Plato

No disrespect to the book, but my understanding on Plato seems somewhat superficial. I find myself asking “Is this guy for real?” He talks about philosopher-kings and makes the claim that he, himself, is able to know everything. His claims seem over-the-top. On the other hand, Plato has been studied for centuries and centuries. He can’t be as crazy as he sounds, can he? The market of philosophical thought has decreed Plato to be a genius by its continued study of his teachings. That is—we wouldn’t have been studying him for so long if what he has to contribute is not legitimate. So maybe I simply don’t understand his claim of being able to know all things.
Continuing down Plato’s path of omniscience, he will also become the greatest human being to live. Speaking in terms of the Forms, he asks what creates the human form; which is a wonderfully Platonic method of asking “What separates humans from monkeys and other animals?” What makes the human form, or what is humanity, is the fact that we think in forms, according to Plato. Thus, Platonic philosophers live the fullest lives, since they are the one who form... forms. Plato conceptualized the Forms, and then created humanity to exist within the Forms; he invented his own way of saying how ideal a human being he is! I love it! On a parallel note, the funniest people are those who laugh at their own jokes the loudest, the most beautiful people are those who hang the most pictures of themselves in their house, and the most obedient people are those who follow all the rules that they set for themselves.
Continuing with Plato’s contributions, we arrive at the difference between descriptive and prescriptive observations. Humans are constantly trying to understand the world in which we live, and furthermore predict the world in which we will live. This helps us understand each other, because we are able to know not only how we act, but why we act. When confronted on the road by a large white van coming up behind us with a serpent or a cross on the side and flashing lights and a loud siren and the word “AMBULANCE” painted above the grill, we willingly move to the side of the road to allow this van to pass. We know, descriptively, that the van is moving quickly to help someone who may be hurt. But when we see a suped-up Civic come charging up behind us with neon lights glowing underneath it and we hear the engine play the exhaust pipe like a tuba player with canker sores, we are a little less willing to yield. Some even stay in the way and slow down just out of spite and the urge to teach a lesson. The reason why the two people behind their respective wheels drive the way they do fall on opposite ends of the ‘social acceptability’ spectrum.
Sometimes, however, we confuse descriptive and prescriptive observations. For example, my roommate and I came home after completing a home-teaching visit. I mentioned how good-looking one of the sisters we home teach is, and our other roommate perked right up and said “Hey, so-and-so ended up marrying a girl he home-taught.” My non-companion roommate was describing a past relationship, but at the same time prescribing that relationship onto me. The occurrence of a past experience does not mean that a similar future experience is inevitable.