...Just individuals : In his book ‘The Republic’, Plato searches for justice within the individual and what makes a person ‘just’. By comparing his sense of what is just at a political level and what is just at a psychological level he suggests three virtues of the individual which will make that particular person just. The virtues of wisdom, courage and moderation are common to both a just and the fictional just city of Kallipolis. This artificial city has the pre-determined virtue of being just – he does this in order to understand what justice is for the individual because Plato thinks that ‘a just man won’t differ at all from a just city in respect to the form of justice; rather he’ll be like the city.’ (Republic 435b) In the just city Plato creates three classes: the producers, the guardians and the rulers. Each of these three classes has a certain virtue it has to display to fulfill the ‘just city’ pre-requisite that Plato has placed upon Kallipolis. The rulers are required to exhibit wisdom so that ‘a whole city established according to nature would be wise because of the smallest class and part in it, namely the governing or ruling one. And to this class, belongs a share of the knowledge that alone among all the other kinds of knowledge is to be called wisdom.’ (428e-429a) The wisdom enjoyed by the rulers would be used to ensure that the city has ‘good judgement and [be] really wise.’ (428d) The guardians (soldiers) of Kallipolis would be educated in order to absorb...
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...When looking at Plato’s Republic there are many similarities to the unique Spartan city-state. Ideas that were similar included, elimination of wealth, the ideas about woman, children, and marriage, and the training for the military soldiers. Another aspect that could have aided Plato’s Republic from the Spartan society was the council of Elders that represented the people. This system would allow the people to become more involved in the government and create a more secure system of checks and balances. The similarities between the Spartan society and the Republic made Plato’s ideal city stronger because it allowed the people to be closer in equality then previous systems of government and because of the acceptance of their social classes. The elimination of wealth in the Spartan society was implemented in Plato’s Republic. Both government ideals about erasing currency, trade, and unnecessary luxuries from the societies, personified people as being more accepting of their social classes. The citizens would not flaunt their riches to others because they did not possess more then they needed to be happy within their social classes. “…they are only fed, and not paid in addition to their food, like other men: and therefore they cannot, if they would, take a journey of pleasure; they have no money to spend on a mistress or any other luxurious fancy, which, as the world goes, is thought to be happiness… (Plat. 241).” The happiness that the people in the Republic will find is aiding...
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...their individual lifetimes. It is necessary to look at several areas of each theory to seek the difference in each. Plato’s thoughts on democracy were that it causes the corruption of people through public opinion and creates rulers who do not actually knowhow to rule but only know how to influence the “beast” which is the Demos, the public. Aristotle’s views about democracy hold that democratic office will cause corruption in the people, if the people choose to redistribute the wealth of the rich they will end up destroying the state and since the people have no knowledge about governance when they elect rulers they will err. The “Republic” of Plato created a country with strict hierarchy. It has a rigorous legal system and a sound education system. All public good, servicers and desires are controlled by the country. It has its own advantages such as the idealized organized national order, and discussion of country’s justice and individual’s justice;, but it also has its shortcomings, for instance, the discordance between spiritual pursuit and basic material demand. However, it is an “ideal model”, meaning that people have to doubt if it is feasible in the real world. By contrast, the “Politics” of Aristotle are both entertaining and valuable. It is entertaining because Aristotle said many interesting statements and it are not that serious like the “Republic” of Plato...
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...Introduction In this era when individuals are questioning the legitimacy and wisdom of unregulated free markets, issues are raised about the most efficient form of economic activity and the best role for government in an economy. These issues have been discussed at many points in the past, and different societies have come to different conclusions regarding political and economic systems. In the United States, and many developed nations around the world, the view has often been that democracy accompanied by capitalism, offers the best, most efficient use of resources and governments guided by those principles assure the best outcomes for their populations. Other countries have adopted very different governing principles. Communist doctrine, as adopted by some nations, endorses the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership of the means of production and property (Communism: The failure of an utopian system, 2008). The civilization is governed by an individual, or individuals, whose function is to ensure the efficiency of the society as a whole. As an ideal, the communist doctrine defines a just city as one that eliminates the need for its citizens to wish to exploit each other. History appears to indicate that in practice, however, the communist vision cannot be fulfilled since “absolute power (which is given to the leader) corrupts absolutely” (Martin, 2009). Human nature does not appear to manage total supremacy well. 49 When...
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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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...A soul is independent of the body: Plato and Feminism Plato’s claim that a person should be judged on the nature of his or her soul and not on their external appearance serves as the foundation for his favorable views on feminism. According to Plato, women should fill the jobs for which they are most talented. He says that talented women should not be withheld from any job within society just because of there sexual organs. In book 5 of the Republic, Plato engages in a conversation with Socrates’ where they discuss the notion of women making potential good guardians and philosopher-rulers of the state and that they should be educated the same way as men. (Cooper 1977, pg. 1087) Although Plato believes that women are not equal to men, his belief that the body and soul are independent of one another helps justify his reasoning that women can have just as much success as men within society. Plato’s concept of a functional society rests on the notion that there are different classes of people and that it is in the best interest of both the people and the state that people perform the functions that coincide best with their natures. According to Plato, there are natural differences between all people and these differences are amongst groups of men as well as groups of women. (Feminist perspectives on reproduction and the family, Stanford)Plato’s belief that women have different natures and not different functions helps support his idea that women and men can share similar roles...
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... Study Questions Be sure to answer every aspect of the question called for by the question. Make sure that you define key concepts and terms and to support your answers. Try to anticipate objections to what you have to say. 1. Explain the “gratitude,” “consent,” and “fair-play” arguments for political obligation sketched in Plato’s Crito. Explain one advantage that these arguments are said to have over “utilitarian” accounts of political obligation. You must define key terms. 2. Socrates agreed to persuade the State to change its views or to accept its commands. Why does Crito think that Socrates is not obligated to accept his sentence? Why does Socrates disagree with Crito? 3. According to Plato in the Republic, what is the relationship between justice and Happiness? 4. Explain and discuss the analogy hat Plato draws in the Republic between the just state and the just individual. 5. Explain the role of the Guardians in Plato’s just community. How are the Guardians, selected and educated? Why are they separated from the rest of the community? 6. Explain Plato’s divided line analogy in Book Six of the Republic. 7. In the Politics, why does Aristotle reject the view that things should be held in common by citizens in a just state? 8. How does Aristotle define human happiness in the just community? 9. According to Aristotle, when can slavery be justified? 10. What does Aristotle mean when he says: “justice is giving each person his due”? 11.What does...
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...The Despicable Content in Hip-Hop Music – Making Plato Turn in his Grave In a city where each individual is able to do as he pleases is a city that will be filled with murder, theft, gluttony, deviance and prejudice. Hip-Hop artists, in their music, constantly incorporate these aspects of life within the content of their lyrics. This content is not only described throughout their songs, but the lifestyle of being able to do such things is constantly being advocated. “F*ck the Police” and “Beat a police out of shape and when I'm finished, bring the yellow tape to tape off the scene of the slaughter” (Rap Genius) are lyrics from the song “F*ck the Police” by the world renown hip hop group, NWA. This is one of many Hip-Hop groups that promote violence through music. Other songs such as “She swallowed It” and “Dopeman” both promote greediness, “lawless desires”, sexism and being promiscuous. If Plato were alive today to bear witness to Hip Hop music he would have despised the content of these songs, as the aforementioned contents of this type of music are all aspects of society in what he calls the “Luxurious City” and the “Purged City” and go against his idea of a just society. Hip-Hop’s first major concept that is addressed time and time again throughout its lyrics is the concept of Greed. Greed is defined as an “intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food.” (Oxford) Many Hip-Hop songs address accumulation of wealth (among other things)...
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...answer these questions, it will examine one of their most notable philosophers, Plato, and see how his opinions concerning music and its effects on behavior on individuals and society at large match up with the beliefs of today. Plato felt that music could have a profound effect on individuals, for good or for ill, and could shape society at large. In Plato's Republic we find Socrates discussing with Glaucon what proper modes of music should be included in the education of the guardians of their ideal state. By this point in the Republic guardians have been defined as individuals who are both fierce to enemies of the state and gentle to its citizens.(Plato) To this end the two men describe at great length the types of music that encourage or accompany all manner of behaviors and proceed to eliminate those that encourage acts unbecoming of such soldiers. For dirges and laments the modes of Mixed Lydian and Hyperlydian were ascribed, for drinking and effeminacy Ionian and Lydian, and those that promote bravery and temperance, namely the modes Dorian and Phrygian.(Plato). Glaucon and Socrates exclude all but the last two as guardians should not behave in any other manner. They go on to...
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...Reflection Paper on Plato’s Republic According to Plato, a perfect society is a society that is organized in a superlatively efficient way, a society, which some scholars consider as an aristocratic government (Phylosophypages, 2001). Plato had it that such a society is made up of the rulers, the soldiers, and the people. In this perfect society, Plato claimed that the guardians of the state are supposed to be people with skills to lead. He was however, incredulous by the fact that this may not be achieved in the future of the perfect society. To this fact he gives an ingenious riposte, such societies will be under the guardianship of the offspring of the current guardians. That means what the future society will be under the guardianship of a not skill but the benefits of inheritance. In such a society, dissatisfaction is possibly the way of the day. Plato maintained that for dissatisfaction an understanding of the nature of the human being is the answer. That is, people are naturally different and they have where they fit in the society (Philosophyprofessor). In such a situation, they will be able to rule the society. A perfect society, I believe, is one that is distinctive by leaders who have the interests of the society at hand. That is, a society under the reign of guardians who are in favor of the members of the society and their needs. A society that is simply having rulers who have inherited power is liable to doom. This is because, in most cases, such kinds of people...
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...Critical Analysis In book V of Plato’s Republic Socrates defends the proposal that women should be eligible to serve as guardians in the city and should equally be entitled to receive equal training and education , necessary for the task, along sides men in the city. Socrates strongly believes that women are inherently capable of performing the same tasks as men, but accepts that they may be inferior in performing these tasks (455c). In his proposal, he states that since similar roles in the city require similar training and education whatever is good for the male should equally also good for the female. The distinction between virtues is non-existent as both sexes have the innate ability to function effectively in the society, when speaking in regards to knowledge and the different parts of the soul i.e ( reason, appetite, spirit). Here Socrates holds that individual should be judjed based on the virtue of their souls, and not mere physical appearance . a mans virtue is not brought about by his sex, virtue remains virtue regardless of a mans gender, socrates holds this postion due to this the best state must provide women the opportunity to govern. Socrates holds that role playing in this new just city should be equal in order for there to be unity and peaceful co-existence amongst the citizens. If a woman possesses the qualifications of being a guardian in the city, she must be educated in the same respect as other guardians, irrespective of her gender. Even though...
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...In The Republic, he attempted to outline the guidelines for a just society. Plato's Utopia appears, at first to be an excellent idea. However, his perfect society is less than the ideal, even from the contemporary perspective. Aristotle, through "The Politic” attempted to understand the nature of man in a "realistic" view. What Plato called ideal, Aristotle called unfeasible. He tries to make rationale judgment in the management of his ideal of a society, through understanding human behavior and logic, making it what he would deem a more realistic society. As humans we tend to care more about our individual needs prior to the needs of others. The values that we express reflect our own self-interest, where the good of the individual was the main concern and was not the same as that of the State. Plato saw this to be determinate to society based on the awareness that Guardians, such as civil leaders and assistants would care more about their individual desires, and their needs; disregarding anything else to fulfill their pleasures. "On this basis they will then be free from faction, to the extent tat any rate that human beings divide into factions over the possession of money, children, and relatives" (Stephanos 464e). Plato recognized this to create factions among individuals, where these divisions' main concerns were to themselves, their family, and to others that were close to them. Families create that invisible line that disassociates people, which was one of Plato's main fears...
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...subordination of the individuals to their leaders. In the scene all of the individuals listen to Big Brother and by saluting and chanting they show how they have submitted themselves to total control by the higher ups. This can be equated to Plato’s vision in The Republic that people fall into one of three classes. He felt that people were Philosopher-Kings, Workers, or Guardians. This movie is a perfect depiction of what Plato’s vision could have looked like. Plato felt that one was put into a social group by their own development of their rational intellects. Basically it was developed around ones wisdom. The wisest would be the philosopher-Kings, then workers, then guardians. Education would play a major role in deciding who would be in what class. Obviously the most educated would be most likely to be at the top of the social hierarchy. Plato makes it seem that a person cannot really develop abilities later on in life that weren’t apparent in the beginning. He believes that a person can move freely within their own class in society but they cannot really move up to another class. The only way to move up would be if one were educated and had the possibility of becoming a Philosopher-King. If a person did develop abilities as they grew older in Plato’s society, this would cause mass unrest. This person being able to move from one class to another would make others wonder if it were possible for themselves. This would eventually throw his ideal society into chaos. If someone went against...
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...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 educate these Guardians to be...
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...Plato believed that the stories warriors of the state were told shaped their souls. In Book II of Plato’s Republic, he says, “Then shall we so easily let the children hear just any tales fashioned by just anyone and take into their souls opinions for the most part opposite to those we’ll suppose they must have when they are grown up?” (377b) Plato is explaining how he believes the arts that the Guardians will be taught should be modified and censored in order for the Guardians, warriors, of the state to perform their duties morally. In 376, he compares the Guardian’s training to that of a dog, explaining how the dog is trained to protect the family and be aggressive to any outsider who seems to be a threat. Plato says, like the dog, they should be trained with good morals through the stories they are taught. Therefore, the stories of the poets, such as Homer and Hesiod, should be modified and censored so they are no longer, “bad representation[s] of what gods and heroes are like, just as a painter who paints something that doesn’t resemble the things whose likeness he wished to paint” (377e). He believes the poet’s stories should not be told to the young Guardians, for they would hear the bad acts that the gods had committed, which they are never to learn because...
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