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Plato applying happiness and virtue today
Plato words about leadership
A review of plato's concept of education
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Plato asserts that while the guardians might be the happiest people within the society, it is not their intention to create a situation whereby only a few people are happy but rather a state where the happiness of the entire community is important. The ultimate goals of the republic is to have the entire community or all its inhabitants being happy and not part of the community. While the guardians might have the power in controlling certain elements within the city, this cannot guarantee them absolute happiness. Within the context of this passage holding to the ideal forms of the society can be a sure way of securing happiness for the individuals and the society as well. This means that the individuals must consider the welfare of the society …show more content…
Plato describes the capability for each person to dress in expensive apparels and this could not make them be the guardians. Hence happiness goes beyond the limits of the common elements which are seen in the society. “The citizens, just like the guardians, have a fundamental role to play in protecting their state and they too deserve a level of happiness equal to that of the rulers” . Within the context of the passage, Plato seeks to explain the relationship between happiness and the earth which people accumulate as a result of holding leadership positions within the state. The descriptions of the happiness accorded to the leaders is compared to construction of statue which has to have some relationship with reality and cannot have eyes being pink because pink is beautiful. It has to be black to be similar to the other eyes within the …show more content…
This will be gained through education. This would ensure that the guardians do not become the destroyers of the city but rather the saviors. The moderation between these virtues becomes the element which creates happiness among the residents of the city. The presence of these virtues within the city would ensure the city is protects and eliminate the need for laws which are mainly oppressive and contradictory. Individuals within the city mist be able to live up to the expectations and standards established for the city in seeking to make the society
He is convinced that if an individual who is a cobbler or a farmer “goes to the bad and pretends to be what he is not” (The Republic of Plato X:III-420) the entire well-being of the state is not in jeopardy. But such is most certainly not the case if the person is a Guardian or Auxiliary. There is no point, Socrates says, in producing a happiness like that of a “party of peasants feasting at a fair.” Such a person who would aspire to such a community “has something in mind other than a civic community” (The Republic of Plato X:III-421). Of course, Glaucon agrees.
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...
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...
From pursuing pleasure to avoiding pain, life seems to ultimately be about achieving happiness. However, how to define and obtain happiness has and continues to be a widely debated issue. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle gives his view on happiness. Aristotle focuses particularly on how reason, our rational capacity, should help us recognize and pursue what will lead to happiness and the good life.';(Cooley and Powell, 459) He refers to the soul as a part of the human body and what its role is in pursuing true happiness and reaching a desirable end. Aristotle defines good'; as that which everything aims.(Aristotle, 459) Humans have an insatiable need to achieve goodness and eventual happiness. Sometimes the end that people aim for is the activity they perform, and other times the end is something we attempt to achieve by means of that activity. Aristotle claims that there must be some end since everything cannot be means to something else.(Aristotle, 460) In this case, there would be nothing we would try to ultimately achieve and everything would be pointless. An ultimate end exists so that what we aim to achieve is attainable. Some people believe that the highest end is material and obvious (when a person is sick they seek health, and a poor person searches for wealth).
The human capacity for positive and negative feelings is shaped by the forces of evolution. These forces have also been involved in the way philosophers viewed their philosophical perspectives on life, death, the world and most importantly on this paper, the importance of the appearance of happiness from the reality of happiness comparing Socrates views on others. This paper will also attempt to identify the more pertinent innate qualities of the human brain with happiness, Socrates views on the appearance/reality of happiness and how we might live our own life according to Socrates defense and Euthyphro’s failures from Captain Picard’s “tapestry”.
Ashley Janowiak Human Happiness and External goods Happiness is a goal every human pursues, yet the ways in which it is pursued differs amongst people. Some believe prosperity will bring them happiness. Others believe material, power, fame, success, or love will bring them happiness. No matter what one believes is the right way to conquer this goal, every person will take their own unique path in an attempt to find it. But what is happiness like?
In his several dialogues, Plato contends the importance of the four virtues: wisdom, courage, self-control, and justice. In The Republic, he describes a top-down hierarchy that correlates to the aspects of one’s soul. Wisdom, courage, and temperance preside control over the rational, spirited, and appetitive aspects of the soul. It is when one maintains a balance between these aspects of his soul that he attains peace within himself: “...And when he has bound together the three principles within him...he proceeds to act...always thinking and calling that which preserves and cooperates with this harmonious condition (Plato 443c).” Wisdom and knowledge consistently remain at the top of his view of happiness. During the apology, Plato is asked what punishment is best suited for him. He sarcastically answers, “to be fed...(It is) much more suitable than for any one who has won a v...
Contrastingly, Plato's "Republic" gives little or no consideration to the individuals interests. Plato believes that the republic trumps all, and basic human interests such as the desire to improve one's station in life is disregarded as unnatural or even the desire not to be lied to are not even worthy of consideration.
Plato states being a just person ultimately lead to being a happy person. By giving the definition of what it is to be just, he is giving the definition of what it is to be happy. Plato shows through the definitions of being just he has given us the key to happiness. Through rationality and harmony we can achieve happiness. The definition in its self is a solution to becoming happy. And I thank Plato, for showing me the light.
Plato believes that the principle of specialization is the only way the city can perform at its highest level. For example, “Well,now, we prevented a shoemaker from trying to be a farmer, weaver, or a builder at the same time, instead of just a shoemaker, in order to ensure that the shoemaker’s job was done well”(Book II, 53, Plato’s Republic). Plato, then goes on to explain the most important aspect of his just city and that is the role of the guardians. He believes that the education of the guardians in the just city is one of the most important aspects of the purification process. “ What, then, will the education be? Or is it difficult to find a better one than the one that has been discovered over a long period of time-physical training for bodies and musical training for the soul?”(Book II, 56, Plato’s Republic). Plato believes that poetry and music are proper tools for the soul and physical training is for the body. The training and proper education should be implemented as they are children so that they grow up in an environment where impurities can be purged. Plato states that the sacrifices of the more aesthetic measure in place of the education form are something that needs to be done in order to change the unhealthy luxurious city into the pure just
...is own desires rather than his subjects needs is not virtuous. Second, a person in the military, who is supposed to be courageous may desert his fellow troops in fear. Third, many common people commit crimes, and create conflict within the community. None of these people are virtuous. However, this is exactly what Plato was getting at. Plato believes that when each of these classes performs its own role and does not try to take over any other class, the entire city as a whole will operate smoothly, showing the harmony that is genuine justice. (ln 433e) What makes the Republic such an important and interesting piece of literature is that by examining what brings true justice and harmony to the world, we can therefore understand all of the virtues by considering how each is placed within the organization of an ideal city.
Happiness can be understood as the moral goal of life or can be unpredictable and is something we create from ourselves and by ourselves. The idea of happiness was known as something we nurture on our own and is a state of emotion. Completing our everyday goals will soon bring us happiness, which seems to be very important to most humans and is what makes life worth living, but this is not certain. This conception of Eudemonia was common in ancient Greece as it is currently today. Aristotle had what he thought was an ideal activity for all those who wanted to live life to the fullest, be happy, and have purpose.
goals and good of the city. Once the individual and the other individuals in the society or
... 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.
What does it mean to be happy? Happiness is a sensation that people want to have, and a lot of it. Above all else in the world, it’s what we seek and long for. Though this feeling can be found in many different places and at many different times, it isn’t easy to acquire. For some people, happiness might be found in exercise and sustaining good health. On the other hand, others can discover it when they go on vacation and relax. The idea here is that we each have our own things that make us happy.