OPPapers.com Essay Index >> Philosophy >> Reflections On &Quot;The Clouds&Quot; By Aristophanes
We have many free term papers and essays on Reflections On &Quot;The Clouds&Quot; By Aristophanes. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
Submitted by blueemogirl on April 21, 2005
Category: Philosophy
Words: 1510 | Pages: 7
Views: 706
Popularity Rank: 10,140
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
"The Clouds" by Aristophanes, is a play centrally concerned
with education. Aristophanes employs satire to illustrate his
conservative beliefs. It is intended to show readers that in the
tendency to philosophical subtleties lies the neglection of the
real needs of the Athenians. According to Aristophanes,
philosophical speculation only acts to shake the established
foundations of accepted religion, gods, and ideals of morality.
Specifically, as it was even discused in "The Apology,"
Aristophanes believed that philosophical attitudes held by the
Sophists enabled those who held them to convince others of wrong
or weaker beliefs simply by sounding as if they knew what they
were talking about -- when in reality they didn't. It seems as
if Aristophanes would approve of an education based souly around
the reading of clasiscal literature and some physical excersize.
I believe the fact that Athenian youth were starting to ask
questions of the elders in the city really bothered
Aristophanes. I think he really thought it to be dangerous and
detrimental to society; as can be seen through the line
Strepsiades yells towards the end, "revenge for the injured gods
(II.i.1506)." I believe Aristophanes to be part of the group
that accused Socrates of not accepting the recognized gods of
state, which many believed to be a part of the corruption of
Athenian youth. While I don't agree with that accusation --
primarily because of Socrates recognition of Apollo through the
Oracle at Delphi -- I can see some Aristophanes' points of
contention with what he thought the Sophists and other
philsophers stood for.
The Clouds, who form the chorus in Aristophanes' play, are a
physical representation of the "philosophical speculation" that
Aristophanes speaks of. According to Aristophanes,...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!