As Socrates argues against rhetoric and its use as an "art" (as Gorgias identifies it), he exemplifies the freedom of the criminal as opposed to the law-abiding individual, subsisting to the same argument that Plato had presented in "Republic." In arguing against rhetoric and freedom obtained in democracy, Socrates states: "...the unjust or doer of unjust actions is miserable in any case,-more miserable, however, if he be not punished and does not meet with retribution, and less miserable if he be punished and meets with retribution at the hands of gods and men." This passage means that punishment inflicted upon those who deviated and did not follow the laws of humanity is a form of reiterating inequality among humans, between those who are right, just, and powerful, and the wrongdoers and powerless. Moreover, this train of thought in "Gorgias" elucidates the freedom of deviants in society, since once punished, society will consider them as 'outcasts,' whereby these people achieve a degree of anonymity, of freedom, from the society and its rigid laws and rules.
Plato's arguments against democracy in "Republic" and "Gorgias," respectively, oppose Aristotle's thoughts about the said concept in "Politics." In his discourse, Aristotle claims that human laws and rules are not detrimental to the freedom and rights of people; in fact, it further reinforces them, with the creation of organizations and institutions, which shall serve as entities that ensure that freedom and rights of individuals are truly preserved.
In "Politics," Aristotle discusses the function that democracy brings to society, wherein "...the free are rulers...Of forms of democracy first comes that which is said to be based strictly on equality. In such a democracy the law says that it is just for the poor to have no more advantage...
Rather, corruption continued and the widespread execution of revolutionaries by Maximilien Robespierre and Louis de Saint-Just of the Committee of Safety was largely justified with the radicalized views of Enlightenment philosopher Rousseau with regard to the revolution (Church; Lefebvre; Rude). Robespierre's distorted perception of Rousseau's views lead to an adamant and unwaivering desire to drive the revolution forward at any cost, including that of substantial human life. Robespierre was
Plato's Republic and George Orwell's 1984 Philosophy could be defined as the highest level of true clarity and understanding human thought can aspire to. It would thus seem strange to compare the ideal philosophical kingdom of Plato's Republic with George Orwell's 1984. Plato's writings form the cornerstone of Western philosophy, while Orwell's text tells of a totalitarian society where all free thought is stifled. However, the two men's versions of
The second part of this book introduces the more central aspect of his argument's epistemological motive, with the prescription for proper leadership extending from a view that is ethically, intellectually and socially instructed. We can easily detect here the strands of ideology which would be invested into Hobbes view many centuries hence. This is to say that at the crux of his argument, Plato writes that "until philosophers are kings,
This, then, is what takes us to the argument that false rhetoric is the greatest danger to democratic rule. Imagine what kind of leaders we would have if only false rhetoric existed? False rhetoric allows for the use of lies, manipulations, "spin" to become an accepted part of our political discourse - Bill O'Reilly is a perfect example of the false rhetorician. His "newscasts" are filled with verifiable lies, false facts,
The text deals at length and often with a great variety of matters which bear on the human condition, but there are matters which would certainly have no place in a modern treatise on politics" Therefore, it is rather hard to determine the extent to which Plato used this means of communication, the dialogues, to point out to the actual necessities of the society he lived in and the aspects
As activists in women's liberation, discussing and analyzing the oppression and inequalities they experienced as women, they felt it imperative to find out about the lives of their foremothers -- and found very little scholarship in print" (Women's history, 2012, para. 3). This dearth of scholarly is due in large part to the events and themes that are the focus of the historical record. In this regard, "History was
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