I propose to discuss the information given in this text.

ATTENTION!

Lots of letters!
To be honest, I'm not sure how much the content is true, but at least the thoughts are amusing, I propose to discuss.

Amicus Plato, sedmagisarnica Veritas.

Brief background of this saying.
The ancient philosopher Plato's most successful and beloved student was Aristotle. However, having comprehended and mastered the teacher's philosophy, Aristotle came to the conclusion that Plato was mistaken in the most important thing - in the question of the fundamental principle of the world. This was the reason for their separation. And when Aristotle was asked why they broke up, he answered with this, now catchy, phrase.

I do not insist that the calculations given below are absolutely accurate and reliable. Of course, they are very approximate, for more accurate and detailed calculations, but in essence an economic analysis, time and data are needed, which I do not have. Therefore, these figures and thoughts should be taken solely as “taken on the surface”, without in-depth study, however, the conclusions that will be here, in my opinion, will remain even with in-depth analysis.

Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer. But is this Plato (Pay for tons) so bad and scary, as he is painted? How much do you know about him? By the way, the name itself is rather strange, since the amount is paid not for the actual weight of the transported cargo, but for the distance - kilometers, so it would be necessary to call it differently “Platkil”, “Plakry” and so on. Well, probably, tons still meant the weight of the truck.

At one time there was already a lot of noise about this ... I wanted to write systems, but it’s probably better to use the word tax, then the meaning is not lost. In general, when you call a spade a spade, it is easier to understand the essence of what is happening and, most importantly, to navigate in our not simple world. Our media and officials carefully avoid the word "tax" naively believing that by replacing it with "compensation system" or any other expression, this tax will be perceived more positively.

Yes, at present the word "tax" is not at all popular among the population, and even more so the phrase "new tax" is not popular, which, of course, can "hit" the reputation of those in power and add negative to the popular support for GDP in the form of a minus of 89% . However, if we talk about the exclusively conceptual meanings of the word "tax", then yes, "Plato" probably cannot be called such, however, if we think logically and be based on the modern understanding of what a tax is, then "Plato" is quite such a tax. The only difference is that it is not collected by the tax (or other state) service of the Russian Federation, but by a private company. By the way, a good way to squeeze money from the population in the future, without increasing the "official tax burden." I note that the road tax has not been completely abolished, I believe that its abolition will occur only after ALL vehicles that are operated in Russia, including motorcycles, are included in Plato.

Now let's see how it's all organized.

I won’t be smart about whose idea it was, who pushed it through, as well as who and who paid (asked) what for making the decision to start this project, but initially, Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 14, 2013 N 504 was issued " On the collection of fees for compensation for damage caused to public roads of federal significance by vehicles with a permitted maximum mass of more than 12 tons"

By the way, the resolution itself was published 10 days after it was written (June 24, 2013), and entered into force only in November 2014. And already in this resolution, there is an idea that someone other than the state will deal with this matter.

Quote from PP-504:

2. "operator" - an individual entrepreneur or legal entity, which, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation, is entrusted with the authority to ensure the functioning of the system for collecting fees.

Now I will just briefly describe how it works.

A concession agreement was concluded between the state represented by Avtodor (representing the government of the Russian Federation) and the private company LLC RT-Invest Transport Systems (50% owned by Igor Rotenberg) for the implementation of a toll collection system for vehicles with a maximum permissible weight of over 12 tons. What is a "concession agreement"? It is a form of public-private partnership for the effective management of public property or the provision of services normally provided by the state, on mutually beneficial terms. That's it, no more, no less. Many official media have been ringing and continue to say that after a certain period (10 years), the entire infrastructure created for the functioning of the Plato system will be transferred to the state free of charge. Okay, but who can confirm this? I began to look for confirmation of these statements, however, I was very surprised when I could not find the text of this agreement anywhere, neither on the official website of Platon, nor on the website of Rosavtodor, and even more so on the Internet. And here the most interesting begins.

The fact is that there are several forms of a concession agreement, but in Russia there is a certain law “Federal Law of the Russian Federation of July 21, 2005 N 115-FZ On Concession Agreements”, which allows you to use only one specific form - “Construction - transfer - management ".

The words "Grantor" and "Concessionaire" below will be replaced by simpler ones that do not change the meaning - "State" and "Contractor", respectively - to simplify perception. That is, the contractor builds a “facility”, which, at the end of construction, is transferred to the state into ownership, and after transferring ownership, the “facility” is transferred to the operation of the contractor.

Quote FZ-115:

1. Under a concession agreement, one party (executor) undertakes, at its own expense, to create and (or) reconstruct the property specified by this agreement (real estate or real estate and movable property, technologically interconnected and intended for the implementation of activities provided for by the concession agreement) (hereinafter - the object of the concession agreement), the ownership of which belongs or will belong to the other party (the state), to carry out activities using (operating) the object of the concession agreement, and the state undertakes to provide the concessionaire for the period established by this agreement, the right to own and use the object of the concession agreement to carry out the specified activity.

That is, according to FZ-115, the property should definitely be transferred to the state - already good.

In general, it should be noted that in this law at the end of any significant clause, any article, there is the phrase "unless otherwise established by the concession agreement." And this means, as we all understand, that this clause / condition in the agreement may well be changed to others, including those that are fundamentally different from the text after which this wording stands, and there are quite a few of these clauses in the law. As I wrote above, there is no free (open) access to the text of the agreement between Avtodor and RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC, and none of us knows what is written there, and all sorts of statements coming from "interested" persons simply do not can be documented, and according to this - these are just words.

But let's continue in order.

In 2014, the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 08.29.2014 No. 1662-r “On concluding a concession agreement with RT-Invest Transport Systems for the implementation of a system for collecting fees from vehicles with a permitted maximum mass of over 12 tons” was issued, signed by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation D. A. Medvedev.

The text is rather boring, but here are some basic and important facts from it, and more specifically, from the part entitled: Compensation for damage caused to public highways of federal significance by vehicles with a maximum authorized mass of more than 12 tons. Comments are attached.

Quote RP-1662:

2. The concession agreement contains information on the composition and technical and economic characteristics of the following objects of the toll collection system:
a) stationary (at least 481 units) and mobile (at least 100 units) objects of the system for monitoring the movement of vehicles on roads and for compliance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation in terms of compensation for damage caused by vehicles to roads;

it is assumed that all this should be organized at the expense of the contractor.

5. l) provision of technical devices to the owners of vehicles free of charge, designed to determine the location (traffic route) of such vehicles using GLONASS or GLONASS / GPS satellite navigation technologies in order to calculate the fee, in accordance with the terms of the concession agreement;

well, at least you don’t need to pay for the devices, and thanks for that, however, control over the movement of vehicles will be carried out, which is very disliked by private cabbies and companies that carry groupage cargo, as well as transport workers making three actual deliveries in one (according to documents, one) . This is presented by many as a huge plus in the fight against "black cabs", this is a plus, of course - I do not argue, but what about the rest? By the way, the number of these devices is also registered - at least 2 million pieces.

Quote RP-1662:

8. The basic amount of the state fee under the concession agreement is 10,610 million rubles (excluding VAT) per year and consists of non-indexed and indexed parts.

The indexed part of the base state fee under the concession agreement is 46 percent of the base state fee under the concession agreement. Indexation is carried out in accordance with the actual change in the consumer price index. The mechanism for indexing the indexed part of the basic size of the contractor's fee is established in the concession agreement.

The basic size of the state fee under the concession agreement should be reduced based on the results of an independent technological and price audit of project documentation for the creation of a fee collection system conducted by the contractor.

it is not entirely clear who should pay whom, based on the text above - the state pays the contractor. Otherwise, if the payment by the contractor to the state was implied, then it would be written not as a “grantor”, but as a “grantor”, is it really so bad in the government with the Russian language? It can be assumed that this is a typo, but in such cases they simply should not be, so this is done intentionally? That is, the minimum state payment for the contractor company will be 10.6 billion rubles a year. Plus, indexation can be any, "according to the method specified in the concession agreement", which no one has seen.

Quote RP-1662:

11. The concessor's fee is charged to the concessionaire for each calendar half-year (the first half of the year - from January 1 to June 30, the second half of the year - from July 1 to December 31) of the operation of the objects of the toll collection system and the fulfillment by the concessionaire (executor) of its obligations as the operator of the objects of the collection system fees in accordance with the concession agreement. The payment period corresponds to the calendar semester.

here it is already clearer, according to the text it turns out that the fee is charged to the concessionaire (executor), which the concessor (the state) must pay.

Let's compare clearly:

Quote RP-1662:

8. The basic amount of the concessor's fee under the concession agreement is ...

Quote RP-1662:

11. The concessionaire's fee is charged to the concessionaire for each calendar semester…

Still very slippery and not specific. But I wonder if the contractor will then have the right to demand a VAT refund from the state?

However, at the same time:

Quote RP-1662:

15. The indexed part of the state fee is indexed in accordance with the actual consumer price index published by the authorized federal executive body in the field of state statistical activity from January 2016 to the last month of the i-th payment period inclusive.

I think that this item will be just a reference (actual value) in the indexation calculation formula, a kind of constant among the other Xs and Ys, which are in the mechanism for calculating the indexation of the indexed part of the base fee, which is spelled out in the "secret" agreement between Avtodor and LLC RT- Invest Transport Systems.

Quote RP-1662:

18. Acceptance by the state of a part of the costs for the creation and use (operation) of the object of the toll collection system is not provided.

and this is not necessary, the performer will not get bad money anyway.

And now, we come to the most interesting and tasty (from the point of view of the performer) - what is written in the Federal Law-115 on concession agreements.

Quote FZ-115:

Article 3. Concession agreement

Here I had a slight cognitive dissonance. Article 3, paragraph 7 clearly states that the proceeds are the property of the performer. And again a quote from the order of the government (I will give the original):

Quote RP-1662:

8. The basic amount of the concessor's fee under the concession agreement is 10,610 million rubles (excluding VAT) per year and consists of non-indexed and indexed parts.

that is, in addition to the income received under paragraph 7 of Article 3, the state will pay additionally to the contractor. And the performer should give something to the state? Oh yes, there is a magic phrase: “unless otherwise provided by the concession agreement”, and what is there, in the agreement between Rosavtodor and RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC? 50, 20, 5 percent of the profit is deducted to the state? Maybe there is something else at the disposal of the government that clarifies the essence? I did not find.

Quote from PP-514:

5. In order to collect a fee, the operator concludes an agreement with the owner of the vehicle on the provision of services for calculating the fee and ensuring its transfer to the federal budget on the basis of information about the vehicle (type and brand, state registration number, identification number, permitted maximum weight in accordance with the certificate on registration of the vehicle), to which the owner of the vehicle attaches a copy of the certificate of registration of the vehicle.

How interesting. The operator, having received funds from the owner of the vehicle, deducts them immediately to the budget. Is it all means, or a part? If a part, then its size is not specified anywhere. The wording is very touching: "an agreement on the provision of services for calculating fees and ensuring its transfer to the federal budget." If I understand correctly, then a "service contract" cannot be imposed, or am I mistaken?

Quote from PP-514:

6. The operator on the basis of the agreement provided for in paragraph 5 of these Rules:

a) transfers the funds of the owner of the vehicle to the federal budget as compensation for damage caused to public roads federal significance vehicles, on the basis of settlements made using the toll collection system;

b) provide the owner of the vehicle free of charge with the on-board unit and information on the procedure and conditions for its use;

Pay attention to the highlighted words, then it will be very useful. The executor is simply an intermediary who siphons funds from taxed citizens to the federal budget. To what extent? Again, remember the phrase "unless otherwise provided by the concession agreement." For a second, we abstract from the fact that the entire system and infrastructure (costs) were created by the contractor, we will talk about them later, and remember that the state must pay 10.6 billion rubles to the contractor, while we do not know about the other payments by the contractor (and sizes) to the federal budget . And how many trucks in the country are more than 12 tons?

About 1.5 million vehicles weighing over 12 tons are registered in Russia. In addition, about 400,000 vehicles weighing more than 12 tons, registered in other countries and carrying out transit traffic, move across the territory of Russia. At the same time, there is an increase in the fleet of such cars.

Let's discard transit cars and count only registered ones. Of course, 1.5 million trucks is far from reality, and not all of them are in operation. I could not find specific and reliable data on this, but subjectively, there are from 750 to 890 thousand trucks in operation, let's take the average - 820 thousand, that is, 54.7% of the number of registered ones, you see, a rather low figure.

According to the statistics for 2014 from the Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation, the average distance for road transportation of 1 ton of cargo is 45 km. http://ac.gov.ru/files/publication/a/7400.pdf page five. This is without taking into account the type of trucks, in general, I did not find such a breakdown by transportation distance depending on the carrying capacity. I will be based on information provided by acquaintances working in a logistics company (quite large). According to him, the range of transportation carried out by their trucks is above 12 tons, 350-450 km. that is, an average of 400 km. Tariff for 1 km. according to Plato is 3.06 rubles a quote from the official website of Plato:

From March 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018, the tariff will be increased to 3.06 RUB/km. This is the lowest fee among similar systems in Europe. For example, in Austria the rate reaches $0.49, in Belarus - $0.16. The Russian tariff at today's rate is $0.025, which is 6 times lower than, for example, in Belarus

But there are 50,800 km of federal roads! Where did the other 2,700 kilometers go? Surely Rosavtodor is not responsible for these sections of federal roads? Unclear. It is possible that Vedomosti made a mistake, well, let's calculate the minimum.

1. 40 billion / 48100 = 997,506.23 rubles of tax per kilometer per year.
2. 997506.23/3.06=325,982.43 trucks per year passing each kilometer of roads per year.
3. 325982.43/365=893 trucks per day will pass through each kilometer of the road.

Quite real figures, the traffic intensity of trucks, for example, along the M1 or M9, of course, is many times greater, but we consider it to be average (by the way, the Moscow Ring Road does not apply to federal roads). Pay attention to the estimated number of trucks per year - 325,983 (round up) units, or total 21,73% of the total number of registered trucks. And if we use 50800 kilometers in the calculation, then the numbers will be lower. Rosavtodor's forecast is too pessimistic, don't you think? Let's recalculate this number of trucks with our average of 400 km.

1. 325983х2448=798 006384 per day
2. 798006384х30= 23 940 191520 per month
3. (23940191520x12) / 1.08 = 266,002 128,000 per year.

What the hell is 40 billion? What are we all about?

A little more about road prices.

There are four main types of roads in Russia: federal, regional, local and private. Federal highways, which bear the largest load (50% of all traffic), are the responsibility of the Federal Highway Agency (Rosavtodor) and its departments in the regions. In total, under the supervision of Rosavtodor there are 48,100 km of roads, 5,560 bridges and overpasses, and 27 autotunnels.

In the draft federal budget for 2016, 553 billion rubles are allocated to finance Rosavtodor. Of these, 130 billion rubles. will go to the regions (including co-financing the construction and reconstruction of 808 km of roads), 64.7 billion rubles. - for the construction of the Kerch bridge, 97.2 billion rubles. - for the construction of federal roads, and for the repair and maintenance of federal roads - 248.5 billion rubles. For this money, Rosavtodor will be able, according to its own calculations, to repair and overhaul about 9,000 km of federal roads, as well as build or reconstruct 734.2 km (or 4,029.8 km in single-lane terms) of new roads. According to the federal target program "Development of the transport system of Russia", on average, repair of 1 km of the road will cost 27.6 million rubles, and construction and reconstruction - 132.4 million rubles / km.

According to Rosavtodor, in 2016 the agency plans to build 56 km of new roads and artificial structures and put another 283.5 km into operation after reconstruction. As a representative of Rosavtodor explains, the average cost of building a road of the highest, 1st category in 2015 amounted to 66.5 million rubles, 2nd category - 48.7 million rubles, 3rd category - 44.8 million rubles. In 2014, the cost of building a 1st category road was 59 million rubles.

We fix at least 44.8 million rubles per 1 km. roads. The subsidized amounts are many times greater than those who want to receive from Plato. And how many roads can be built and repaired for 40 billion rubles?

• Build - 892.86 km.
• Repair - 1449.28 km.

However, according to the funds allocated now, according to Rosavtodor itself, they can repair and overhaul about 9,000 km of federal roads, as well as build or reconstruct 734.2 km (or 4,029.8 km in single-lane terms) of new roads. The improvement in financing from Plato will be only 16.1%. Not much.

And now attention, the question is - in which piece of the pie are there the most opportunities to “make money on the quiet”?

And here recently, the possibility of introducing Plato for cars was considered ... Do you know why this idea was abandoned? Not because it is “negative”, “not appropriate” or “no need”, but because they simply cannot chew so much money quietly.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the road tax is still paid, yes, not in full, but minus the amount paid to Plato, however, all citizens who own a vehicle pay this tax. The total number of registered vehicles in Russia is about 44 million units. Very, very rude, the average road tax per year is about 9,000 rubles with a vehicle (including trucks), total - 396 billion rubles, does not reach the allocated 553 billion. If we consider Plato as 40 billion, then this is laughter, but if both 266 billion, then we are already talking about the full self-sufficiency of Rosavtodor - 662 billion, and even with a profit of 109 billion. But will we see this money, or will it remain in the relationship between Rosavtodor and RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC? And we remember that:

Quote FZ-115:

Article 3. Concession agreement

7. Products and income received by the contractor as a result of the activities provided for by the concession agreement are the property of the contractor, unless otherwise provided by the concession agreement.

What follows from all of the above?

1. The declared 40 billion profits do not compete with approximate calculations at all.
2. The revealed difference is too large to be attributed to fluctuations or errors.
3. The agreement between Rosavtodor and RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC is not available and there is no data on its terms.

What could it be? It is unlikely that there is corruption, the sums are too large, and here the phrase “state shadow economy” comes to mind, which no longer seems as absurd as I thought before. What for? And there are a lot of advantages if you think about it.

I am not trying to be an expert in the last resort and beat myself with a heel in the chest about the correctness of all of the above, I simply invite you to a dialogue in order to try to identify the most possible situation, and at least analyze it a little.

The authorship of the saying "Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer" (Amitus Plato, sed magis amica veritas) is attributed to Socrates, who said: "Following me, think less about Socrates, and more about the truth." This was reported by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC) in his work Phaedo. "Phaedo" is one of the dialogues of Plato, in which the student of Socrates Phaedo is talking with the Pythagorean philosopher Echecrates. In it, Phaedo talks about the last hours of Socrates' life, about his conversation with friends before his execution.
“Plato is my friend, but truth is dearer” means that truth, truth is always more important than all other circumstances of life.

Phraseologism Amitus Plato, sed magis amica veritas is cited by the Greek philosopher Aristotle in his essay "Pikomakhov's Ethics". In his presentation, the statement sounds like this: “Let friends and truth be dear to me, but duty commands me to give preference to truth.” Aristotle's biographer Ammonius Sakkas, in his book The Life of Aristotle, conveyed this expression in a more concise form: "Socrates is dear to me, but the truth is dearer." The medieval theologian, the initiator of the Reformation, Martin Luther (1483-1546) retold the phrase in the following form: “Plato is my friend, Socrates is my friend, but the truth should be preferred”

The use of phraseology in literature

- “One evening, when the sovereign was in a gloomy mood, he deigned to smile when he learned about the existence of the second maiden Le Fontan, and arranged her marriage to a young judge, rich and capable, however, of bourgeois origin, and granted him the title of baron. But when, a year later, the Vendean hinted at his third daughter, the maiden Emilie de Fontaine, the king answered him in a thin, caustic voice: “Amicus Plato, sed magis amica Natio” (“Plato is a friend, but the nation is dearer”) (Honore de Balzac "Country Ball")

- “Here I got one circumstance, because of which I, perhaps, will fall into disfavor with their lordship, and this is unpleasant for me, but there’s nothing to be done, because in the end I have to reckon not so much with their pleasure or displeasure how much with one's own vocation, according to the well-known saying: amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas" (M. Cervantes "Don Quixote")

- “But should we talk about the defenders of their literature and their “writers”, who seem to be personally offended by the reviews of Otechestvennye Zapiski about Marlinsky? Try to explain to them that even if the journal were wrong in its opinion about this writer, then it still retains the right of a free and original look at all kinds of writers ... and that amicus Plato, sed magis amica Veritas " (V. Belinsky)

- “If it is considered ignoble to flatter the living, then how to call flattery after that the dead? To those who may think that it is indecent for me, who was once a friend of Granovsky, to judge him with more severity than others, I will answer the old, but centuries-old: “amicus Plato, sed magis arnica Veritas” (A. Herzen)

- “Recently there was a fire in our city; the empty buildings at the house of the townswoman Zalupaeva burned down, and what do you think, who was the last to come to the fire? I am ashamed of my city, but out of respect for the truth (amicus Plato, sed magis arnica Veritas) I must publicly announce that our fire brigade arrived last, and, moreover, arrived at a time when the fire was finally extinguished by the efforts of private individuals. (M. Saltykov-Shchedrin "Satires in prose")

- "Amicus Plato, sed magis amica Veritas" - an epigraph to the book "Journey inland" by writer Marko Vovchek(pseudonym of Maria Alexandrovna Vilinskaya)

“... Excuse me - I'm ashamed to say so about the person who showed me true friendship, but amicus Plato, amicus Socrates, sed magis amica veritas - you definitely look like a pig that would prove to a person that he eats oranges in vain, that acorns are much better she likes" (N. Chernyshevsky)

- “Plekhanov delved into all the details, asked and asked, as if wanting to test himself, but most of all it had the character of an old comrade examining an old comrade: did this comrade stand up to the task, what he professes, and what tactics does he follow. Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas (Plato's friend, but truth is higher than friendship), his cold eyes said. (O. Aptekman “Georgy Valentinovich Plekhanov. From personal memories")

Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer
From Latin: Amicus Plato, sed magis arnica Veritas (amicus plateau, sed magis amica varitas).
It is first found in world literature in the novel (part 2, ch. 51) Don Quixote (1615) by the Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra (1547-1616). After the release of the novel, the expression became world famous.
The primary source is the words of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (421-348 BC). In the Phaedo, he puts into the mouth of Socrates these words: "Following me, think less about Socrates, and more about the truth." That is, Plato advises students to choose the truth, and not faith in the authority of the teacher.
There is a similar phrase in Aristotle (4th century BC), who in his work “Nicomachean Ethics” wrote: “Let friends and truth be dear to me, but duty commands me to give preference to truth.” In other, later, ancient authors, this expression is found in the form: "Socrates is dear to me, but the truth is dearest of all."
Thus, the history of the famous expression is paradoxical: its actual author, Plato, became at the same time its “hero”, and it was in this time-edited form that Plato’s words entered into world culture. This expression served as the basis for the formation of phrases of the same type, the most famous of which are the words of the German church reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546). In his work "On the Enslaved Will" he wrote: "Plato is my friend, Socrates is my friend, but the truth should be preferred."
The meaning of the expression: truth, exact knowledge is the highest, absolute value, and authority is not an argument.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: "Lokid-Press". Vadim Serov. 2003 .

Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer

The Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC) in his work "Phaedo" attributes to Socrates the words: "Following me, think less about Socrates, and more about the truth." Aristotle, in his work "Nicomachean Ethics", argues with Plato and, having in mind him, writes: "Let friends and truth be dear to me, but duty commands me to give preference to truth." Luther (1483-1546) says: "Plato is my friend, Socrates is my friend, but the truth should be preferred" ("On the Enslaved Will", 1525). The expression "Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas" - "Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer", formulated by Cervantes in the 2nd part, ch. 51 novels "Don Quixote" (1615).

Dictionary of winged words. Plutex. 2004

See what "Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer" in other dictionaries:

Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer- wing. sl. The Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC) in his work Phaedo attributes to Socrates the words: “Following me, think less about Socrates, and more about the truth.” Aristotle, in his work "Nicomachean Ethics", argues with Plato and having in mind ... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

- (Plato) (428/427 348/347 BC) ancient Greek philosopher, classic of the philosophical tradition; a world-class thinker, to whose original philosophical concept many areas of classical philosophizing and European ... The latest philosophical dictionary

Ancient Greek philosopher, classic of the philosophical tradition; a world-class thinker, to whose original philosophical concept many areas of classical philosophizing and the European style of thinking as a whole are genetically derived. Main… … History of Philosophy: Encyclopedia

Wed I'm not afraid of the truth. Eat bread and salt, but cut the truth, says a Russian proverb. And one more thing: Varvara is my aunt, but the truth is my mother. Saltykov. Satires in prose. 4. Wed. Truth is dearer to me than anything. Before I had time to think, I would say: you are the sweetest of all; Thinking about it, I'll say all that ... ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary

Aphorisms can be divided into two categories: some catch our eye, are remembered and sometimes used when we want to show off wisdom, while others become an integral part of our speech and go into the category of catchphrases. About authorship ... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

Wikiquote has a page related to Latin proverbs In many languages ​​of the world, including ... Wikipedia

NICOMACHO ETHICS- "NICOMACH ETHICS" (Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια), the work of Aristotle, dates back to the 2nd Athenian period (334 322 BC); is a recording of a lecture course, another version of which (presumably earlier) is known as "Evdemova ... ... ancient philosophy

Major League 1998 Season 12 Venue Moscow Palace of Youth Season name Season of problems Number of teams 15 Number of games 7 ... Wikipedia

Plato

A) about ideas

The idea is the central category in Plato's philosophy. The idea of ​​a thing is something ideal. So, for example, we drink water, but we cannot drink the idea of ​​water or eat the idea of ​​bread, paying in stores with ideas of money: an idea is the meaning, the essence of a thing. All cosmic life is generalized in Platonic ideas: they have regulative energy and govern the Universe. They have a regulative and formative power; they are eternal patterns, paradigms (from the Greek. paradigma - a pattern), according to which the whole multitude of real things is organized from formless and fluid matter. Plato interpreted ideas as some kind of divine essence. They were conceived as target causes, charged with the energy of aspiration, while between them there are relations of coordination and subordination. The highest idea is the idea of ​​absolute goodness - it is a kind of “Sun in the realm of ideas”, the world Mind, it deserves the name of Mind and Deity. But this is not yet a personal divine Spirit (as later in Christianity). Plato proves the existence of God by the feeling of our affinity with his nature, which, as it were, “vibrates” in our souls. An essential component of Plato's worldview is belief in the gods. Plato considered it the most important condition for the stability of the social world order. According to Plato, the spread of “impious views” has a detrimental effect on citizens, especially young people, is a source of unrest and arbitrariness, leads to the violation of legal and moral norms, i.e. to the principle “everything is permitted”, in the words of F.M. Dostoevsky. Plato called for severe punishment for the “wicked”.

B) ideal state

The "Ideal State" is a community of farmers, artisans who produce everything necessary to maintain the life of citizens, warriors who protect security, and philosopher-rulers who exercise wise and just government of the state. Plato opposed such an “ideal state” to ancient democracy, which allowed the people to participate in political life, to govern government. According to Plato, only aristocrats, as the best and most wise citizens, are called to govern the state. And farmers and artisans, according to Plato, must conscientiously do their work, and they have no place in government bodies. The state should be guarded by law enforcement officers, who form a power structure, and the guards should not have personal property, they must live in isolation from other citizens, eat at a common table. The “ideal state”, according to Plato, should patronize religion in every possible way, educate piety in citizens, and fight against all kinds of wicked people. The same goals should be pursued by the entire system of upbringing and education.

Without going into details, it should be said that Plato's doctrine of the state is a utopia. Let us imagine only the classification of forms of government proposed by Plato: it highlights the essence of the socio-philosophical views of the brilliant thinker.

Plato pointed out:

a) “ideal state” (or approaching the ideal) - aristocracy, including an aristocratic republic and an aristocratic monarchy;

b) the descending hierarchy of state forms, to which he ranked timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, tyranny.

According to Plato, tyranny is the worst form of government, and democracy was for him the object of sharp criticism. The worst forms of the state are the result of the "corruption" of the ideal state. Timocracy (also the worst) is a state of honor and qualifications: it is closer to the ideal, but worse, for example, than an aristocratic monarchy.

C) immortal soul

Interpreting the idea of ​​the soul, Plato says: the soul of a person before his birth resides in the realm of pure thought and beauty. Then she ends up on a sinful earth, where, temporarily being in a human body, like a prisoner in a dungeon, she “remembers the world of ideas.” Here Plato had in mind memories of what happened in a former life: the soul resolves the main questions of its life even before birth; when she comes into the world, she already knows everything there is to know. She herself chooses her lot: her own fate, destiny, is already destined for her. Thus, the Soul, according to Plato, is an immortal essence; three parts are distinguished in it: rational, turned to ideas; ardent, affective-volitional; sensual, driven by passions, or lusty. The rational part of the soul is the basis of virtue and wisdom, the ardent part is courage; the overcoming of sensibility is the virtue of prudence. As for the Cosmos as a whole, the source of harmony is the world mind, a force capable of adequately thinking itself, being at the same time an active principle, the helmsman of the soul, controlling the body, which in itself is devoid of the ability to move. In the process of thinking, the soul is active, internally contradictory, dialogical and reflexive. “Thinking, she does nothing more than reason, asking herself, affirming and denying” (3). The harmonious combination of all parts of the soul under the regulative beginning of the mind guarantees justice as an essential property of wisdom.

Aristotle

Plato is my friend - but the truth is dearer

The students, speaking about their teachers, argued in such a way that although they respect and value them, they notice that with all the respect and authority of a person, any of his statements can always be questioned and criticized if it does not correspond to the truth. Thus, ancient philosophers pointed to the supremacy of truth.

A) the doctrine of matter

Matter and form (eidos). Potency and act. Proceeding from the recognition of the objective existence of matter, Aristotle considered it eternal, uncreated and indestructible. Matter cannot arise from nothing, nor can it increase or decrease in quantity. However, matter itself, according to Aristotle, is inert, passive. It contains only the possibility of the emergence of a real variety of things, just as, say, marble contains the possibility of various statues. In order to turn this possibility into reality, it is necessary to give the matter an appropriate form. By form, Aristotle meant an active creative factor, thanks to which a thing becomes real. Form is a stimulus and a goal, the cause of the formation of diverse things from monotonous matter: matter is a kind of clay. In order for various things to arise from it, a potter is needed - a god (or mind-prime mover). Form and matter are inextricably linked, so that every thing in the possibility is already contained in matter and, by natural development, receives its form. The whole world is a series of forms connected with each other and arranged in order of increasing perfection. Thus, Aristotle approaches the idea of ​​a single being of a thing, a phenomenon: they are a fusion of matter and eidos (form). Matter acts as a possibility and as a kind of substratum of being. Marble, for example, can be considered as the possibility of a statue, it is also a material principle, a substrate, and a statue carved from it is already a unity of matter and form. The main engine of the world is God, defined as the form of all forms, as the top of the universe.

B) theory of the soul

Descending in his philosophical reflections from the abyss of the Cosmos to the world of animate beings, Aristotle believed that the soul, possessing purposefulness, is nothing but its organizing principle, inseparable from the body, the source and method of regulating the body, its objectively observable behavior. The soul is the entelechy (1) of the body. Therefore, those who believe that the soul cannot exist without a body are right, but that it itself is immaterial, incorporeal. What we live, feel and think about is the soul, so that it is a certain meaning and form, and not matter, not a substratum: “It is the soul that gives meaning and purpose to life.” The body has a vital state that forms its orderliness and harmony. This is the soul, i.e. a reflection of the actual reality of the universal and eternal Mind. Aristotle gave an analysis of the various “parts” of the soul: memory, emotions, the transition from sensations to general perception, and from it to a generalized idea; from opinion through the concept to knowledge, and from immediately felt desire to rational will. The soul distinguishes and cognizes what is, but it “spends a lot of time” in mistakes.” eternal life: the soul is eternal and immortal.

Similar information.

"Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer"

Aristotle, who received the nickname Stagirite (384-322 BC) at his place of birth, was born in the family of the court physician of the king of Macedonia and from childhood was friendly with the future king Philip, father of Alexander the Great. At the age of 17, he came to Athens and became first a student, then a philosopher at the Academy of Plato, where he stayed until the death of his teacher in 347 BC.

At the Academy, he immediately stood out among the adherents of Plato with his independence. Despite the contempt of the “academicians” for rhetoric as a superficial and vain science developed by the sophists, Aristotle writes the essay “Topeka”, devoted to the analysis of language, its structures, and introduces some rules. Moreover, Aristotle changes the form of dialogues generally accepted in the Academy, presenting his works in the form treatises. Topeka is followed by Sophistic Refutations, where Aristotle distances himself from the sophists. However, he continues to be fascinated by work with a formalized thought, and he writes treatises "Categories", "On Interpretation" and finally "Analysts", in which he formulates the rules syllogisms. In other words, he creates science logic in the form in which it is taught and studied so far in schools, gymnasiums and universities around the world under the name formal logic.

Aristotle specifically develops, on the one hand, ethical issues, and on the other hand, as a separate discipline, natural philosophy: he writes "Great Ethics" and "Eudsmian Ethics", as well as the treatises "Physics", "On Heaven", "On the Origin and destruction”, “Meteorology”. In addition, he considers "metaphysical" problems: the most general and reliable beginnings and reasons that allow us to understand the essence of knowledge and cognize what is. This familiar name for us "Metaphysics" arose after the publisher of the writings of Aristotle in the 1st century. BC. Andronicus of Rhodes placed the relevant texts

“following physics” (shops and photo); Aristotle himself (in the second chapter of the first book of Metaphysics) considered the corresponding science - the first philosophy - in some sense superior to human capabilities, the most divine and therefore the most precious.

In total, Aristotle owns more than 50 works, which reflect both the natural sciences, and political, and ethical, and historical, and actually philosophical ideas. Aristotle was extremely versatile.

In 343 BC. Aristotle, at the invitation of the Macedonian king Philip, becomes the tutor of his son Alexander, the future conqueror (or unifier) ​​of all Hellas. In 335 he returns to Athens and creates his own school there. Aristotle was not an Athenian citizen, he did not have the right to acquire a house and land in Athens, so he founded a school outside the city at a public gymnasium, which was located near the temple of Apollo of Lyceum and was accordingly called Likey. Over time, the school of Aristotle, a kind of prototype of the university, began to be called that. Both research and teaching work was carried out here, and a variety of areas were studied: natural philosophy (natural science), philology (linguistics, rhetoric), history, etc. At the gymnasium there was a garden, and in it - a covered gallery for walking. The school was named Peripatos(from the Greek yaerschatoo - to walk, walk), and the students of Aristotle - peripatetics, because during the lessons they walked.

The Lyceum, as well as the Academy of Plato, existed until 529. At that time, Christianity had already become the official religion in the territory of the former Hellas, which became part of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. In 529, Emperor Justinian issued a law prohibiting pagans, among other things, from teaching, now they had to either be baptized or be subject to confiscation of property and exile. A decree was sent to Athens banning the teaching of philosophy: “so that no one would teach philosophy, interpret the laws, and set up a gambling den in any of the cities” (John Malala, “Chronography”, book XVIII).

Plato and Aristotle were more fortunate than other philosophers; their concepts, especially Aristotle's, were adopted by Christian theologians, synthesizing them with Christian doctrine. Their explanation of the essence of the world, based on the existence of an extrasensory ideal reality, the single principle of all that exists, which was already called by the ancient philosophers themselves, coincided with the Judeo-Christian tradition. god.

Aristotle's ontology is presented primarily in his works "Physics" and "Metaphysics" (we will talk about the history of this name below).

So, Aristotle recognizes the existence of ideas, agrees with their leading role in the universe, but refuses their separation from things. From the bifurcated Platonic world, he constructs a single world in which ideas and things, essences and phenomena are combined. The world is one and has a single beginning - God, he is also prime mover; but all material things are not reflections or copies of true essences, but the genuine things themselves, having an essence, combined with all other things. Aristotle believes that being has not one, but many meanings. Everything that is not nothing enters the sphere of being, both sensible and intelligible.

The basis of the world, according to Aristotle, is matter(passive start) and form(active principle), which, when combined, form the whole variety of things with the primacy of form. The form is idea, the essence of a thing. The sculptor, creating a statue, initially has in his head its image, or form, then his idea is combined with marble (matter); without an idea marble will never turn into a statue, it will remain a dead stone. Similarly, all things arise and exist.

To illustrate this with an example of the idea horsepower, then it turns out that it is a form that combines with matter according to the laws that are prescribed by a higher idea (horses give birth to new horses); it still remains ideal, the commonality of all horses is explained by the commonality of their form, but not divorced from them, but existing together with each horse. Thus forms exist through material things. Even the form of the verse (i.e. the verse itself) exists and develops through its reproduction in oral or written form. However, there are also pure forms without the admixture of matter.

Bertrand Russell, the famous English philosopher and logician, calls the teachings of Aristotle "the views of Plato diluted with common sense." Aristotle tries to combine the ordinary idea of ​​reality with the philosophical one, without denying the former the ability to start the path to truth; does not deny authenticity to the world of things, thereby raising its status.

Aristotle's ontology seems to be more mundane, but at the same time taking into account the presence of higher entities. The key concept of his teaching is essence. Everything has essence - that kind of being that gives things and the world as a whole authenticity and relevance. Essence is what determines the quality of a thing. Thus, the essence of a table is that it is a table, and not that it is round or square; hence the essence is form.

It is important to understand that the content of the concept of "form" in Aristotle differs from its meaning in our daily practice of word usage; form is essence, idea. Do all entities have a material carrier? No, not all. God is announced form of forms, pure essence without any admixture of materiality. Aristotle clearly distinguished between general and singular concepts. Under single proper names are understood that refer to a specific subject (for example, Socrates); under common - those that are applicable to many objects (horse), but in both cases, the form manifests itself through a combination with matter.

Form is understood as relevance(act) and matter as potentiality. Matter contains only the possibility (potency) of being; unformed, it represents nothing. The life of the Universe is a constant flow of forms into each other, constant change, and everything changes for the better, moves towards more and more perfect, and this movement is connected with time. Time is not created and will not pass, it is a form. The passage in time implies the presence of moments first and Then, but time as the condition of these moments is eternal. Eternal time itself, like perpetual motion, exists thanks to to the beginning, which must be eternal and motionless, for only the immovable can be the absolute cause of motion. From this comes the teaching of Aristotle about the four first causes - formal(form, act), material(matter, potency), driving and target.

The first two have already been said, the second two are connected with a formal reason, since they appeal to the existence of the One God. Everything that is movable can be moved by something else, so in order to explain any movement, it is necessary to come to the beginning. To explain the movement of the universe, one must find an absolute universal principle, which itself would be motionless and could give an impulse to the movement of everything else; it is what it is form of forms, the first form devoid of any potentiality. This pure act(formal reason), or God, who is also the nerve mover and the root cause of all things. The doctrine of the primary impulse, which goes back to Aristotle, is intended to explain the existence of movement in the world, the unity of its laws and the role of movement in the process of world formation.

The target cause is also connected with God, because, setting universal laws, he also sets the universal goal of movement and development. Nothing happens aimlessly, everything exists for a reason. The goal of the seed is the tree, the goal of the tree is the fruit, and so on. One goal gives rise to another, therefore, there is something that is the goal of itself, which sets this chain of goal setting. All world processes rush towards a common goal, towards God; she is the common good. In this way, doctrine of the four principles intended to prove that:

There is a certain essence, eternal, immobile, and separated from sensible things; ...this essence cannot have any size, but it has no parts and is indivisible...

All living beings are aware of God and are attracted to him, for they are attracted to every action by love and admiration. The world, according to Aristotle, has no beginning. The moment when there was chaos did not exist, since this would contradict the thesis about the superiority of actuality (form) over potentiality (matter, material cause). This means that the world has always been the way it is; therefore, by studying it, we can get to the essence of things and the essence of the world as a whole (absolute truth). However, the paths of knowledge are not associated with any irrational insights and revelations. All that Plato promises us through some unprovable recollection, we, according to Aristotle, can achieve by quite earthly rational means: by studying nature (description, observation, analysis) and logic (correct thinking). "All people strive for knowledge" - this is how Aristotle's "Metaphysics" begins.

• See: Shichalip Yu. A. Academy under Aristotle // History of Philosophy. West-Russia-East. Book. 1: Philosophy of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Moscow: Greco-Latin cabinet, 1995, p. 121-125.
• See: History of Philosophy. West-Russia-East. pp. 233-242.
• See: Russell B. A History of Western Philosophy. Book. 1. S. 165.
• Aristotle. Metaphysics. Key. XII. Ch. 7. Quoted from: Anthology of World Philosophy. T. 1. Part 1. S. 422.