Imprints and impressions: milestones in human progress

The Value of the Books by Plato and Thomas Aquinas One of the philosophers whose works have special meaning for me are the ancient Greek philosopher Plato and the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas. The works of each of these thinkers are a valuable source of human knowledge, giving one the ability to open a new world of ethical and religious truths. Ancient editions of these books introduces the readers to the great past having its unique historical and scientific significance.
In his writings, Plato considered particularly important ethical, religious, social and political issues. Meeting with the ancient text of his work entitled as Opera Omnia (Complete Works) allowed me to get a new vision of many questions that are of interest to me. In particular, the texts of Plato forced me to think about the meaning of human life and what place the concepts of good and evil occupy in it. For me, Plato’s theory is of special interest, since as well as Plato I believe in the existence of absolute ethical principles that are the foundation of human morality. In addition, I am impressed by the thought and reasoning of Plato, which consistently explain and demonstrate the value of true knowledge in peoples lives.
Indeed, human life is full of all sorts of knowledge, though in fact much of the information may be the result of prejudice and stereotypes. Familiarity with the texts of Plato opened for me the wonderful world of idealist philosophy, able to teach a person to demonstrate a critical and independent thinking and value judgments. Thanks to Plato, I learned to look at the world and the things in it with different eyes and try to identify their real essence hidden behind the outer shell.
In turn, the theological text called Summa Theologica by Thomas Aquinas is in my opinion an amazing treasure trove of primarily religious knowledge in which Christianity takes a leading role. The text is a particularly valuable creature that is able to help a person get answers to many important questions, such as the existence of God, his relationship with the human soul, and the role and place of God in human life. This volume work opens up before the reader the sensible world of Christian theology in which each thing takes place that it is given by God and the harmony of the world is determined by the will of God. The value of this amazing book is that it is able to give each reader the inner impulse to search for answers to the many serious issues related to the topic of God. For me personally, this text has become a kind of discovery that allowed me to see the world and the things in it as a harmonious space that exists because of the efforts of God.
Summing up, it should be said that the physical texts in the form of printed books have a special sacred meaning. Printed book reflect the spirit of the time. That is why the ancient books have undeniable value. They seem to connect modern people with the past times that have had a significant role in the appearance of a modern world and humanity. For this reason, the emergence of cyberspace, which can store virtual versions of the books do not give the right to redeem from the printed books because it is not able to convey the spirit of the time as well as the historical past of the author. Cyberspace will devalue books because they will be turned into virtual copies of thousands of words and nothing more.
Works Cited
Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica, Pars Prima. 2nd ed. Venice, 1484. Print.
Plato. Opera Omnia (Complete Works). 2nd ed. Venice: Aldus, 1513. Print.
Works Cited
Duncan, Stewart. “ Thomas Hobbes.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
Norwitz, Michael. “ Free Will and Determinism.” Philosophy Now. 2014. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
Stace, Walter T. “ Compatibilism.” Religion and the Modern Mind. Ed. Walter T. Stace. New York: Lippincott, 1952. 119-127. Print.