WebPhil

Ancient Period

The ancient world view was that there are standards for things, ideals about the way that things should be. The debate was over whether these ideals existed in the heavens or whether they were embedded in things themselves. Plato entered the scene as a playwright unhappy with the two common extremes of thought: dogmatism and skepticism. He is intrigued when he encounters Socrates and begins to write about him. His background as a playwright and as a follower of Socrates had a significant impact on the way he influenced the world.

Plato

Plato, son of Perictione and Ariston of Athens
Philosopher, mathematician
Born: ~420 BC, Classical Athens
Died: ~340 BC, Classical Athens




Teachings

Plato was skeptical of whether words can truly convey ideas. He believed they were inadequate and had the tendency to lead us to believe we understood when we hadn't really. This would explain why Socrates was never able to completely nail down some important ideas. Plato built on his thoughts and turned them into dialogues to be read at dinner, leading to insightful discussions that clarified important ideas. To Plato, conversation helped define things better than simply words. His conversations often did not have final answers as he wanted to leave it open for his readers to come up with their own.

Plato suggested that non-material, abstract "forms" or "ideas" possessed the highest level of reality, more than our material world (Theory of Forms). He suggests that these Forms are the only objects of study that can provide us with genuine knowledge. These "forms" can lead an artist to organic unity, a theme toward which all parts strive, and beauty. He develops the idea of "good" and relates our creations to living organisms; just as all parts of a living organism are organically unified and inseparable, so too should be our creations. There must be a unifying theme that is imbedded deeply in the creation. All parts must work together toward a cohesive whole. True beauty would attract us not only to itself, but to the idea of beauty.

Plato believed that all people were capable of knowledge (though not all practiced it). He emphasized the importance of all people being able to participate. Plato encountered two extremes of people; dogmatics who thought they knew more than they actually did and skeptics who thought they knew less than they did. At the same time, there were two different types of knowledge that interested him; theoretical knowledge and technical knowledge. Theoretical knowledge was viewed as a higher knowledge and was generally developed by those who had the convenience of being lazy as Renoir discusses. Those of high class typically looked down on the more technical type of knowledge that was held by those who actually created and did things. Plato argued that the best things are created when someone who understands the theory is creating something. It is a fusion of both types of knowledge because it is more than just talking about things and it is more than just making things.

Applications

• Unified -- we quickly know what the theme is and how everything fosters that social interaction

• Accessible -- we easily enter the conversation and share relevant interactions with others

• Ongoing -- we find the social interaction on the site leads to further social interaction

Unified: A well-defined theme and clear unity will be what make others want to be a part of the creation. The social website must be able to effectively capture and engage and, according to Plato, the way to do this is to have a theme and unity. A good social site will not only attract visitors to itself but to the idea of beauty.

Accessible: An essential piece to making a social website good is the ability to quickly understand what the site is about and begin to participate. A website should be simple and unified enough that in a matter of seconds, anyone accessing the page should be able to begin to understand what the page is trying to accomplish and how well it is accomplishing it. If the site is unified by a theme, the user will continue to learn about the service or product in a seamless experience. It must be easy to sign up for and should provide a user-friendly experience with detailed guides and an intuitive interface. The website should have a broad enough reach that all who choose can join in the conversation.

Ongoing: A truly good social website should also foster meaningful communication between its members. Plato wrote scripts to be read at dinner parties because he believed that dialogue was much more meaningful than words. Words can be inadequate and dangerous because the cause us to think we understand when we do not. With dialogue, he took the theories developed by Socrates one step further and helped to make them concrete. This is just like the development in how the internet is used; Web 1.0 was simply a source of content, words. As it has developed to Web 3.0 it has moved toward a more interactive use, engaging users in meaningful discussion. A good social website should do this effectively (for example; the comments in Amazon reviews, YouTube comments, and Twitter). It is important to note that the purpose of the online interaction is not to replace real interaction but facilitate and supplement it.

Aristotle

Aristotle
Ancient Greek Philosopher
Born: 384 BC, Chalkidiki, Greece
Died: 322 BC, Chalcis, Greece
Education: Platonic Academy








Teachings

Potentialities, or rather, the potential of individuals are reached through action.  Character is the set of potentialities from which to choose; therefore, our character is developed through our actions.  Aristotle teaches that through this actualization of potentialities, we can find happiness.Aristotle believed these ideas about potentialities could form general principles, but one must also learn to become aware of the potentialities of the moment in order to know how to act.  Thus, Aristotle promoted action and practical wisdom (phronesis).  Action is necessary to actualize potential.

The Highest Argument.  Aristotle developed the ideas of what is now commonly known as ethos, pathos, and logos.  These are Greek words with very particular meaning, which we'll get to in a sec.  Each is a critical component to an effective and meaningful argument and presentation.  While each adds value to a presentation, all must be present in order to convey the highest argument or persuasive presentation.  
Ethos is author credibility.  This is arguably the most important of the three and perhaps the hardest to gain and keep.  Much of one's own credibility comes without saying anything, while at the same time comes from how relatable the presenter is to his or her audience.  
Pathos is passionate argument.  This is all about the emotional appeal to your audience.  Once one knows where you're coming from, they've got to feel what you are saying as if it is their own.  
Logos is logical reasoning. Strangely enough, people seem to value logos less than ethos or pathos, but without it, any presentation is highly likely to fail.  Eventually, whatever decision I, as a listener, make needs to make sense to me.

Interaction.  Aristotle fully supports and draws attention to a first impression.  If it doesn't keep someone interested, then it doesn't matter how good the rest of the site is.  After the first impression, both the site and its users ought to have a constructive way to improve each other.

Development-tality.  Aristotle taught that our communication should develop in stages as the reader and the presenter also develop and come closer to their potential.  For instance, when one first visits the page, it is a high level perspective, but allows for one to get more granular.  Aristotle also believed repetition was an appropriate form of education for children while adults should be taught through opportunities to interpret and interact. 

Applications

For Aristotle, a good website would have the following elements:

1. Unified by our potentialities -- the website (more particularly the builders behind it) and the users have to have experiences that grant a fuller realization of our potential
2. Accessible through ethos, pathos, and logos and interaction -- viewers must be drawn in by what seem to resonate with them, then kept by being able to interact with the site and others.
3. Ongoing with a development-tality -- along with interaction, there must be levels of knowledge where one may continue to delve as long as they please.