Ch. 4 Response, Plato

Before reading this chapter I had never looked into Plato's theories but I had heard of him before. I learned quickly that there was a lot of differences between Confucius and Plato, especially when it came down to what drove humans to do what they do. Plato believed in these things called forms, which is a force that helps us make since of the world (ex. what makes a table a table?) These forms help us make decisions with thinking about the outcome. If we didn't have forms according to Plato, we would be acting without reason. These forms are learning tools that show us what the benefits are of acting out and helping others, or the opposite being when we do nothing and see the outcome. Also Plato believed in the human soul, which is an entity that exists before birth, is indestructible, and lives after death. Plato explains how the soul absorbs the forms, not the bodily functions. But both Plato and Confucius believed that the harmony in society was most important when describing the nature of human nature and that everyone had something to contribute. Something that I liked most about reading about Plato's theories is how he believed that love was a driving force in why we want to do nice for other people. I feel that the one for one's neighbor is so important in findings one's self, because in what other ways can we learn?