The Republic — Page 2
He was the greatest metaphysical genius whom the world has seen; and in him, more than in any other ancient thinker, the germs of future knowledge are contained.
Er war das größte metaphysische Genie, das die Welt je gesehen hat; und in ihm, mehr als in jedem anderen antiken Denker, sind die Keime des zukünftigen Wissens enthalten.
The sciences of logic and psychology, which have supplied so many instruments of thought to after-ages, are based upon the analyses of Socrates and Plato.
Die Wissenschaften der Logik und der Psychologie, die späteren Zeitaltern so viele Denkwerkzeuge geliefert haben, stützen sich auf die Analysen von Sokrates und Platon.
The principles of definition, the law of contradiction, the fallacy of arguing in a circle, the distinction between the essence and accidents of a thing or notion, between means and ends, between causes and conditions; also the division of the mind into the rational, concupiscent, and irascible elements, or of pleasures and desires into necessary and unnecessary—these and other great forms of thought are all of them to be found in the Republic, and were probably first invented by Plato.
Die Prinzipien der Definition, das Gesetz des Widerspruchs, der Trugschluss des Zirkelschlusses, die Unterscheidung zwischen dem Wesen und den Akzidenzien einer Sache oder eines Begriffs, zwischen Mitteln und Zwecken, zwischen Ursachen und Bedingungen; auch die Einteilung des Geistes in die vernünftigen, begehrlichen und jähzornigen Elemente, oder der Lüste und Begierden in notwendige und unnötige — diese und andere große Denkformen finden sich alle in der Politeia und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst von Platon erfunden.
The greatest of all logical truths, and the one of which writers on philosophy are most apt to lose sight, the difference between words and things, has been most strenuously insisted on by him (cp. Rep.; Polit.; Cratyl. 435, 436 ff), although he has not always avoided the confusion of them in his own writings (e.g. Rep.)
Die größte aller logischen Wahrheiten, und diejenige, die philosophische Schriftsteller am ehesten aus den Augen verlieren, nämlich der Unterschied zwischen Worten und Dingen, ist von ihm am nachdrücklichsten betont worden (vgl. Politeia; Politikos; Kratylos 435, 436 ff.), obwohl er die Verwechslung beider in seinen eigenen Schriften nicht immer vermieden hat (z. B. Politeia).
Vocabulary
- Er
- He; third-person singular masculine pronoun.
- war
- Was; past tense of 'sein' (to be).
- das
- The; definite article for neuter nouns.
- größte
- Greatest; superlative form of 'groß' (great).
- Genie
- Genius; a person of extraordinary intellectual ability.
- die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns.
- Welt
- World; the earth or all of existence.
- je
- Ever; at any time, used in superlative contexts.
- gesehen
- Seen; past participle of 'sehen' (to see).
- hat
- Has; third-person singular present of 'haben' (to have).
- und
- And; coordinating conjunction joining words or clauses.
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or inclusion.
- ihm
- Him/it; dative form of the pronoun 'er'.
- mehr
- More; a greater quantity or degree.
- als
- Than/as; used in comparisons or equivalences.
- jedem
- Every/each; dative form of 'jeder' (every).
- anderen
- Other; referring to a different person or thing.
- antiken
- Ancient; relating to classical antiquity.
- Denker
- Thinker; a person who thinks deeply or philosophically.
- sind
- Are; third-person plural present of 'sein' (to be).
- Keime
- Seeds/germs; beginnings or rudimentary forms of ideas.
- des
- Of the; genitive definite article for masculine/neuter nouns.
- zukünftigen
- Future; of or relating to time yet to come.
- Wissens
- Knowledge; genitive form of 'Wissen' (knowledge).
- enthalten
- Contained; included within something.
- Die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns.
- Wissenschaften
- Sciences; systematic disciplines of knowledge and study.
- der
- Of the/the; genitive or nominative definite article.
- Logik
- Logic; the study of valid reasoning and inference.
- Psychologie
- Psychology; the scientific study of mind and behavior.
- späteren
- Later; of or belonging to a subsequent time period.
- Zeitaltern
- Ages/eras; long distinct periods of history.
- so
- So/such; to such a degree or extent.
- viele
- Many; a large number of things or people.
- geliefert
- Delivered/provided; past participle of 'liefern' (to supply).
- haben
- Have; auxiliary verb used to form perfect tenses.
- stützen
- Rest/rely on; to support or base something upon.
- sich
- Themselves/oneself; reflexive pronoun for third person.
- auf
- On/upon; preposition indicating surface or reliance.
- Analysen
- Analyses; detailed examinations of elements or structures.
- von
- Of/from/by; preposition indicating origin or belonging.
- Prinzipien
- Principles; fundamental rules or foundational truths.
- Definition
- Definition; a statement explaining the meaning of a term.
- Gesetz
- Law; a rule or principle established by authority.
- Widerspruchs
- Contradiction; genitive of 'Widerspruch', logical inconsistency.
- Unterscheidung
- Distinction; the act of differentiating between things.
- zwischen
- Between; preposition indicating a position among two things.
- dem
- The; dative definite article for masculine or neuter nouns.
- Wesen
- Essence/nature; the fundamental character of something.
- den
- The; dative plural or accusative masculine definite article.
- einer
- A/an; indefinite article in genitive or dative feminine.
- Sache
- Thing/matter; an object or subject under consideration.
- oder
- Or; coordinating conjunction presenting an alternative.
- eines
- A/an; indefinite article in genitive masculine or neuter.
- Begriffs
- Concept; genitive of 'Begriff', a mental notion or idea.
- Mitteln
- Means; dative plural of 'Mittel', methods or instruments.
- Zwecken
- Ends/purposes; dative plural of 'Zweck', goals or aims.
- Ursachen
- Causes; reasons or origins that produce an effect.
- Bedingungen
- Conditions; circumstances required for something to occur.
- auch
- Also/too; indicating addition or agreement.
- Einteilung
- Classification/division; the act of categorizing into groups.
- Geistes
- Mind/spirit; genitive of 'Geist', the intellect or soul.
- vernünftigen
- Rational; of the reasonable or logical part of the mind.
- Elemente
- Elements; basic components or fundamental parts of something.
- Lüste
- Pleasures; agreeable sensations or desires of enjoyment.
- Begierden
- Desires/appetites; strong cravings or passionate wants.
- notwendige
- Necessary; indispensable or required by logic or nature.
- unnötige
- Unnecessary; not needed or superfluous.
- diese
- These; demonstrative pronoun referring to nearby things.
- andere
- Other; additional or different things or people.
- große
- Great/large; of considerable importance or size.
- finden
- Find; to discover or locate something.
- alle
- All; every member of a group without exception.
- wurden
- Were; past tense passive auxiliary of 'werden' (to become).
- wahrscheinlich
- Probably; with a high degree of likelihood or probability.
- zuerst
- First/firstly; before anything else in time or order.
- erfunden
- Invented; past participle of 'erfinden' (to invent).
- aller
- Of all; genitive plural of 'alle' (all).
- logischen
- Logical; of or relating to correct reasoning and inference.
- Wahrheiten
- Truths; facts or realities that are verified and accepted.
- diejenige
- That one; demonstrative pronoun referring to a specific thing.
- philosophische
- Philosophical; relating to the study of fundamental questions.
- Schriftsteller
- Writers/authors; people who write literary or scholarly works.
- am
- At the/on the; contraction of 'an dem'.
- ehesten
- Most likely; superlative of 'eher' (sooner/more likely).
- aus
- Out of/from; preposition indicating origin or direction out.
- Augen
- Eyes; plural of 'Auge', the organs of sight.
- verlieren
- Lose; to misplace or fail to maintain something.
- nämlich
- Namely/that is; introducing a clarification or specification.
- Unterschied
- Difference; the way in which things are dissimilar.
- Worten
- Words; dative plural of 'Wort', units of language.
- Dingen
- Things; dative plural of 'Ding', physical or abstract objects.
- ist
- Is; third-person singular present of 'sein' (to be).
- betont
- Emphasized; stressed or given special importance.
- worden
- Become; past participle of 'werden' used in passive voice.
- vgl
- Compare/cf.; abbreviation of 'vergleiche', directing to a reference.
- obwohl
- Although; subordinating conjunction indicating concession.
- er
- He; third-person singular masculine personal pronoun.
- Verwechslung
- Confusion/mix-up; the act of mistaking one thing for another.
- beider
- Of both; genitive of 'beide' referring to two things.
- seinen
- His/its; accusative or dative possessive pronoun.
- eigenen
- Own; belonging to oneself, one's very own.
- Schriften
- Writings; texts or works authored by someone.
- nicht
- Not; negation particle indicating the opposite or absence.
- immer
- Always; at all times without exception.
- vermieden
- Avoided; past participle of 'vermeiden' (to avoid).
- B
- B; part of abbreviation 'z. B.' meaning 'zum Beispiel' (for example).
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