Socrates Vs Plato

In The Republic by Plato, Plato constructed an ideal city where Philosophers would rule. Governed by an aristocratic form of government, it took away some of the most basic rights a normal citizen should deserve, freedom of choice, worship, and assembly were distressed. Though the idea of philosopher kings is good on paper, fundamental flaws of the human kind even described by Plato himself prevent it from being truly successful. The idea of an ideal democratic government like what our founding fathers had envisioned is the most successful and best political form which will ensure individual freedom and keep power struggle to a minimum.

The three classes are a product of different aptitude levels for certain tasks amid various individuals. Plato assigns different political roles to different members of each class. It appears that the only classes that are allowed to participate in government are the Auxiliaries and, of course, the Philosopher Rulers. The lower class does not partake in politics because they are not mentally able. In other words, they do not understand the concept of the forms. Thus, it is better to allow the Philosophers, who do have this knowledge, to lead them. Providing food and abode for the Guardians are the only governmental responsibility the lower class has. The Auxiliaries are in charge of the military, police, and executive duties. Ruling and making laws is reserved for the Philosopher Rulers whose actions are all intended for the good of the state. To ensure that public good continues to be foremost

Socrates (aristocracy)….. By establishing the four unjust constitutions of the city, and the man that parallels each. He lists each constitution, explaining that each one is worse than the previous; timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny. “Then, just as we began by looking for them in the individual, thinking that they’d be clearer in the former, shouldn’t we first examine the honor-loving constitution?” (215,545b) Socrates presents this structure as inevitable stages a city will faced, caused by the deterioration of human nature. Socrates explains that rulers of the just city will choose the next contemporaries by relying on their understanding of what constitutes a just ruler. Eventually leading to people not suited to occupy positions

Next, Euthyphro says that piety is “that which is pleasing to all the gods.” He further explains his father has been charged with murder. All gods are not favorable to those who commit such an act. Socrates argues that there are certain times that murder would be favorable. For example, killing someone in defense of the self. Also, killing someone in the defense of others. A soldier on the battlefield who faces his enemy is not viewed as a murderer but as a hero. The context in which a murder happens is what determines if it is an act that the gods will favor.

Meno, written by Plato, is a dialogue between two men, Socrates and Meno, which discusses the nature of virtue. At the end of the dialogue, Socrates suggests that a man’s virtuous actions can be derived from either knowledge or true opinion. Meno then wonders how knowledge and true opinion are different if both concepts can produce identical results. Socrates answers with an analogy, which provides a valid and sound argument about why he believes knowledge to be more valuable than true opinion.

Political and social theories between the two philosophers were very different. Plato had very Totalitarian or even communist views for state government. He in his novel The Republic, he describes in much detail his utopian society. He felt society should be organized into three groups: “rulers, auxiliaries and labourers.”(Gaarder 91) The rulers or guardian class would have reason; education and intelligence this would make them well suited for leadership. Plato called these rulers ‘Philosopher Kings’, they would rule for the good of all in the society. Philosopher

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.

Athenian democracy ensures that a citizen in a society acts according to what society deems appropriate rather than by an individual's assumptions of what is acceptable. Athens as a whole stresses the importance of an active citizen whose life is intertwined with the government. In essence, an Athenian citizen can participate in the decision making of the state and will be enthusiastic in carrying out policies that pass in the assembly. Pericles, an Athenian statesman, makes it clear when he says that "each individual is interested not only in his own affairs but in the affairs of the state as well" (p.147 Thucydides). Socrates, a Greek philosopher, is a firm believer in examining one's actions in life and ensuring that a morally righteous

Plato’s plan to ensure Athens would have the best rulers starts with having a ruler who cares about their citizens, “…compelling our philosophers to have a care and providence of others…” (Plato 874). In this paragraph Plato is saying to have a good government, the people must have a caring leader who isn’t focused on the power being a leader bestows upon them. In his paragraph Plato outlines how a ruler can come to this realization to put his people first for the betterment of his kingdom. According to Plato to be an effective leader, one must be properly educated, more so than the previous leader (Plato 874).

It is important to learn about those who came before us in order to understand how exactly this world came to be the way that it is. History is known to repeat itself, so learning about the past can help to prevent things like world wars from happening again. However, not everything can be prevented. Studying the past also shows us how things such as the death penalty was handled. Learning about Socrates and ancient Greece teaches us philosophy as well as where the modern day democracy came from.

In Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics, the topic of the ideal form of government is addressed at several points. Among the forms of government discussed is democracy, which Plato and Aristotle critique using their own objective reasoning. As a student of Plato, Aristotle shares many opinions as his teacher, including a similar critique of regime types. That said, Aristotle has a differing view on democracy in large part thanks to his contrasting psyche. In this paper, I will use passages from the Republic and Politics to answer the question, “how did Plato’s and Aristotle’s personalities create a tension between their physiological beliefs? And how did this tension influence their views on democracy?” I will use an examination of Plato’s ranking of regimes and Aristotle’s 3 good forms and 3 bad forms of government in order to analyze their interpretation of the ideal form of government and create a framework that will make the tension between Plato and Aristotle easier to pinpoint. Upon analyzation of the Republic and Politics, it is evident that Aristotle’s psyche creates a tension with Plato’s because while Plato uses subjective arguments to stress the importance of knowledge, Aristotle uses more rational arguments to put a higher emphasis on the power of observation and the establishment of reality. This difference in their views of the world around them directly influences their stance on democracy. Plato claims that democracy is a faulty form of government,

Plato recommends that democratic is not best for the state on the grounds that it doesn't convey information to the cutting edge, yet rather, the most well-known government official or best speaker. In this belief system the state is not being administered by the most qualified but rather by the individual with the best picture. Plato has a privilege to be baffled with Athenian vote based system on the grounds that Socrates was killed by a component of that administering body.[11] In Plato's eyes majority rule government is not a sound government in light of the fact that the administration is not looking for information. The leaders of the city-state are looking for riches and renown and not putting the needs of the group over their own. Ogochukwu

In short, it outlines the problem that there can be no correct leadership in a democracy. The leader elected by the people must act accordingly to secure and maintain his position, as a result the leader cannot act in the best interest of the society, only in the interests of the ‘mob.’ Secondly, Plato argues that within a democracy there will always be factions or a group of people that believe they are right, these factions gain power and support through their wealth and property. This problem creates conflicts and a breakdown of society which Plato believes could lead to civil war. Thirdly, Plato suggests that a proper society maintains itself by stability and authority. Stability is maintained by looking towards the future rather than short term, when authority is lost the people lose sight of what is best for them, thus losing stability. Finally, considering points two and three Plato argues that with a breakdown of authority and stability combined with factions, this would result in violence creating the inevitability of civil war. As a consequence, tyranny is formed to end violence in the interest of the many for the power of the one. These four problems present the inevitability that democracy is destined for ruin.

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