A Study Of Plato’s Thought On Virtue

Virtue is simply the moral quality of human beings.The formation of this quality is affected by the living environment and production activities,so virtue is closely related to the survival and development of human beings.In the long course of human history,with the increasing enrichment of moral practice,virtue has gradually formed a unique ideological system based on individual qualities.The emergence of the thought system of virtue reflects people’s long-term reflection on their own moral quality,which to a certain extent has become the premise for human beings to obtain happiness.Therefore,the thought of virtue has become the focus of attention and research of thinkers in past dynasties.Since ancient times,the western world has systematically studied the thought of virtue and formed a systematic thought system of virtue,which has become an indispensable part of the thought of human virtue.As a typical representative,Plato’s thought of virtue plays an important role in the history of western moral thoughts.Plato’s thought on virtue has rich connotation and various forms of expression,which reflects the western world’s concentrated thinking on virtue during this period and has a far-reaching influence on later generations.Therefore,this paper makes a systematic and comprehensive study of Plato’s theory of virtue from the perspective of historical materialism through literature research,inductive deduction and other research methods.Firstly,the basis,significance,research status and thinking methods of the topic are discussed,and the key points and innovation points of the research are explained.Secondly,it gives a comprehensive analysis of the word "virtue" and the historical development of moral ethics.Thirdly,Plato’s thought on virtue shows his reflection on the related discourses of the predecessors.Therefore,in order to fully understand Plato’s thought on virtue,this paper discusses the previous thinkers’ thought on virtue.Then,on the basis of the previous research,the content of Plato’s theory of virtue is studied.Starting from the discussion of Plato’s definition of virtue and the teachability of virtue,the ideological basis of the theory of virtue and the specific content in the form of "four main virtues" are elaborated.In addition,the study found that the thought of virtue in different cultural systems presents the characteristics of coexistence of differences and similarities,so Plato and mencius’ thought of virtue in the content level to find the similarities and differences between the two;Finally,Plato’s theory of virtue is viewed dialectically,and the positive and negative effects of history and reality are analyzed objectively,striving for the objectivity and rationality of the study.Although Plato’s thought of virtue has been thousands of years ago,and is seriously out of touch with our social reality,the thinking he gave us has some practical significance.In any historical period,virtue is still an important factor related to personal and social happiness,and we still need to pay attention to the study of virtue.