Essay on Platos Republic - 981 Words

Platos Republic Plato, one of the most ingenious and powerful thinkers in Western philosophy, born around 425 B.C. Plato investigated a wide range of topics. Dominant among his ideas is an immense discourse called The Republic. The main focus of Plato is a perfect society. He outlines a utopian society, out of his disapproval for the tension of political life. Plato lived through the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), in which much of Greece was devastated. This created poverty and political confusion and corruption. Therefore, Plato created a sketch of a society in which the problems he thought were present would be eased. Essentially, The Republic deals with the question of justice and therefore with the questions what is a just†¦show more content†¦Although, this system is a hierarchy with the philosophers at the top, but they are the only ones who can find universal truths and apply it and teach it to those who cannot see it. Plato also has three other virtues to help categorize those within the city and find justice in the city itself- wisdom, courage, and moderation, all ideals that would sustain the city and nurture it. Philosophers posses wisdom, auxiliaries courage, and all classes poses moderation. Wisdom is the whole knowledge, which describes the rulers of the city. The rulers should be the ones who incorporate philosophy and ruling together to rule the city wisely. Courage describes the guardians, whose job was to defend the city from invasion and take new lands for the city. The third virtue of the ideal city was moderation which is the concept of self-control and knowing ones role, also the concept of one man, one job. The ideal city described in the work is picture perfect because it brings harmony among the different kind of people and the virtues that go hand in hand to bring justice about. Despite his emphasis of justice as a function of the perfect state, Plato also deals with justice as a personal virtue. There are three parts in the individual soul -- sensation, emotion, and intelligence. The just person has to know how to balance these aspects. Each person has to act in moderation to enhance the well being of the city. Food and possessions areShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of Platos Republic Essay458 Words   |  2 PagesPhilosophy is a Greek word meaning love of wisdom. Throughout Platos Republic, wisdom plays an important role. According to Plato, education is wisdom. In the passage, 518d, Plato discusses the true meaning of education vicariously through Socrates. Some literary mechanisms can be found in the passage and I will show how they fit in the text and how they contribute to the main themes of Platos Republic. In Book VII Socrates has finished listening to other opinions and is now formulatingRead More Platos The Republic and Aristophanes The Birds Essay1193 Words   |  5 PagesPlatos The Republic and Aristophanes The Birds   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is evident, by Platos The Republic and Aristophanes The Birds, that ones vision of an ideal state is not the same mystical utopia. Platos Republic is an well-ordered society that emphasizes the development of the community, which leads to its people believing in this philosophy. Cloudcuckooland, the idea of two lazy Athenians, is an unorganized society that lacks the substance to make it a workable society. I would much rather liveRead More The Importance of Thrasymachus in Plato’s Republic Essay923 Words   |  4 PagesThe Importance of Thrasymachus in Plato’s Republic   Ã‚      Dr. Malters’s comments: This student does two things quite remarkable for an undergraduate student. In his compact essay, not only does he display an in-depth understanding of complex perspectives on justice put forth by the protagonist Socrates, he deftly explains how Plato has artfully made rude objections by a seemingly minor character early in the dialogue function as a structuring device for nearly all the important ideas examinedRead More Comparing Platos Republic, Mores Utopia, and Gurneys Dinotopia1395 Words   |  6 PagesPlatos Republic, Mores Utopia, and Gurneys Dinotopia    Throughout history, mankind has struggled to lead better lives and improve their society for future generations. What do we continuously attempt to improve? What kind of changes are we trying to institute? In other words, what is an ideal society? Many people have very diversified views about a perfect civilization. In Platos Republic, Sir Thomas Mores Utopia, and James Gurneys Dinotopia, three imaginary societies are describedRead MorePlatos Explanation of an Ideal State in his Work, The Republic1878 Words   |  8 PagesThis question has sparked debate since the very formation of organized political society. In Plato’s The Republic, Plato seeks to define justice and in doing so he seeks to explain the ideal just state. In Plato’s explanation of an ideal state, there is an extreme emphasis on unity and harmony. The reason unity and harmony are so important to Plato are because they are responsible for bonding together Plato’s ideal state and protecting it from tyranny. Plato explains at great length the framework whichRead MorePlatos Republic1243 Words   |  5 PagesIn Platos Republic, Socrates goes to great lengths to explain and differentiate between the ideas of opinion and knowledge. Throughout society, most common men are lovers of sights and sounds. Lovers of sights and sounds like beautiful sounds, colors, shapes, and everything fashioned out of them, but their thought is unable to see and embrace the nature of the beautiful itself (Republic 476b). The few who do recognize the beautiful itself are followers of the sight of truth, the philosophersRead MorePlatos The Republic1054 Words   |  4 Pages In Plato’s The Republic, the theory of appointing a ruling class is a major aspect in his political theory of a just state. As communicated through Socrates, Plato believed in the appointment of only a few citizens of the just city that possess a soul that craves all truth, knowledge, wisdom, and through proper education are competent enough to rule the just state and to decide on legislative policies. In my paper, I will be arguing against Plato’s political theory of who is best fit to be chosenRead MoreEssay on Plato’s The Republic1168 Words   |  5 PagesPlato’s The Republic In the simile of the cave We are asked to picture a group of people sitting inside a dark cave, their hands and feet are bound in such a way that they can only look at the back wall of the cave. Behind the chained prisoners a fire is burning, and between them and this fire a path runs along which men carry figures, the shadows of these figures are projected onto the back wall of the cave. The prisonersRead MorePlatos Republic3750 Words   |  15 PagesBook I What is justice? Why should we be just? Cephalus - Justice means living up to your legal obligations and being honest. - Socrates - Its like returning weapon to a madman.. hell kill people. Polemarchus - Justice means that you owe friends help, and you owe enemies harm. - Socrates - we are not always friends with the most virtuous, nor are our enemies always teh scum of society Thrasymachus , sophist - Justice is nothing more than the advantage of the stronger-- it does notRead MorePlatos Republic Essay896 Words   |  4 PagesPlatos Republic â€Å"the having and doing of one’s own and what belongs to one would be agreed to be justice.† (The Republic 434a) In other words the above statement means that justice, according to Plato, is doing only the tasks assigned to them by nature. This is the fundamental notion for his creation of an ideal city. It is both knowing what true justice is and where one belongs in the city that the ideal can be achieved. What this means to politics in the ideal city is that only