...Daniel Vicinanzo Plato’s Republic: A Guide to Education The Republic of Plato is a dialogue in which Plato’s teacher Socrates outlines his ideal city. The dialogue first sets out to answer one very important question: what is justice? The story begins with Socrates in the presence of several people, both friends and enemies, to whom he poses the question, ‘What is justice?’ Socrates then goes on to strike down every theory proposed and offers no definition of his own. This brings about the discussion of the ideal city. During this discussion, it is decided that the citizens of the city will be divided into three classes: the auxiliaries, the producers, and the guardians. The guardians are to be a class of citizens above the rest. They will be the defenders and rulers of the city and, therefore, must be the best of the best. This essay will summarize the education that Socrates advocates for the guardians of his city, and then discuss analyze the education of the guardian class in relation to that of Socrates’ own Socratic method to see if Socrates truly believes in the city he is creating. The first mention of the guardians’ education comes after Glaucon wishes to make the city far more luxurious, as he has begun having too much fun making up his own city and cannot imagine his ideal city as austere as the one Socrates has been describing. When Socrates begins adding some of these...
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...society, or a democratic society. In Plato's Republic, Socrates and his interlocutors discuss how to educate children. Is it right to keep them censored, or should they be allowed to study all and every subject(s). The education of children is very important because they are the future of the society. They are the possible rulers, philosophers, guardians, and so on. So, it is important to shape them wisely. This concept is no different than what shapes our society today. It is well known that one of the many qualifications of a good leader is that who can improve the country's educational system. Why?, because the youth are our future leaders and teachers. A parent would rather pick a private school over a public school, and a job interviewer would look more highly on a private school graduate over a public school graduate. You can say that education is important in today's society, as well as Plato's society. The youth can be educated in many different ways, either by keeping them in the shadows, or exposing them to the light. this means that the future of the society can be either ruled by a person who is oblivious to the society's past, or by a person who has been fully exposed to the society's history. If a person is censored from education, then they love their life as a perfect world. this is best described when Socrates says that a Guardian should be a person who "must be gentle to their own people and harsh to the enemy." (375b-c). Socrates wants to...
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...In Plato’s Republic, Socrates is describing the ideal system under which people ought to be educated under to have balance between the three tiers of the soul, with those being the spirited, appetitive, and rational parts. He goes into detail about how some aspects of education must be censored as to not skew people’s spirits out of balance. To critique Plato’s proposals for censorship, first we must outline his plans for education and analyze his proposal for education in his emulation of the “perfect city”. The basic guidelines Socrates provides for governing the education of children and adults are mostly all encompassing. Such rules include the redacted mythology and epics, studying mathematics, geometry, philosophical literature, partaking...
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...Plato was born around the year 428 BCE in Athens. His father died while Plato was young, and his mother remarried to Pyrilampes, in whose house Plato would grow up. Plato's birth name was Aristocles, and he gained the nickname Platon, meaning broad, because of his broad build. His family had a history in politics, and Plato was destined to a life in keeping with this history. He studied at a gymnasium owned by Dionysios, and at the palaistra of Ariston of Argos. When he was young he studied music and poetry. According to Aristotle, Plato developed the foundations of his metaphysics and epistemology by studying the doctrines of Cratylus, and the work of Pythagoras and Parmenides. When Plato met Socrates, however, he had met his definitive teacher. As Socrates' disciple, Plato adopted his philosophy and style of debate, and directed his studies toward the question of virtue and the formation of a noble character. Plato was in military service from 409 BC to 404 BC. When the Peloponnesian War ended in 404 BC he joined the Athenian oligarchy of the Thirty Tyrants, one of whose leaders was his uncle Charmides. The violence of this group quickly prompted Plato to leave it. In 403 BC, when democracy was restored in Athens, he had hopes of pursuing his original goal of a political career. Socrates' execution in 399 BC had a profound effect on Plato, and was perhaps the final event that would convince him to leave Athenian politics forever. Plato left Attica along with other friends...
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...From 471- 322 BC, Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato made a huge impact on Greece and the whole world. These men were some of the most influential and stellar philosophers of their time. With their discoveries and teachings, they have shaped the basis of Western Philosophy. Socrates was the first of the bunch, but indeed he passed along his knowledge and beliefs to his student, Plato. When Socrates died, Plato began to spread his teaching to his students. While teaching, he met a young determined man with the name of Aristotle; who also shared the passion and the thirst to discover to capacity and spread knowledge. In 470 BC, the expansion of knowledge in Western philosophy started with Socrates. Socrates wasn’t the son of a noble family,...
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...Virtues also mold the individual outlook on life, and give them the moral’s to do what is right. In The Republic, Plato divides the city into three classes: gold, silver, as well as bronze and iron souls. Each class is designated to posses a specific virtue. He believes that wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice combine together to form The Republic. However, Plato’s four virtues individually do not necessarily produce a utopian society. A combination of the four in each citizen is imperative in producing the ideal society. In Plato’s search for the perfect “republic”, he decides that the basis of the city will be on four virtues. The first of them is wisdom. Plato defines wisdom, in Greek terms “Sophia”, as knowledge of the city as a whole. Of the three classes, the gold souls posses the virtue of wisdom. The gold souls are the only class whose knowledge goes beyond the mere facts to the level of true wisdom. “…This class, which properly has a share in that knowledge which alone among the various kinds of knowledge ought to be called wisdom, has, as it seems, the fewest members by nature” (429a). The second virtue that Plato defines is courage, which in Greek terms is “Andreia”. Courage is the preservation of the opinion produced by law, through education about what things are terrible, and what things are good. Courage can be found in the silver souls. Plato uses the example that when dyers want to dye wool, they start with the background. They need the right kind of white...
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...Research Paper on a Philosopher Plato Valerie Jenter Centenary College April 24, 2012 Abstract Many Philosophers made a difference in society but Plato is perhaps recognized as the most famous. His writings have had a profound effect on people, politics, and the philosophy throughout the centuries. He was a public figure and he made major contributions to society. Plato helped to lay the philosophical foundations of modern culture through his ideas and writings. One of the most philosophical thinkers of Western civilization, Plato is the only author from ancient Greek times whose writings survive intact. His collection consists of thirty-five dialogues and thirteen letters, though the authorship of some is contested. Plato was born in Athens, into a prosperous aristocratic family. His Father’s name was Ariston and his Mother’s name was Perictione. His relative named Glaucon was one of the best-known members of the Athenian nobility. Plato's name was Aristocles, his nickname Plato originates from wrestling circles, Plato means broad, and it probably refers either to his physical appearance or his wrestling style. “Plato is, by any reckoning, one of the most dazzling writers in the Western literary tradition and one of the most penetrating, wide-ranging, and influential authors in the history of philosophy,” (Kraut, 2009). Plato was born during the Golden Age of Athens’s...
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...PLATO’S INFINATE Plato’s Infinite Wisdom Student Paper February 23rd, 2008 The University of Montana-Western Plato’s Infinite Wisdom Plato was, and remains a very influential and relevant Greek philosopher that lived between (427 and 347 B.C.E) (Stevenson and Haberman, 2004). Plato was extremely diverse and accomplished in his lifetime achievements. His rise to fame began as a student of the great philosopher Socrates, but progressed into many other dignified positions. He is accredited with teaching another great philosopher and scientist named Aristotle, who later taught Alexander the Great. Plato also founded the worlds’ first formal university in Athens called The Academy (Brickhouse, 2006). Plato’s philosophical research was far deeper than anything previously explored and transcends 2500 years without losing modern applicability. His vast writings began with the study of human nature, ethics, morals, knowledge, and progressed into complex theories on reality, dualism, government and the human soul. The most famous of these dialogues, The Republic, but later works like The Laws and The Statesman are equally impressive. Plato believed education, knowledge, and truth were essential for society to become moral and just. The outcome of successful societies was stability and peace. Personally, Plato believed in a spiritual gain given to those who succeed, but his theories were not based on personal beliefs like the widely disputed and ever-changing...
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...Unlike his mentor Socrates, Plato was both a writer and a teacher. His writings are in the form of dialogues, with Socrates as the principal speaker. In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato described symbolically the predicament in which mankind finds itself and proposes a way of salvation. The Allegory presents, in brief form, most of Plato's major philosophical assumptions: his belief that the world revealed by our senses is not the real world but only a poor copy of it, and that the real world can only be apprehended intellectually; his idea that knowledge cannot be transferred from teacher to student, but rather that education consists in directing student's minds toward what is real and important and allowing them to apprehend it for themselves; his faith that the universe ultimately is good; his conviction that enlightened individuals have an obligation to the rest of society, and that a good society must be one in which the truly wise (the Philosopher-King) are the rulers. The Allegory of the Cave can be found in Book VII of Plato's best-known work, The Republic, a lengthy dialogue on the nature of justice. Often regarded as a utopian blueprint, The Republic is dedicated toward a discussion of the education required of a Philosopher-King. The following selection is taken from the Benjamin Jowett translation (Vintage, 1991), pp. 253-261. As you read the Allegory, try to make a mental picture of the cave Plato describes. Better yet, why not draw a picture of it and refer...
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...October 2013 The Magnificent Philosopher King Education is a vital component of contemporary society in the pursuit of peace, harmony and ultimately justice. One must be wise enough to understand the principles of justice. In the Republic, Plato portrays the importance of education for being just through his justification for what the Philosopher King knows. The definition of justice is based on the people’s education, experience, and going through the process of shaping a just soul. In order to reach justice, one must experience and learn from the best moments of life to really appreciate it as well as have the wisdom to recognize it. The Philosopher Kings exemplify all of these traits and have an understanding of the world as it is, giving them the strongest foundation for understanding justice. Plato argues for the importance of education for justice in the Republic, emphasizing education in the forms for reaching justice; justice is the harmony between the three parts of the soul. As a result of having a harmonious balance between the three parts of the soul, one is able to achieve Plato’s view of justice. The main focus of education, from an individual’s perspective, is to gain knowledge. Reason is the most important aspect needed for a person who is seeking to understand justice and know how to achieve it. Plato points out that every soul contains three parts: appetite, spirit, and reason. In addition, Plato states that there are three classifications of people...
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...Plato and Play Taking Education Seriously in Ancient Greece Armand D’Angour In this article, the author outlines Plato’s notions of play in ancient Greek culture and shows how the philosopher’s views on play can be best appreciated against the background of shifting meanings and evaluations of play in classical Greece. Play—in various forms such as word play, ritual, and music—proved central to the development of Hellenic culture. In ancient Greece, play (paidia) was intrinsically associated with children (paides). However, both children and play assumed a greater cultural significance as literacy—and, consequently, education (paideia)— developed during the classical age of 500–300 BCE. Uniquely among ancient thinkers, Plato recognized that play influenced the way children developed as adults, and he proposed to regulate play for social ends. But Plato’s attitude toward play was ambivalent. Inclined to consider play an unworthy activity for adults, he seemed to suggest that intellectual play in some form, as demonstrated in the dialectical banter of Socrates, could provide a stimulus to understanding. Key words: education in ancient Greece; play and child development; play and education; play and Plato; Socratic dialectic Among various plausible misquotations that surface from time to time is a piece of popular wisdom attributed to Plato to the effect that “you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” It was quoted by Alaska Governor...
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...born in a small town called Stageira, Chalcidice around the fourth century in northern Greece. Aristotle was born to Nicomachus who was a very well know physician in his era. Aristotle’s father Nicomachus personally attended to King Amyntas of Macedon. During this time Aristotle became suited to be trained and educated like a member of Aristocracy through the will of his father due to their stature in the society, being they were middle class individuals. There is no clear and reliable source for information on Aristotle’s childhood all the way up until the age of seventeen or so. Nor were any information on siblings or childhood friends for that matter. In 402 BC, at the age of eighteen years, Aristotle went to Athens to further his education at Plato’s Academy. Aristotle head spent twenty years of his life at Plato’s Academy studying various things such as zoology, biology,...
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...powerful influence on society and affects how we dress, act, and think. In The Republic by Plato, Socrates argues against Thrasymachus’ idea that "Obedience to the interest of the stronger" will lead to a successful tyranny. Socrates believes that "justice is the excellence of the soul,” and that benevolence is the key to a successful state. Yet humans embody not only Apollo, the god of the sun, of dreams, and of reason but also, Dionysus, the god of wine, ecstasy and intoxication, both sons of Zeus. In Plutarch’s Moralia, it is suggested that the state allows society to live for their pleasure so that the state gains the power to control them. We are fighting a constant battle between the rational principle of the soul and the irrational or appetite. The state is determined to keep feeding the Dionysus in each of us in order to continue to control us. The music industry is a tool that is used to influence the youth to indulge in their desires through songs about violence, sex, misogyny and drug use. In the Socratic dialogue in The Republic, Adeimantus, son of Ariston of Athens, proposes the idea that “any musical innovation is full of danger to the whole State, and ought to be prohibited. Plato informs us that “when modes of music change, of the state always changes with them.” Adeimantus is known for his concern for the education system and the affect it has on our youth. “Education in music for the soul and gymnastics for the body,”...
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...PHI 2301-01 Fall 2015 PHI 2301-01 Fall 2015 Atar Derj Critically evaluate Plato’s defense of women’s political equality with men. Atar Derj Critically evaluate Plato’s defense of women’s political equality with men. Women’s Political Equality with Men Women’s Political Equality with Men Plato’s defence of women’s political equality with men What is “Equality”? Equality is very hard to define since people disagree on its real meaning, as stated Dworkin: “People who praise it or disparage it disagree about what they are praising or disparaging” (2000, p. 2). So before going into the argumentation about women’s political equality with men, the term equality should be defined first to avoid any misconception. Equality means the correspondence between persons or circumstances which have the same qualities in at least one feature. However, equality is different from the term similarity that refers to the approximate correspondence. Thus, when they say men are equal, it doesn’t mean that they are identical or the same, but it rather mean that they are similar in some points. When a judgment of equality is made, it is more about...
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...needed. According to Socrates, “there is nothing more closely akin to wisdom than truth. So the same nature cannot love wisdom and falsehood” (Document 3). The problem with democracy is that it denies truth in order to justify its means. Referring back to the example of Socrates, who was failed under the system of democracy, it is seen that although democracy justified his punishment because he was seen as treat to their democracy. Athenians under this system overlooked the basic human freedoms. In truth, although Socrates’ death was justifiable under democracy, he did nothing wrong morally or ethically by voicing his opinion to the young minds. Athenian democracy also had several weaknesses that led to Athena’s decline. In the view of Plato, the...
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