Christian ethics derives its metaphysical core from the Bible, seeing God as the...

Belief until personally experienced. After that, matter of fact evidenced by one's own personal experience.

About ethics, what is right and what is wrong. Politics is about power, ethics is about how to use that power.

Well, I suppose you could put it that way. A Collective or Universal Mind that is the source of all thoughts and experiences. But still a divine or su...

That's precisely why in antiquity there was something like a state religion. Every city-state among the Greeks, Phoenicians, etc. had its own religion...

This is a practice that has occurred in many cultures for millennia. Apparently, in India they were (are?) drowned in milk. In Arabia they used to bur...

I think most rational people can see the distinction. If some people had visions or other experiences of something or somebody they were convinced to ...

Good point. Obviously, if we were to allow religion and philosophy to be conducted on political lines, that would amount to making them into instrumen...

Well, to be quite honest, I think to make Bible interpretation subject to political correctness would amount to knowingly sabotaging your own effort. ...

:up: Yep. Down with the tennis (or other) nets. You were talking about liberation theology. How about a theology and philosophy of liberation? The Lib...

On the contrary. Philosophy without tennis nets is philosophical inquiry sans frontieres, i.e., true philosophy unfettered by political correctness an...

Absolutely. Even words sometimes merely point to things without actually naming or describing them. Symbols do this even more because they can be read...

I'm afraid I must disagree on that. If you put a million political prisoners in one concentration camp with little food and other maintenance, and mak...

I don't think it is just yours. Symbolism is central to Christianity and to Classical Philosophy. The word "symbol" itself which is of Greek origin is...

I see. Now I understand. I thought they did that because they hoped to catch one. But they made me delete my comment because it was alleged to be "off...

But if they join the CCP then they will have to be involved politically as mandated by the CCP. If not, they get kicked out or punished. Criminal Code...