"Society originates because the individual is not self-sufficient and no two of us is born exactly alike." How do those two assumptions/principles lead to Plato's ideal society being ruled by philosophers? Are you convinced by his claim that Philosophers should rule?
A good starting point will be to consider what Plato means by these two assumptions. The first assumption states that the individual not self-sufficient (369b). This is the basis by which cities form; communities of human beings are created because every man has needs that he cannot cater for by his own means, which ensues in the association of the needy. Plato believes that humans are social beings, or natural cooperators.
The second assumption states that "no two are born exactly alike (370a-b)." This explains why the cities formed are heterogeneous rather than homogeneous. Each person has a different aptitude which ascribes each to a different occupation, and as they deploy their natural talents for the good of their society and for themselves, an inegalitarian society forms. From the utilitarian aspect, it is more efficient for the society to employ differentiation of labour through each person's specialisation. Plato claims that this specialisation is justified by one's understanding of oneself. The self is able to only be itself and none other; it is impossible to play multiple roles.
Just as a shoe-maker should only concentrate his efforts in making shoes and a ship-builder in building ships, there has to be a unique and specialised occupation which requires a person or a group of persons to rule the city and concentrate his efforts on nothing else. These two principles together explain the reason this occupation should be created.
However, the...
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...he baggage of worldly desires. However, before we hastily agree with Plato, we must examine the practicality of all his assumptions and proposals which, under scrutiny, seem to be less than feasible.
References
Annas, J., 1981. An Introduction to Plato's Republic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Coleman, J, 2000. A History of Political Thought From Ancient Greece to Early Christianity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Inc.
Cross, R.C. nd Woozley, A.D., 1964. Plato's Republic: A Philosophical Commentary. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Pappas, Nickolas, 1995. Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Plato and the Republic. London: Routledge
Rowe, Christopher, 1995. `Plato; the search for an ideal form of state', Plato to Nato, studies in Political Thought. London: Penguin Books.
Reeve, C.D.C., 1988. Philosopher-Kings, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
In Plato’s reasoning he explains that everyone is born with innate qualifications that make them more fit than others for a certain occupation. He suggests that in this way each person’s function will be completed thoroughly. The same theory applies when deciding how the city with be ruled. Only people who possess superior traits will have the power to rule. These people will pertain to the highest ranking class of the state called the guardian class.
As in other areas of “The Republic,” Plato carefully outlines the delineations which form the basis for the types of rulers to be installed in the state. “Rulers” (legislative and udicial), “Auxiliaries” (executive), and “Craftsmen” (productive and fficacious) are the titles of the categories and are based, not on birth or wealth, but on natural capacities and aspirations. Plato was convinced that children born into any class should still be moved up or down based on their merits regardless of their connections or heritage. He believes the citizens of the State will support and benefit from such a system and presents the idea in the form of an allegorical myth.
Plato. The Republic. Trans. Sterling, Richard and Scott, William. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1985.
Philosophy can be defined as the highest level of clarity and understanding human thought can aspire to. In some ways, Plato’s Republic can be compared to George Orwell’s book 1984. It may seem strange to compare the two, however they are quite similar. Plato writes from the Western philosophy, while Orwell tells of a totalitarian society where all free thought is banned. However, the two versions of government, one being a utopian government, and the other being horrific, contain certain connections that will be made clear over the course of this paper.
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 believed that change should start with government and then seep into the person. The government is more powerful and thus the people would obey the laws of the government. The problem with this thought is that governments do not last forever and societies are never stable. Once the government topples, the law is gone and the citizens have free reign to do whatever they would like. When the cat is gone, the mice come out to play. When the change is made within the person, the change lives m...
In Plato' "ideal" model of a city; he chose an aristocratic form of government, describing it as the rule of the most strong, wise and intelligent. In his system people are robbed of their basic rights to live as a primitive human being. People had no right to choose what they want to be after they are born; their occupation is chosen for them by the "philosopher king." He chooses one's job after assessing one's talent in a variety of areas. ...
Throughout The Republic, Plato constructs an ideal community in the hopes of ultimately finding a just man. However, because Plato’s tenets focus almost exclusively on the community as a whole rather than the individual, he neglects to find a just man. For example, through Socrates, Plato comments, “our aim in founding the
In Book V of Plato’s Republic, he details his view of an idealistic society. His main arguments include a platonic view of marriage which is comparable to animal breeding. He also shows a strong belief in communal family. In addition, he explains why he believes that philosophers should rule.
Plato. Republic. Trans. G.M.A. Grube and C.D.C. Reeve. Plato Complete Works. Ed. John M. Cooper. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1997.
Plato goes into detail about what is known as the five regimes. The five regimes can apply to both individuals and societies. The regimes go from orderliness to chaos in this order: aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny. On an individual level, a tyrant is someone who essentially grants themselves complete freedom to chase pleasure in abundance, no matter what measures they take to achieve it. This could be a pursuit of money, sex, power, or any other earthly possession that may fill the hole in a man’s heart. And though tyranny can function on a state level, “the nature of pleasure and the principle of tyranny are further analyzed in the individual man” (Plato, location 80). On the other hand, an aristocratic individual is a philosopher, someone with extensive knowledge and selflessness. They are in full control of their desires and they question everything. Aristocrats realize that money, power, and fame are just shadows of the Good, and in order to find true happiness, one must look internally, rather than externally. They know that those ungodly wants just cover up for what they are truly searching for. These individuals with these traits can translate into societies with the same traits, an aristocracy being a society run by a philosopher. An
One example is religious beliefs. Many religious people believe that if people do not agree with their beliefs and their religion, then they are not worthy of them. Another is that minds are shackled to believe that money is the way of life. If a person does not have money, then they are not good enough for the ones who do. The minds of today are shackled by so many categories that if people don't believe in something someone else does, then they are an outcast. What Plato was trying to convince the reader is that everything a person may see or know, may not be what they think is is. It's all about perception and how someone chooses to look at the world.
Plato’s thoughts about power and reason are much different than Aristotle. Plato looked at the meaning of justice and different types of governments. Plato looked into four different types of governments
Plato supposed that people exhibit the same features, and perform the same functions that city-states do. Applying the analogy in this way presumes that each of us, like the state, is a complex whole made up of several distinct parts, each of which has its own proper role. But Plato argued that there is evidence of this in our everyday experience. When faced with choices about what to do, we commonly feel the tug of many different impulses drawing us in different directions all at once, and the most natural explanation for this situ...
... state. In Plato's argument for the ideal state, the fundamental bonds which hold together his republic are unity and harmony. He explains how the just state is held together by the unity of each individual in each social class, and harmony between all three social classes. Plato explains how the ideal state must have citizens who are united in their goals. It is not the happiness of the individual but rather the happiness of the whole which keeps the just state ideal. At the same time, Plato argues that there must be harmony within the individual souls which make up the state. The lack of unity and harmony leads to despotism through anarchy which eventually arises within a democracy. Plato makes a clear argument, through The Republic, that without the unity and harmony of the individual and the state there can be no order and therefore there can be no ideal state.