In the book “The Republic,” by Plato, Socrates constructs a utopia of a pure aristocracy to channel his visions of what he constitutes to be a just city. Socrates’ ideal of justice, is of a virtue that can be developed out of reason and knowledge, and when tuned correctly can be the justified way of governing a city. Fundamentally, the rulers are driven by specific appetites and virtues, that develop a cycle of ruling between the stages of aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and eventually a tyranny. This structural chain, is significant in demonstrating the center of Plato’s argument, this it is always better to be just than unjust.
Socrates’ main backbone to this fictional city is the importance of education. In order too be truly just, you are to pursue what you are capable of doing. If you seek knowledge for ones self, you can distinct between good and evil. “One's nature is what is called the daimon- one's inner self that seeks to be fulfilled. Naturally the good is desired, because it fulfills one's nature, and Socrates states the pursuit of happiness is the ‘natural aim of life’(Davis).”
Socrates explains that the soul is broken into three elements: appetite, courage, and reason. What you love is where you will be placed in the organization of society. Appetite will breed the reproducers, courage the military, and justice the ‘Philosopher Kings’. Education would be open to all, including females, which was found to be quite radical at this time, for females status was that of a man’s ownership. In Socrates the ‘Philosopher Kings’ would rule, because they are only seeking knowledge, and ruling would not be to obsess power, but to balance good of all men.
Socrates lived during a democratic gove...
... middle of paper ...
...cted. There are many criticisms of Socrates‘ society, mainly on the totalitarian approach of leaving the power into the one group of people. Another criticism of his ideal society was his high standard for mathematics and order, that could also be confused with a communistic approach to society. But all and all, I believe Socrates was a very optimistic person in his conquest to argue the good nature of people, when given the correct tools or education.
Works Cited
-Davis, J. "Socrates: the Search of Justice." Rich East. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. .
-Dunkle, Roger. "Plato's Republic." AbleMedia LLC - A Knowledge Company. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. .
-Goldstein, Yael, Jesse Hawkes, and Lawrence Gaccon. Gladney. The Republic: Plato. New York: Spark Pub., 2002. Print.
Socrates now introduces a new method with use of imagery. He mentions a city and all that's within a city, to be applied in reference to the human soul. There are three cities he speaks of the city of necessity, the city of luxury, and the feverish city. The city of necessity only includes items, such as food, shelter and clothing, needed for survival as well as laborers to provide them. Soon, the laborers begin to expand necessity to comfort, thus forming th...
Plato. “Republic VII.” Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy From Thales to Aristotle. Comp. and ed. S. Marc cohen, Patricia Curd, and C.D. C. Reeve. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1995. 370-374
Plato. "Phaedrus." The Works of Plato. Trans. B. Jowett. New York: The Dial Press, n.d.
Plato, having defined his perfect society, now seeks to compare contemporary 'imperfect' societies with his ideal standard. He initially criticises the imperfect society as a whole, before leading onto a criticism of any given individual within that society; the imperfect character. He has already dealt with the Oligarchic society and character and now moves onto Democracy and the democratic character.
Truth be told there is no real justice in Socrates? ?just city?. Servitude of those within his city is crucial to its function. His citizens are, in every aspect, slaves to the functionality of a city that is not truly their own. True justice can not be achieved through slavery and servitude, that which appears to be justice (and all for the sake of appearances) is all that is achieved. Within Socrates? city there is no room for identity, individuality, equality, or freedom, which are the foundations justice was built upon. These foundations are upheld within a proper democracy. In fact, the closest one can experience justice, on a political level, is through democracy.
Plato. The Republic of Plato, 2nd edition. Translated by Allan Bloom. New York: Basic Books, 1991.
In Plato’s republic, a philosophical account on the kallipolis (the beautiful city) is built on the perspective of Socrates and his discussion between his companions. In the republic, the city in which ones live in depends on the soul and the character of the city one lives in. In this paper the character of human nature and politics will be discussed in how a city is ought to be by the influence of human nature and politics. Firstly, the influence of human nature on politics will be looked at, for example according to Plato on behalf of Socrates; he claims that a just soul creates a just society, where it is human nature to be just, that influences in creating a just political system. Secondly, politics influences human nature, where in the republic when the discussion of guardians starts out between Socrates and the companions, there is political thought discussed between them, where Socrates wants to create the perfect guardians through specific training in all types of skills instituted to creating a perfect protector. Lastly, human nature is human soul if the soul is just the city is going to be just. It is the human nature which has created communities without any political thought put in place; it political thought that forms rules and laws. Thus, human nature is part of the individual understanding of its society that creates an understanding of how one ought to be, which in turns creates rules and laws that is essentially viewed as politics.
Marra, James L., Zelnick, Stephen C., and Mattson, Mark T. IH 51 Source Book: Plato, The Republic, pp. 77-106. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, Iowa, 1998.
Traditionally justice was regarded as one of the cardinal virtues; to avoid injustices and to deal equitable with both equals and inferiors was seen as what was expected of the good man, but it was not clear how the benefits of justice were to be reaped. Socrates wants to persuade from his audience to adopt a way of estimating the benefits of this virtue. From his perspective, it is the quality of the mind, the psyche organization which enables a person to act virtuously. It is this opposition between the two types of assessment of virtue that is the major theme explored in Socrates’ examination of the various positions towards justice. Thus the role of Book I is to turn the minds from the customary evaluation of justice towards this new vision. Through the discourse between Cephalus, Polemarchus and Thrasymachus, Socaretes’ thoughts and actions towards justice are exemplified. Though their views are different and even opposed, the way all three discourse about justice and power reveal that they assume the relation between the two to be separate. They find it impossible to understand the idea that being just is an exercise of power and that true human power must include the ability to act justly. And that is exactly what Socrates seeks to refute.
Brown, Eric. "Plato's Ethics and Politics in The Republic." Stanford University. Stanford University, 01 Apr. 2003. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
"Plato." Literature of the Western World, Volume 1. 5th edition by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001. 1197-1219.
The second book of the Republic shows the repressive quality of Plato’s society. Plato, talking through Socrates, wants
One of Plato's goals in The Republic, as he defines the Just City, is to illustrate what kind of leader and government could bring about the downfall of his ideal society. To prevent pride and greed in leaders would ensure that they would not compromise the well being of the city to obtain monetary gains or to obtain more power. If this state of affairs becomes firmly rooted in the society, the fall to Tyranny begins. This is the most dangerous state that the City become on i...
“Book V.” The Republic of Plato. Trans. Bloom, Allan. New York: Basic Books Inc, 1968. 153-154.
The Republic is an examination of the "Good Life"; the harmony reached by applying pure reason and justice. The ideas and arguments of Plato center on the social settings of an ideal republic - those that lead each person to the most perfect possible life for him. Socrates was Plato's early mentor in real life. As a tribute to his teacher, Plato uses Socrates in several of his works and dialogues. Socrates moderates the discussion throughout, as Plato's mouthpiece. Through Socrates' powerful and brilliant questions and explanations on a series of topics, the reader comes to understand what Plato's model society would look like. The basic plan of the Republic is to draw an analogy between the operation of society as a whole and the life of any individual human being. In this paper I will present Plato’s argument that the soul is divides into three parts. I will examine what these parts are, and I will also explain his arguments behind this conclusion. Finally, I will describe how Plato relates the three parts of the soul to a city the different social classes within that city.