Game Of Thrones, By George R. Martin

Kenneth C. Blanchard, Jr. “The Enemies of Socrates: Piety and Sophism in the Socratic Drama.” The Review of Politics. 62.3 (2003): 421-449. Print.

The Greek society was a direct democracy with people voting on the issues themselves instead of representatives voting on their behalf. Any male citizen over the age of eighteen was allowed to vote. Like the Romans, the Greek government was divided into separate parts. The Greek government consisted of an assembly, council, and courts, with each requiring a different number of voters present. The people all gather and vote on issues by hand, and this is the simplest form of majority rules. The role of the people is extremely important in how the society and state is governed and run. This early form a democracy was detailed by Pericles funeral oration during the Peloponnesian War. Pericles was an eminent Athenian politician who states in regards to the government of Athens, “Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here, Pericles states that the people have all the power and their opinion is highly valued. Likewise, the Romans valued the people’s opinions so highly that they entrusted with them rewards and punishments, vital aspects that held the society together. Pericles also states, “…nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, here is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here is the essence of democracy, every man no

In the Republic, Plato uses reason to model the ultimate form of civilization where everyone achieves his/her human potential. This should not be confused with individual equality, for Plato sees a harmonious and virtuous community where citizens are under a hierarchy and working together for the greater good of the state. The question, however, remains: How does one achieve Plato’s ideal state when there is evil and deception in the world? In answering this question, Plato puts forth two arguments: an allegory to describe the complexities and necessities of reality, and a royal lie to carry out the ideal form of civilization. In this paper, I argue Plato’s Allegory of the Cave justifies the need for a royal lie found in

Socrates is known for his unique practice of Greek philosophy. In The Republic, Socrates discusses building a just city with Glaucon and Adeimantus. Throughout The Republic, the three men decide what classes of people will live within the city, and how each person will be assigned to a class. There would not be a place for Socrates in the just city. Through examining the definitions of a guardian, auxiliary, and money maker, one can justify that Socrates is too complex of a man to be categorized as belonging to one specific group.

The term aristocracy comes from the Greek word aristos, meaning the best. Aristocracy therefore is roughly translated into meaning ‘rule by the best’ (Hooker R 1997). This encompasses the ideas of an aristocratic society. Within Plato’s book, The Republic, he outlines the basis of an aristocratic society being split into three groups. Socrates describes them as being the gold, silver and bronze or iron (Plato 380 BC). Though the gold class rules over the others it is not considered and more valuable than the others classes. Whether someone was a warrior or a blacksmith they all had a key job to uphold within society and none were considered above an others for things like status and wealth, unlike that of an oligarchic society. In an aristocracy people are placed into careers and hierarchies almost from birth, normally, but

The tale and structure of a society or city that Plato would like to create entails a lot. It cannot be forced upon the current generation, but the cultivating of the following beliefs, justices, and rules over time can be passed onto the current generation’s offspring. Plato’s plan is to do this so that it would then continue until all that anyone knows is the laws of justice with Guardians, or gold citizens, Auxiliaries or silver, and Producers who are bronze and iron citizens. Plato wants the citizens of the State to believe that God has made them different in that may have more power than others and hold the greatest honor which is gold. Those made of silver will be auxiliaries, but those made of brass and iron will be husbandmen and craftsmen. A golden parent may have a silver son and vice versa. (Plato 3)

In this essay I would like to talk about the nature of sophism and how it changes religion, politics and education. In the first part of my essay I am going to define the meaning of sophism, in the second part I am going to talk about the connection of sophism and aristocrats, in the third part of my essay I am going to talk about the changes in religion with the help of sophism; in the fourth part I will examine the changes in decision-making and in last part I will talk about Socrates use of cross-examination to find out the meaning of the oracle’s message. As a source of information I am going to use Plutarch’s essays Pericles and Alcibiades, Plato’s Apology and Crito, and Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War.

Daniel Mechenko HIS 1001 Professor Trumbach Paper 2 Sophism For many years, ancient Athens had been governed entirely by aristocrats with peasants contributing little to nothing to politics due to the imbalance of power. However, after the birth of democracy, which was implemented by Solon, the Aristocrats did not have as much power at their disposal relative to previous era. Peasants acquired the right to vote for their leaders, and because of this, an individual looking to obtain political power had to be a proficient orator in order to sway the citizens of Athens to elect him as a public official.

In Plato’s Republic a person duty is determined by their natural ability. Unlike Thomas Mores Utopia, Socrates believes that a person should focus on achieving the most for themselves rather than the community being primary purpose. Plato’s Republic greatly supports the idea of inequality, and shows that social stratification is essential for the movement of the economy. For a country to function, there must be some sort of hierarchy and inequality. In page 118 of the republic Socrates states that he “leaves it to each class to achieve the kind of happiness that nature confers it”(pg. 18). Citizens in each class must work hard to prosper in theirs own class. People in the Republic must have the mentality of working hard for themselves. What they don’t realize is the domino effect that is triggered. As they work more, the classes above them are also greatly impacted because they are able to benefit. Social Stratification is valued in Socrates to a certain extend. Socrates mentions the importance of each member in each class to be apart of neither wealth nor poverty. In Plato’s republic, the importance of not being rich and not being poor is greatly expressed. Socrates gives Adeimantus the example of the craftsman.

Rulers, otherwise known as “True Guardians” held the most worthy role, although not the most important. Their social metallic property was gold. The Rules were leaders and philosophers who kept society in order. To fulfill this role one must be specially educated in specifically math and dialect. Plato believed that rulers must live in poverty, with any possessions they do have held in common. The very things, then, that mean the most to commoners will be denied to the rulers. The next class were the Guardians, otherwise known as “auxiliaries”. As the name implies, they were soldiers or warriors. They were responsible for defending the city from invaders, and for keeping peace. They enforce convictions and ensure that rules were obeyed. Their metallic property was silver. Although not as worthy or as looked up to as Rulers, the Guardians held what is considered the most important role in society, much as in modern day society our

Plato in the Republic writes about a new form of society which would be based upon the good of everyone, whereby those who are most able should rule. Plato states that "Unless, said I,

to the unjust rule of Athenian culture, first defining rhetoric in negative terms as a dangerous

Plato’s view of division of labour is divided into three types of peoples’ task in life which are workers as farmers, military type and guardians. Actually, the ruling task of Plato’s Republic is the guardian’s responsible who had achieved the greatest wisdom or knowledge of good. Due to that, Plato claims that “philosopher must become kings or those now who called kings must genuinely and adequately philosophise’’ (Nussbaum1998, p.18). However, people argue about the reasons that the philosopher should rule the city, while the philosophers prefer to gain knowledge instead of power, thus they don’t seek this authority. Therefore, the argument should alter to why the philosophers are the best ruler to govern people. Indeed, Plato states

Plato and Aristotle’s views on the nature of a human being and the city are fundamental blocks of forming the best political regime. The ideal city of Plato stands upon the four virtues: wisdom, courage, moderation and justice. The concept of justice embodies the understanding that only when citizens are fulfilling their obligated roles while not interfering with others can a city achieve harmony. For this purpose, farmers, artisans, and shepherds will do what’s expected of them per their expertise while the Guardians, a special class, is fit to rule the state. So his view that since every individual has a different yet pertinent role in the city and as most men are only

Virtues contribute to people’s actions in today’s society. Society as a whole has a common set of virtues that many people agree on. In today’s society, these are known as laws. Virtues also mold the individual outlook on life, and give them the moral’s to do what is right. In The Republic, Plato divides the city into three classes: gold, silver, as well as bronze and iron souls. Each class is designated to posses a specific virtue. He believes that wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice combine together to form The Republic. However, Plato’s four virtues individually do not necessarily produce a utopian society. A combination of the four in each citizen is imperative in producing the ideal society. In Plato’s search for the