Plato’s best (and worst) ideas - Wisecrack

Platonove najbolje (i najgore) ideje - Vajzkrek (Wisecrack)

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

Few individuals have influenced the world and many of today's thinkers like Plato.

Malo je pojedinaca koji su poput Platona uticali na svet i mnoge današnje mislioce.

One 20th century philosopher even went so far

Jedan filozof iz XX veka je otišao toliko daleko

as to describe all of Western philosophy as a series of footnotes to Plato.

da je opisao čitavu zapadnu filozofiju kao niz fusnota Platonu.

He created the first Western university

Stvorio je prvi zapadni univerzitet

and was teacher to Ancient Greece's greatest minds,

i bio je učitelj najvećim umovima antičke Grčke,

including Aristotle.

uključujući Aristotela.

But even one of the founders of philosophy wasn't perfect.

No čak i jedan od osnivača filozofije nije bio savršen.

Along with his great ideas,

Pored njegovih sjajnih ideja,

Plato had a few that haven't exactly stood the test of time.

Platon je imao nekoliko koje nisu preživele probu vremena.

So here are brief rundowns of a few of his best and worst ideas.

Pa, evo kratkog sažetka nekoliko njegovih najboljih i najgorih ideja.

Plato argued that beyond our imperfect world

Platon je tvrdio da pored našeg nesavršenog sveta

was a perfect unchanging world of Forms.

postoji savršen, neizmenjiv svet ideja.

Forms are the ideal versions of the things and concepts we see around us.

Ideje su idealne verzije stvari i koncepata koje vidimo oko nas.

They serve as a sort of instruction manual to our own world.

Služe kao neki vid uputstava za naš svet.

Floating around the world of Forms is the ideal tree,

Oko sveta ideja lebdi drvo ideala,

and the ideal YouTube channel,

i idelani Jutjub kanal,

and even the ideal justice,

pa čak i idealna pravda

or ideal love.

ili idealna ljubav.

Our own reality is comprised of imperfect copies of ideal Forms.

Naša sopstvena stvarnost se sastoji od nesavršenih kopija idealnih ideja.

Plato argued that philosophers should strive to contemplate

Platon je tvrdio da filozofi treba da teže kontemplaciji

and understand these perfect Forms

i razumevanju tih savršenih ideja

so that they may better navigate our misleading reality.

kako bi se bolje snalazili u našoj obmanjujućoj stvarnosti.

While it may seem silly,

Iako može zvučati glupo,

the disconnect between the world as it appears

raskorak između sveta pojavnosti

and the greater truth behind it

i veće istine iza njega

is one of philosophy's most vexing problems.

je jedan od najiscrpnijih filozofskih problema.

It's been the subject of thousands of pages by theologians,

Bio je predmet hiljada stranica koje su napisali teolozi,

philosophers,

filozofi,

and screenwriters alike.

i slični scenaristi.

It raises questions like should we trust our senses to come to the truth

Pokreće pitanje da li bi trebalo da verujemo našim čulima u stizanju do istine

or our own reason?

ili našem sopstvenom razumu?

For Plato, the answer is reason.

Za Platona, odgovor je razum.

It alone provides us with at least the potential to contemplate the Forms.

On sam nam pruža bar potencijal da sagledamo ideje.

But reason didn't always pan out for Plato himself.

No razum nije uvek ni Platonu bio jača strana.

When he sought to situate humankind amongst the animals,

Kada je tražio mesto ljudima u svetu životinja,

he lumped us in with birds.

smestio nas je s pticama.

"Featherless bipeds" was his official designation.

"Dvonošci bez perja" je bilo njegovo zvanično imenovanje.

Diogenes the Cynic, annoyed by this definition,

Diogen Cinik, iznerviran ovom definicijom,

stormed into Plato's class with a plucked chicken,

uleteo je na Platonov čas sa očerupanom kokoškom,

announcing, "Behold. Plato's man."

objavljujući: "Pogledajte. Platonov čovek."

But back to a few good ideas.

No vratimo se nekim dobrim idejama.

Plato is one of the earliest political theorists on record,

Platon je jedan od prvih zabeleženih političkih teoretičara,

and with Aristotle, is seen as one of the founders of political science.

i sa Aristotelom se doživljava jednim od osnivača političkih nauka.

He reasoned that being a ruler was no different than any other craft,

Rezonovao je da se biti vladar ne razlikuje od bilo kog drugog zanata,

whether a potter or doctor,

bilo grnčara ili doktora,

and that only those who had mastered the craft were fit to lead.

te da su samo oni koji su savaladali taj zanat sposobni da vode.

Ruling was the craft of contemplating the Forms.

Vladanje je bio zanat posmatranja ideja.

In his Republic, Plato imagined a utopia where justice is the ultimate goal.

U svojoj Republici, Platon je zamislio utopiju u kojoj je pravda krajnji cilj.

Plato's ideal city seeks a harmonious balance between its individual parts

Platonov idealni grad teži harmoničnoj ravnoteži između pojedinačnih delova

and should be lead by a philosopher king.

i trebalo bi da ga vodi kralj filozof.

Millennia before his time,

Milenijumima ispred svog vremena,

Plato also reasoned that women were equally able to rule in this model city.

Platon je rezonovao i da su žene jednako u stanju da vladaju ovim uzornim gradom.

Unfortunately, Plato was inconsistent with women,

Nažalost, Platon je bio nedosledan kad su žene u pitanju,

elsewhere likening them to children.

drugde ih je poredio s decom.

He also believed that a woman's womb was a live animal

Takođe je verovao da je ženska utroba divlja životinja,

that could wander around in her body and cause illness.

koja može da luta po njenom telu i uzrokuje bolesti.

This bad idea, also espoused by other contemporaries of Plato,

Ova loša ideja, koju su prigrlili drugi Platonovi savremenici,

was sadly influential for hundreds of years in European medicine.

nažalost je uticala hiljadama godina na evropsku medicinu.

Furthermore, he thought that society should be divided into three groups:

Još je smatrao da bi društvo trebalo da bude podeljeno u tri grupe:

producers,

proizvođače,

the military,

vojsku

and the rulers,

i vladare,

and that a great noble lie should convince everyone to follow this structure.

i da bi velika plemenita laž trebalo da ubedi sve da prate ovu strukturu.

The noble lie he proposed

Predložio je da plemenita laž

was that we're all born with gold, silver, or a mixture of brass and iron

bude to da smo svi rođeni sa zlatom, srebrom ili mešavinom mesinga i gvožđa

in our souls,

u našim dušama,

which determine our roles in life.

a to određuje naše uloge u životu.

Some thinkers have gone on to credit the idea of the noble lie

Neki mislioci su išli dotle da pripišu ideji plemenite laži

as a prototype for 20th century propaganda,

prototip za propagandu XX veka,

and the philosopher king as inspiration for the dictators that used them.

a kralja filozofa kao inspiraciju za diktatore koji je koriste.

Should a few bad ideas

Da li nekoliko loših ideja

tarnish Plato's status as one of the greatest philosophers in history?

treba da podrije Platonov status kao jednog od najvećih filozofa u istoriji?

No!

Ne!

Plato gave the leaders and thinkers who came after him a place to start.

Platon je pružio polazište vođama i misliocima nakon njega.

Through the centuries,

Vekovima

we've had the chance to test those ideas through writing and experience,

imali smo priliku da testiramo te ideje, u teoriji i iskustvu,

and have accepted some while rejecting others.

i prihvatili smo neke, dok smo druge odbacili.

We are continuing to refine, amend, and edit his ideas

Nastavljamo da prerađujemo, ispravljamo i redigujemo njegove ideje

which have become foundations of the modern world.

koje su postale temelj savremenog sveta.