Plato's Republic
Plato Republic

In Plato's Republic, he states that democracy is second only to tyranny as the worst form of government because tyranny arises from democracy. This goes against what most people believe of democracy. Today, democracy is viewed as the best political system because the prime tenets of a democracy are freedom and equality. Essentially, democracy is all about free people governing themselves. However, Plato is critical of democracy precisely because of these features. Democracy, in Plato's belief, gives people too much freedom, which can lead to chaos. He also believes that when everyone believes that they are equal and that they have both the right and the ability to govern others, this brings a lot of people seeking power to want to be in politics. This means that people may be wanting to be in power because they believe that they can have this esteemed position, but this means…...

mla

Works Cited

Grube, G.M.A. & Reeve, C.D.C. Plato: Republic. Hackett Publishing Company; 2nd

edition, 1992.

From this we need to understand that the existence of entities, beings which superior power and knowledge is accepted.
People not only accept that these being actually exist, but they obey their commands. From this one can deduce that morality is connected with power. People obey the commands of the gods because the gods are what they are. The implications are that on the one side, the gods have access to supreme knowledge and hence they know and set the truth and that, on the other hand they are powerful enough to impose their knowledge of truth to the ones who are less powerful. but, being less powerful implies the idea that one is also afraid of those who are more powerful.

Therefore, truth loses its value in itself and becomes correlated and supported by the possession of power. It becomes more and more obvious that this can not be the…...

mla

Bibliography

Bloom, Allan. The Republic of Plato: second edition Basic Books, 1991

Plato's ethics and politics in the Republic. Retrieved March 22,2009 at  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-ethics-politics/ 

The Republic, notes. Retrieved March 22, 2009 at  http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/republic/section1.html

Socrates: A Just Life
Socrates' view on man's search for justice is one of the great guiding lights provided by the Ancient Greek civilization. Provided for civilization through the writings of his student, Plato, Socrates lays the framework for the idea that justice is good and that every man seeks to find through self-examination what good is. From this basic concept, the Socratic method of teaching, which has been passed down through the ages, developed. In the Socratic method of teaching, it is understood that each student already possesses the answers to the question and that the role of the teacher is to help each student find that answer within himself. Thus, Socrates said the same about the general seeking of justice. That everyman knows what justice is but must, through self-examination, uncover what that concept truly means.

In his book epublic, Plato speaks through his teacher Socrates and uses Socrates' conversations…...

mla

References

Reeve, C.D.C., (editor). (2004). Republic. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

Plato Republic

Plato’s Republic: A Definition of Justice According to Plato, “justice is the excellence of the soul, and injustice the defect of the soul” (20). Another definition of it, however, is that justice is “the repayment of a debt” (4). This is a rather narrow definition of justice, and it is one that Socrates unpacks—but it to can get to the heart of the underlying meaning. The just man is one who pursues the good, while the unjust man is one who pursues evil. Of course, as is always the case with Socrates, everything must come around eventually to a definition of the good, which Plato defines in the dialogue as transcendental ideals that objectively exist as universals: to know justice is, as Socrates explains in the Allegory of the Cave, to pursue the ultimate reality, which exists high above, where the source of all good is to be found—in God. This…...

Purple in Plato’s Republic The achievement of the “good of the whole” is the purpose of Socrates’ constitution, proposed in Plato’s Republic. To explain this purpose to Adeimantus in Book IV of The Republic, Plato has Socrates invoke the analogy of the “purple eye,” (90) which is employed at the opening of the Book, after Adeimantus states that Socrates’ citizen-guardians would live in misery because they would always be “on guard,” as it were, and would never actually enjoy themselves.
Plato uses the theme of purple throughout the text, which has symbolic power (as it represents royalty and majesty) to craft the response of Socrates. The ideal is what Socrates has in mind—the highest reality—which is made plain in the Allegory of the Cave in Book VII of The Republic. It is from this cave that the ignorant must emerge, so that they might see reality for what it is, rather than…...

mla

Works Cited

Plato. The Republic. Hacket Publishing, 2004.

Plato's work is idealistic and, as such, some of the rationale behind many of the conclusions he draws on do not necessarily have a logical or practical motivation. Nevertheless, they are logically tied to most of the assumptions he makes in his work, which is why his conclusions could, ideally, be transposed into the society he had projected. The most important conclusion of his work may be that each part of society is closely related and coordinated with all the others. This is why issues such as education and general knowledge will need to be customized so as to best fit the needs of society and to support the governing infrastructure.

ibliography

1. Danzig, Gabriel, "Rhetoric and the Ring: Herodotus and Plato on the Story of Gyges as a Politically Expedient Tale," Greece & Rome journal, Volume 55, Issue 02, October 2008, Cambridge University Press, 18 August 2008, pp.169-192

2. Dillon, Ariel. 2004.…...

mla

Bibliography

1. Danzig, Gabriel, "Rhetoric and the Ring: Herodotus and Plato on the Story of Gyges as a Politically Expedient Tale," Greece & Rome journal, Volume 55, Issue 02, October 2008, Cambridge University Press, 18 August 2008, pp.169-192

2. Dillon, Ariel. 2004. Education in Plato's Republic. Presented at the Santa Clara University Student Ethics Research Conference May 26, 2004. On the Internet at   Last retrieved on August 24, 2009http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/dillon/education_plato_republic.html .

3. Popper, Karl. 2002. The Poverty of Historicism. Routledge, 2nd edition.

4. Claeys, Gregory; Sargent, Lyman Tower. 1999. Utopian Reader. New York University Press.

Thus the law enforcing agencies, the soldiers and militia fall in this category of courage.
The third part is self-discipline. Socrates explained that it is not easy to allow oneself to be ruled. But when every section of a community accepts its rulers and understands that some people rule while others are the ruled, they are exhibiting self-discipline. This is needed for a community to function smoothly. When all these elements are found, we realize that the ability to a community to allow every person to do his job without creating conflict is morality. This is the outer morality that helps keep a community intact.

In almost similar fashion, the person must function smoothly and remain intact too. Any conflict within a person's mind would create discord and this would lead to immorality. Socrates introduces his tripartite philosophy in this case and explains that the mind is divided into three elements…...

mla

Reference:

Plato. Republic. Robin Waterfield (Translation) Oxford University Press. Oxford.1994

His argument is that the two extreme sides are opposed by nature hence they exist in a state of "civil war." he third part of the soul is identified as the "spirited part" which is "far from being [appetitive], for in the civil war in the soul it aligns itself far more with the rational part" (Plato: book IV).
he healthy soul is the one where reason, assisted by spirit, rules over desire, be it for food, sex, etc. A healthy soul - according to Socrates - means that the individual is just inside and out, in the sense that on the one hand, the individual will be ruled by reason thus he will be just on the inside, and on the other, he will be just on the outside because someone who is ruled by reason cannot rob or cheat: "Both together will they not be the best defenders…...

mla

The healthy soul is the one where reason, assisted by spirit, rules over desire, be it for food, sex, etc. A healthy soul - according to Socrates - means that the individual is just inside and out, in the sense that on the one hand, the individual will be ruled by reason thus he will be just on the inside, and on the other, he will be just on the outside because someone who is ruled by reason cannot rob or cheat: "Both together will they not be the best defenders of the whole soul and the whole body against attacks from without; the one counseling, and the other fighting under his leader, and courageously executing his commands and counsels?" (Plato: book IV). Also, Socrates claims that similarly to a healthy body, a healthy soul is something we should all strive for. Moreover, he provides a definition of virtue as the well-being of the soul "Then virtue is the health and beauty and well-being of the soul, and vice the disease and weakness and deformity of the same?" (Plato: book IV)

Socrates does not impose his vision upon us; he is merely challenging the way we perceive the surrounding world, raising some questions regarding the legitimacy of democracy as opposed to Plato's ideal state as well as the connections between the structure of the soul and of the ideal city: "Must we not then infer that the individual is wise in the same way, and in virtue of the same quality which makes the State wise?" (Plato: book IV)

Plato. The Republic. The Internet Classics Archive. Web site:  http://classics.mit.edu//Plato/republic.html

In his model, Plato is therefore unjust.
Just as his social and political arrangement of a city is inappropriate for humans, so too is his argument for the humans in that political and social arrangement. Most of his arguments for the individuals in this society can be found in his fifth book. hile be first begins with the argument that men and women should be treated equally in education, occupation, and war -- a modern idea -- this furthers his unjust expectations of humans. It is an attempt to further dehumanize the humans that live in his society by refusing to acknowledge their emotional and human characteristics by acknowledging, instead, the characteristics that can be used to make use of them in society. In an even greater assault of these human ideas, Plato states that the wives of guardians will be chosen for them, as well as wondering how "marriages…...

mla

Works Cited

Brown, Eric. "Plato's Ethics and Politics in The Republic." 1 April 2003. 19 May 2009.

Plato. "The Republic." Trans. Benjamin Jowett. The Internet Classics Archive. 2009.

MIT. 19 May 2009.

While this is not yet true for the United tates, might the country be dangerously close? If one could return to the events on 9/11, is it not possible that the diminished freedoms brought about by legislation such as the Patriot Act and its successor almost smack of tyranny? These are important questions to consider if the much-mentioned American "way of life" is to be preserved. Tyranny is far from desirable, and governments would do well to consider its dangers as these might relate to democracy.
The answer to this question is therefore dangerously close to yes, if certain paradigms are not curbed and warnings not heeded. While I do not fully agree with Aristotle's placement of democracy in the sequence so far away from the ideal tate, it is nonetheless important to consider specific governmental paradigms. Citizens should take great care when choosing their rulers. Many believe that the…...

mla

Sources

Plato. (2000). The Republic: Book VIII. Retrieved from the Internet Classics Archive:  http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.9.viii.html

Plato's Republic And Justice
Justice is ultimately an unknowable concept, if we accept Plato's ideas of 'form' or the essential nature of concepts. In the Republic, Plato presents several intelligent and well-thought-out discussions about the nature of justice. He refutes the arguments that justice is simply rewarding friends, or asserting the interests of the strong. He ultimately concludes that the goal of life is the pursuit of what is just, and that a just life makes man happy. However, if we accept Plato's ideal of the 'form', or essential nature of a concept, it is thereby impossible to truly understand the concept of justice. The best that we, or even the brilliant and inquisitive Plato can attempt, is to achieve a clear representation of the ideal or 'form' of justice.

In Plato's Republic, he provides a challenging discussion of the nature of justice and injustice. In Book One, Socrates contemplates the nature…...

mla

Works Cited

Magee, Bryan. 2001. The Great Philosophers: An Introduction to Western Philosophy. Oxford University Press.

Plato. The Republic. Translated by Benjamin Jowett. 11 March 2004.  http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html

Plato and Socrates -- Human Soul
There are a number of philosophical tenets that have been the subject of intense scrutiny since humans coalesced into formal societies. ho are we as a species? here do we fit in with the universe? hat is morality? Do the ends justify the means? Moreover, most of all, why are we here and are we free to act as individuals toward greater good? Free will, for instance, or the idea of that human's make choices unconstrained, has been contested even as a concept. The paradigm that humans may make rational choices and that life is not predetermined from "divine" beings allows one to look at a number of philosophical constructs that are on a continuum between the idea that determinism is false and that of hard determinism, or the idea that determinism is true and free will completely impossible forms the crux of a set…...

mla

Works Cited

Baird, F. And W. Kaufman. From Plato to Derrida. New York: Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.

Huard, R. Plato's Political Philosophy. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

MacIntyre, A. A Short History of Ethics, Routledge, New York and London, 2006. Print.

Plato. "The Republic." June 2009. classics.mit.edu. Ed. B. Jowett. Web. May 2013. .

Plato and Descartes
Plato concept of innate goodness and Descartes descriptions of human reasoning for being good both provide a foundation for man's need to better understand the basic and spiritual goodness found within human nature. In Plato's Republic, he provides many anthologies that help one to discover their own goodness. Descartes gives many logical reasons within his work, Meditations, that help to explain why the human mind reflects God's natural ability to be good, but when human error occurs, the ability to have a pure mind disappears. This paper will discuss the similarities of Plato's and Descartes' concept of man's ability to be good.

Book VI of The Republic defines Plato's concept of "good" and provides many various descriptions to help guide others to better understand the nature of what it means to be "good." Plato's idea of "being good" eventually will lead to an "end in itself" and thus becomes…...

mla

Works Cited

Bloom, A. (1991). The Republic of Plato. New York: Basic Books.

The Economist. (1988). "Book review of The Trail of Socrates." 306 (2) 89.

Jowett, B. Plato's Republic. Retrieved November 23, 2003, at  http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html .

Rene Descartes." World of Scientific Discovery, 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced I Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group. 2004.   Number: K1648000167http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC.Document 

Plato and Aristotle
Both Plato and Aristotle attempted to philosophically construct the ideal society and the most suitable form of government. Two of the main areas on which the two philosophers disagree are the importance of private property and on the need for a guardian class. Aristotle derides holding property in common on the basis that it is impractical. In Politics, Part V of Book 2, he states, "there is always a difficulty in men living together and having all human relations in common, but especially in their having common property." Aristotle offers two main arguments to promote his opinion. The first is based largely on semantics and therefore misses the point Plato was attempting to make in his Republic. Aristotle's defense of private property is weakest in this respect: that which is held in common by the state is consequentially shared by all citizens. Even women and children come under…...

mla

Works Cited

Aristotle. Politics. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. Online at The Internet Classics Archive.  http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.html .

Plato. Republic. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. Online at The Internet Classics Archive.  http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html .

Philosopher-kings strive to lead individuals out of the cave, and to perceive 'the real,' the pure and ideal world of the forms rather than the shadows of ideals. This idealistic concept is one reason why Plato is so determined that every human being assume his ideal place in the social order, whether working at a trade, fighting, or engaging in philosophy.
hile Plato's version of a social contract between the different classes of society is, in his view, a mutually beneficial one, in Hobbes' view the social contract between sovereign in subjects is unequal, but extremely necessary because life is not worth living without such a contract. If there is any part of Plato that Hobbes would agree with, it is the "Myth of Gyges" which is told by an opponent of Socrates, the advocate of tyranny Glaucon (a kind of precursor to Hobbes). Gyges was a shepherd who became…...

mla

Works Cited

Bernard, Suzanne. "The Ring of Gyges." Plato's Republic. 1996. Last updated

November 22, 1998. April 18, 2009.

 http://plato-dialogues.org/tetra_4/republic/gyges.htm 

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. New York: Penguin Classics, 1968.