Huong Vy

Class: BUS 1050

Teacher: Jennifer Adams

MY RENAISSANCE ESSAY

Three years ago, I was a very successful academic student, and achieved most of my goals,

honestly. But all of it almost dissipated when I accidentally got pregnant, besides no help from

anyone (no family, no relatives), and I have to leave my unfinished school. I rushed to earn

money to survive, perceived hopelessness and felt like my future ended here. After struggling for

so many years, I realized that I was too desperate for something unworthy. I wake up myself,

registered for online classes, work full time and only slept for 4 hours a day, but all deserve. This

is my Renaissance time, as long as you try, nothing is impossible. Although my path goes longer

than others, it does not mean I cannot reach my destination. My lesson is thinking in action,

changing in action, and acting now.

My Renaissance is not only occurs in thought, but also in my subconscious thinking and

reasoning through this course, I have access to greater political Renaissance ideas. I would like

to mention here is the critical thinking of the great philosopher Plato. He does not only present

systematically and directly on education, but his writings also have a topic of particular concern.

Originating from the notion that human nature is prescriptive from the soul, which has a different

function from each part, Plato had a deep thought about human cognitive ability. On that basis,

he brought forth the idea of education based on the principle of respecting the natural ability of

each person. Educators are citizens of the ideal state. The educational process goes through two

basic stages: personality, education and knowledge. The primary purpose of education is to train

the ruling class in the ideal state with qualities: wisdom, courage, temperance, fairness. Plato's
educational ideals associated with the notion of political philosophy have left meaningful

messages to this day.

The foundation of the whole of Plato's philosophical system is conceptualism. According to

Plato, true existence is not a constantly changing world of sentient things, but an invisible, and

permanent world outside of material things - the world of ideas, a supreme structure of the world.

The concept is the ideal form of things, and the things are just the shadow, the imitation of the

concept. The concept is also the soul of things. Things can only be it in relation with the idea.

The material is the condition for the existence of things, the second original of things, and the

first of all, that which constitutes the nature of things is the concept - the paradigm of it.

According to Plato, human beings are held by God and life is only a part of the possession of

God. People live in the world of emotional things, made up of soul and body, just as things are

made of ideas and matter. The body itself has a life of its own and it is what makes each of us

meaningful. In contrast, the body is the body that each one has to bear and is just a shadow. This

shadow will dissipate when we die, and the true human being as immortal or soulful, returns to

the angels and reports there.

That is why, Plato thinks that people who are serious learners must not forget to train their

bodies. Similarly, a person with a healthy body should not forget to cultivate wisdom. He

advocates a life that combines a desire and understanding. The way to protect against both

extremes is to both affect the body and affect the soul. This belongs to the role of education and

human beings need to be educated to become knowledgeable people who refrain from physical

desires and become virtuous citizens in the ideal state.

Plato's conception of the immortality of the soul, the cycle of reincarnation of souls is of great

significance in the moral education of human beings while they are alive. The dead are first

judged according to the deeds they have done and those who do not reign will be thrown and

never be lifted. Those who commit only minor sins must first be cleansed of those sins, and then

rewarded for the good deeds they have done. Those who commit great sins unforgiving are

thrown into the infinite vortex of the rivers. The clean souls also receive rewards and are on the

high ground, a few people are selected also in the place of residence which is more beautiful. In

Plato's view, human nature is prescripted from their souls, so everything else based on the soul

and everything of the soul is based on wisdom, if they want to be good things.

Plato advocates that the rulers must be the best and best educated, only those who have been

perfected by time and education have been given the responsibility of the state. The state is an

educational institution aimed at the realization of justice and the good of the world. These are

messages that remain the same in today's society. He deserves what Aristotle once remarked:

Plato was the first to teach us how to live well and be happy.

Among these views and theories, what influenced me most was the views of Plato's education.

Plato's "Republic" is a constant debate among the characters on many issues, including

metaphysics, theology, ethics, psychology, pedagogy, politics and aesthetics, plus theory of

production and society, feminism, reproduction and education. Plato considers human learning

and philosophical people have the same fondness. When discussing about education, he

suggested that there should be physical exercise and spiritual music. He said that the choice of

stories must be attractive, but meaningful to build the children a beautiful soul. In particular, he

argues that math must be learned, not for business purposes but for "the elegant beauty of

mathematics." Some other subjects close to math must be taught as geometry because they are
needed for the art of war. Next, young people have to study astronomy because it is needed for

agriculture and orientation when moving. Plato's views on education have been accepted by

modern European educators and reflected in education to this day.

Yes, life is always like that: We always thought it was too late to start, so we gave up, without

realizing that just getting started is never too late. Next year, we will add one year whether we

are going or lying. One more year, but with us, there will be success, some will fail. The

difference is that we dare decide whether to embark on or not?