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Plato's republic analysis essay
Plato's republic analysis essay
Some cognitive factors associated with leadership effectiveness
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The opinion of others is the driving force of the world. It is my job to give my opinion. “Writing means sharing. It's part of the human condition to want to share things - thoughts, ideas, and opinions.” (Paulo Coelho ) There are three arguments I would make of Plato’s Republic: women and men are to be treated as equal physically, that philosophers are the best leaders, and the Cave Allegory.
Men and women should treat each other equally but we are created dissimilar for different reasons. Socrates argues that we have the same capacity to learn, and if we can learn the same thing then why do we have different occupations from one another. For example he says, “If women are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things.”
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to have someone rule they cannot just be intelligent and they cannot be all about warfare, a ruler must be a philosopher. “The society we have described can never grow into a reality or see the light of day, and there will be no end to the troubles of states, or indeed, my dear Glaucon, of humanity itself, till philosophers become rulers in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands.” Socrates comes up with his version of a class system that basically states to be on top of the proverbial triangle you have to have wisdom as well as courage and the ability to be persistent. However I have found in American history it is the simple minds that tend to be the best leaders. After all, “Philosophy is common sense with big words.” (James …show more content…
Socrates believed that all education is either random or intentional; no matter what it is you are doing you are gaining information from it. Socrates explained that the information that you learn starts way before you are born. Your education starts with what your ancestors knew before you. He explains the Cave Allegory as a bunch of people sitting in a cave staring at a wall, and one day someone comes into the cave and shows you the rest of the world. But my question is what if the person that drags you out of the cave doesn’t know as much as he is leading on. How do you know that you can trust that person? "If such a man were to come down again and sit in the same seat, on coming suddenly from the sun wouldn't his eyes get infected with darkness?” It is my opinion that you can get yourself out of that cave; it just may be harder than having someone do it for you. “Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know.” (Daniel J.
Cole's article is not to attack Aristotle on his views of where a woman should be placed within the social and political order, in accordance to the Classic Greek period. Her intrigue is within "surveying some central values of that particular social and political institution," (Sterba 79). At first she begins with Aristotle's view on gender and class in ethics. Making a definite point among the social/political class, ancient Greek women and slaves were only allowed their male citizens to think for them. Being dependent on men silences the women and slaves without a voice to speak out, for the women work while the men socialize with others, the men assume that the women do not need a voice. According to Aristotle, even a woman's virtue is to be subservient to all males. As a part of common life the woman is considered the pack horse and the mother to raise the children, for the men. With all the work that women put into their specific households, some education and training would mature from the experience. It was thought again by Aristotle within; Deliberation, Education, and Emancipation, that woman did not possess the aptitude for practical reasoning. For whomever possessed practical reasoning carried with them authority on their decisions and the action pending. From these three classic Greek examples of how women were considered mentally and treated physically, the author Cole provides a progressive outlook of how women could have gained social and political power in a society of male dominant figures.
In his Plato’s Republic Socrates tries to find the values of an ideal city in order to rightly define justice. Although I agree with most of his ideals for the city, there are also many that I disagree with. Some of his ideas that I accept are that women should be able to share the same responsibilities as the men, having women and children in common, , the recognition of honor based on the self rather than heredity, that the best philosophers are useless to the multitudes, and the philosopher / king as a ruler. I disagree with his views on censorship, having assigned positions in society, his views on democracy, and that art cannot be a respectable occupation.
The reasoning is: if you know the good, then you will do the good. Therefore, philosopher rulers are by far the most apt to rule. In The Republic, Plato builds around the idea of Philosopher Rulers.
...rotect their women and children.10 Plato states that much like the dogs used to hunt, if women receive “the same nurture and education” then they too would be as good as men, and should not be treated as if they are not inferior to men. “Men and women alike possess the qualities which make a guardian; they differ only in their comparative strength or weakness”, Plato is saying that although men and women are different they both have strengths and weaknesses that are required.11
A tyrant to Plato is the worse form of rule, Plato writes, “the worst and most unjust is the most miserable, and he, in truth is the most tyrannical” (322). This shows how much Plato does not like the tyrannical regime because it is the furthest from the very thing he is trying to grasp justice. Plato reveals his idea of a regime hierarchy, “in terms of their goodness and badness, and happiness to its opposite, I will rank them” (322). In Plato’s, hierarchy of regimes, he lists the democratic regime next to tyrannical regime, to Plato the further a regime is from the Aristocratic (the most just society) the less just they become. I do not agree with Plato about his beloved Philosopher king, even though Democratic governments are not perfect. To me the Philosopher king theory, is too farfetched. I especially don’t agree with the cave analogy and the idea that the philosopher king is saving the world from their own ignorance. On the other, there are issues democracy government and those who get elected into office. Our county has had some really good presidents and really bad ones. Also we have had some bad and good congressmen. Yes, Plato is right that these officials do affect our lives when they cast their votes on measures, but it is the closest thing we have to the people in terms of a
In Republic Book VII, Socrates and Glaucon discuss the effects of being educated by using the allegory of the cave as an example of some sort of society that's brought up with an ignorant view of the world, and their reaction to information that's brought back in that completely contradicts their world view. In that passage, Socrates suggests that we’re prisoners to our senses and are only able to perceive some fuzzy image of the real world, but that we can only escape if we really want to go beyond our senses. In my opinion, he refers to how our joint senses and society we grew up in as our cave that we’re in bondage in, and that he means that we all grow up in a social niche that often gives us opinions about things or other groups based
Their limitations amongst society can also be noticed by the amount of education that they are entitled to. Plato’s Republic mentions how the role of women is determined by the status of their spouse. For instance, if a woman were to be the wife of a guard, then she would be expected to live at the level of that status, too. She is expected to be able to contribute to society a great deal more rather than stay at home and take care of her children and household.
Women are not only assumed to only take care of their family, but to not have the education that they do rightfully deserve. Women can contribute to the world as plentiful and gloriously as men can, but the chances are not given to them. For example, when Minerva tells Trujillo that she dreams of attending the University to study law, he replies "'The University is no place for a woman these days'" (99). Trujillo implies that by going to school to heighten her education, it would be ...
In The Republic by Plato, Plato constructed an ideal city where Philosophers would rule. Governed by an aristocratic form of government, it took away some of the most basic rights a normal citizen should deserve, freedom of choice, worship, and assembly were distressed. Though the idea of philosopher kings is good on paper, fundamental flaws of the human kind even described by Plato himself prevent it from being truly successful. The idea of an ideal democratic government like what our founding fathers had envisioned is the most successful and best political form which will ensure individual freedom and keep power struggle to a minimum.
He believed that women should be educated in the same way as men. Duiker and Spielvogel included an excerpt Rufus book. In Rufus’ essay he says, “Since that is so, why is it appropriate for men to seek out and examine how they might live well, that is, to practice philosophy, but not women?” He began by saying we all have five sense, so how it is unfair that men are able to analyze the world but not women. In his essay he continues to discuss what duties a woman has. Then he discuss gender activities. He goes on to talk about how women are naturally weaker than men, so the responsibilities should be different. Rufus says, “Some tasks are more appropriate for one nature, others for the other. For that reason some jobs are called men 's work, and others women 's.” He says that spinning and household management is appropriate for women. In contrast, gymnastic and outdoor work is more suitable for men. Rufus says that men and women should both be educated but there are still boundaries of what is consider men and women responsibilities. Lastly he discusses how women can not be educated without philosophy. In Rofus’ essay he says, “My point is that women ought to be good and noble in their characters, and that philosophy is no other than the training for that nobility.” According to him, philosophy teaches nobility and is an aspect women should have. Rufus pushes for women to learn
History is ripe with stories of great men. Hundreds of politicians, philosophers, performers, and writers have left a unique stamp on humanity. But only a select few can be said to have "changed history." The legendary Athenian, Socrates, was one such figure. Socrates ushered in an era of philosophical inquiry that still lingers to this day. In Book Seven of Plato's The Republic, Socrates outlines his perfect regime. According to Socrates, an enlightened "Philosopher-King" must rule such a regime. Now suppose this Republic actually came into being, and Socrates was asked to rule it as a Philosopher King. Would he? Answering this begs three important questions: Is Socrates a true philosopher? Does he have the appropriate virtues? Finally, and most importantly, if Socrates has the capacity to rule, why is he silent about it?
The ideal education was designed for future guardians, molding women into the male paragon. Plato judged men to be biologically more competent as a class in all activities, and woman should do what men do (457e). Women have always been at a disadvantage. Plato did not think any methods were possible to correct women's slight disadvantage. Without changes in gender expectations, there is no way that education can be identical. Plato believed women have the capacity for education identical to men's (457b). Equal education for female and male guardians would guarantee the development of a superior group composed of assertive females and men. He gives freedom to men and woman to develop their highest capacities. The exercises will not be modified for female needs, women will simply be added to an already existing structure. A structure that demands their de-feminization.
The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. He sees it as what happens when someone is educated to the level of philosopher. He contends that they must "go back into the cave" or return to the everyday world of politics, greed and power struggles. The Allegory also attacks people who rely upon or are slaves to their senses. The chains that bind the prisoners are the senses. The fun of the allegory is to try to put all the details of the cave into your interpretation. In other words, what are the models the guards carry? the fire? the struggle out of the cave? the sunlight? the shadows on the cave wall? Socrates, in Book VII of The Republic, just after the allegory told us that the cave was our world and the fire was our sun. He said the path of the prisoner was our soul's ascent to knowledge or enlightenment. He equated our world of sight with the intellect's world of opinion. Both were at the bottom of the ladder of knowledge. Our world of sight allows us to "see" things that are not real, such as parallel lines and perfect circles. He calls this higher understanding the world "abstract Reality" or the Intelligeble world. He equates this abstract reality with the knowledge that comes from reasoning and finally understanding. On the physical side, our world of sight, the stages of growth are first recognition of images (the shadows on the cave wall) then the recognition of objects (the models the guards carry) To understand abstract reality requires the understanding of mathematics and finally the forms or the Ideals of all things (the world outside the cave). But our understanding of the physical world is mirrored in our minds by our ways of thinking. First comes imagination (Socrates thought little of creativity), then our unfounded but real beliefs. Opinion gives way to knowledge through reasoning (learned though mathematics). Finally, the realization of the forms is mirrored by the level of Understanding in the Ways of Thinking. The key to the struggle for knowledge is the reasoning skills acquired through mathematics as they are applied to understanding ourselves. The shadows on the cave wall change continually and are of little worth, but the reality out side the cave never changes and that makes it important.
In one of Plato’s most esteemed works, The Republic, Plato forms an ideal city called the Kallipolis with citizens and their respective roles within the city. While creating this “City of Words” Plato was faced with a dilemma, what roles would the women of the city be assigned? This paper argues that women were in fact granted a place in society that provided them with equality in the Kallipolis, and that this equality was achieved through their positioning within the guardian class. Furthermore, this equality was affirmed through their position within the ruling class.
Leadership is something that has been around since civilization. You would think that an idea so old would be straight forward but, we can see completely different ideas of what a leader, good or bad, should look like. While some of these stories may be fictional, they line up with a historical timeline of expectations. We can also see how the role of a king and how their duties have evolved in real life. The Epic of Gilgamesh shows us how to control your power. In 1 & 2 Samuel, we see what makes a ruler great and obstacles they have to over come. When we read The Theban Plays we saw how smart a ruler had to be to please his people. While all of these leaders may seem great there are plenty of reason that makes them not great. They