Socrates Criticisms Of Democracy

Aristophanes wrote The Acharnians at a time where the world he saw around him was changing. Athens had been at war for six years with no end in sight, the leader who started the war has been killed by a plague, and just three years prior Athens almost voted to kill off one of its allies for trying to leave the Delian League. He was seeing a whole new side of Athens. A side in which the concept of an independent polis has been lost and Athens is at war with its former allies. These are the things that inspire Aristophanes’ Greek comedy to be born. He uses the theater to address the questions he has about what is

As a defender of civic virtue, the significance of obligation and authority of one’s representative government epitomizes the magnitude of respect that Socrates had for Athenian Jurisprudence, irrespective of the fact that he was prosecuted against. In the accounts of the Apology and Crito, there exists a plethora of evidence that demonstrate Socrates’s adherence of institutionalized authority. His loyalty of the Athenian State derives from his notion that the obligation to surrender to the law manifests a just society. One may ask, “how is it possible for a persecuted man to continue to profess allegiance to a polity that sought his trial and execution”? Though many would not have the capacity to sustain such integrity, Socrates had his reasons in

Socrates, a critic of Athenian society, is also known as a critic of democracy. “Athens is a democracy, a city in which the many are the dominant power in politics, and it can therefore be expected to have all the vices of the many” (“Socrates’ criticism of democracy,” Encyclopedia Britannica). Socrates claims that he did not want to take part in government because he feared imprisonment or death, which eventually became his fate. Socrates’ problem with democracy was his concern with the citizens who run the

Democracy is a form of government where people choose leaders through elections and social construct that are based on the equality of everyone within the state. It is a form of government were majority and public opinions combine to choose leaders with respect to the social structure of a particular society, taking into consideration the social laws, rules, traditions, norms, values, and culture. Plato and Aristotle tow of the most influential figures in Greek philosophy. Both Plato and Aristotle were big critics of democracy as a poor form of government. Aristotle’s views about democracy hold that democratic office will cause corruption in the people, if the people choose to redistribute the wealth of the

In The Republic of Plato, Plato, in addition to sharing his views on justice, shares his views on democracy using a fictionalized Socrates to outline the most pressing issues. Plato’s views on democracy are negative; he believes democracy to be bred from a response to inequality of wealth and to heighten all of humanities worst traits. Plato believes democracy leads to unequipped leaders who hold offices and power without the necessary traits and preparation.

Socrates says if he had attempted to participate in politics he would’ve “died long ago and benefited neither” they city of Athens “nor himself” (31e). If one is to fight for justice, argues Socrates and “survive”, “he must lead a private, not a public life”. (32.a) This philosophy goes against Athens most prized conception of democracy- active participation from all citizens. Socrates calls himself a stranger to the assembly and the court of law because he does not speak in the same manner as the population does (17d). He chooses to speak how he is accustomed to speaking in the courtyard during his examination of his fellow citizens (17d). By rejecting the political rhetoric of the people of Athens and the way they speak in the assembly and in the trials, he is essentially rejecting the entire

This paper argues that Socrates makes a plausible case for justice. Socrates raised two main questions in the first two books of Plato’s Republic, what is justice? And why should we act justly? Thrasymachus and Glaucon both have different and more negative views of justice than Socrates. Throughout books one and two, Socrates, Glaucon and Thrasymachus go back and forth discussing the definition and application of justice in society. He starts his discussions with Glaucon and Thrasymachus by stating simply, “What is justice?”

According to Synonyms web site Aristotle thought democracy put people of different walks of life against each other causing hate and a failure to work together. He was concerned that political leaders were going to be leading more with their emotions and not so much by the

Socrates (or rather Plato), sees there as being five regimes of government, beginning with the Aristocracy ruled the philosophers kings and then breaking down. The Aristocracy turns into the timocrocy, ruled by the guardian timocrats who values honor; then the city dissolves into the oligarchy ruled by the rich oligarchs who value wealth above all else, followed by democracy, which wishes for equality (Plato, 544c). Socrates, despite living in a democracy does not see as democracy as an ideal form of government and places it just one step above his fifth and worst regime in the cycles of government: “genuine tyranny, surpassing all of them” (Plato, 544c). For Socrates, democracy is established when “when the poor are victorious” against the oligarchs through a violent seizure of power and give all the remaining citizens “an equal share in ruling under the constitution” (Plato, 557a). There is a serious problem with this form of government however, and that is an obsession with

In the fifth-century BC, Athens emerged as one of the most advanced state or polis in all of Greece. This formation of Athenian ‘democracy’ holds the main principle that citizens should enjoy political equality in order to be free to rule and be ruled in turn. The word ‘democracy’ originates from the Greek words demos (meaning people) and kratos (meaning power) therefore demokratia means “the power of the people.” The famous funeral speech of Pericles states that “Our constitution is called democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people.” However, only citizens (free adult men of Athenian descent) could participate in political matters. Women and slaves held no political rights, although they were

Socrates – put to death – If the people are stupid they impact everyone (mob rule)

Plato, having defined his perfect society, now seeks to compare contemporary 'imperfect' societies with his ideal standard. He initially criticises the imperfect society as a whole, before leading onto a criticism of any given individual within that society; the imperfect character. He has already dealt with the Oligarchic society and character and now moves onto Democracy and the democratic character.

Plato and Aristotle believed that democracy is a corrupt form of government because it violates justice of proportionality. The idea of proportional justice attains when we ask who is the most deserving. For example, who should have the best flute, Aristotle answered that the best flute must be not given to the richest man or to the most handsome man, but given to the best flute player. Being in the position of governing is an honor. So who should have the honor? Plato and Aristotle argued that the honor must be given to those who have the knowledge of the Good (agathon). In political

Aristotle’s contribution towards political theory had developed through his encounters of various models of governance as he travelled throughout the years (Miller 2011). Aristotle contributed vast aspects around political thought in the time in which he lived. Not only is Aristotle well known for his understanding of good governance and how it can be achieved, but rather his famous account of man, that man, “is by nature a political being; it is his nature to live in a polis” (A. R. Moten 1996). Aristotle’s work offers as a great springboard when considering political thinkers such as Machiavelli and contrasting these theories to that of a theocratic society being

Following that, I went on to discuss his use of a metaphorical individual that is the embodiment of democracy and outline his criticisms of this characterization. After that, I provided a response to Plato's criticism in the form of a counter-argument which was followed with a rebuttal of the counter-argument that showed the flaws in the counter-argument's defense of democracy. And finally, I provided my own response to Plato's criticism that did not take the shape of a confrontational counter-argument, but rather a discussion of the notion that a democracy is the only form of government for a philosopher to exist in as it contributes directly to the promotion of rational thought. Democracy, as it exists, allows for the furtherance of one's own personal desires at the expense of the order and harmony of society as a whole, Plato observed this, expanded upon it, and used the flaws of this form of government in order to promote his ideal form of government: that of the