The Ideas Of Plato And Plato's Republic

In Book VII of the Republic, Plato intimates that someone “returning from a mode of existence which involves greater lucidity” (63-4) would “much prefer, as Homer describes it, ‘being a slave labouring for someone else – someone without property’ […] than share [the] beliefs and [the] life” of ignorant “people who [have, by virtue of being (born) astute, managed to accrue a great deal of] status and power” for themselves despite the sizeable odds stacked against them (62).

At the beginning of Book I, we are introduced to the narrator, Socrates, and his audience of peers. We are made aware, however, of Socrates' special charm and intellectual gifts through the insistence of Polemarchus and the other men for the pleasure of his company. The tone is casual and language and modes of expression rather simple, as is commonly the case in Plato's dialogues. However, Plato's unaffected style serves at least two purposes. For one it belies the complexity and elevation of the ideas, thus it is in accord with Socrates' characteristic irony itself, which draws the "fool" in by feigned ignorance, only so that the master can show that he does not know what he thinks he knows. And second,

The shaky past of Athens, after the loss of the war against the Spartans and the overthrow of the democracy they loved and fought for caused suspicion in Socrates who had association to Critas, a bloodthirsty tyrant in an oligarchy called the “Thirty Tyrants” From a harmless town character Socrates influence on the youth of Athens was being questioned.

The conviction of Socrates is the darkest moment in Athenian history. In Crito Socrates argues that it is always in one’s best interest to act justly. He argues that those who voted against him were only voting as they did to do damage to him. He says that they did so without so much as an inclination that their votes would lead to his conviction and execution. Socrates had made a fool of almost every politician and had made many enemies, many of whom considered themselves as the higher echelon of Athens. He had not regarded these “wise” people with the amount of respect that they felt they deserved. He had denounced their wisdom, position, wealth, power, and intelligence publicly. They hated Socrates because of the respect that he was being given by the people of Athens and he wasn’t anyone of status or power. Yet the people followed him and the young men from the aristocratic party listened to him, discussed with him, debated him, and loyally followed his teachings.

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, in his early works, maintained a steadfast distance from involvement in politics, making a comparison or evaluation of a political system in his persona technically impossible. To claim that Socrates would or would not be supportive of any political system might then seem irresponsible, a presumptuous analysis not fitting for an academic recognizing the false equivalence between Socrates’ philosophy and Machiavelli’s political ethics. The strategy to conduct any sort of liable and valid analysis is not to wholly ignore the “political” part of the system but to evaluate

Socrates continues the conversation with Glaucon and now focuses on the obligation of the guardians and philosophers to serve the people as a result of their education.

“the having and doing of one’s own and what belongs to one would be agreed to

believes that the son will realize to be just is only worth it if you can get a

In reading the Republic, there is no reason to search for arguments which show that Platonic justice ('inner justice' or 'psychic harmony') entails ordinary justice. The relationship between inner justice and ordinary justice is of no importance in Plato's Republic. We note that Plato tries to argue from the very first book that the true source of normativity lies in knowledge attained by philosophical reason. What is crucial, then, is the relationship between inner justice and acts which brings about a just polis.

Let me tell you about “the perfect republic.” First, I’ll describe it to you using Plato’s Republic as a guide. Then, I’ll explain whether it is better to live in Plato’s republic or in a timarchy, oligarchy, democracy, or a tyranny.

Though we’ve discussed many kinds of governments, ideal cities and even ideal rulers over the course of the semester, from Aristotle’s Politics to the city described in the Melian dialogue, there is one that undoubtedly left a greater on me than the other- the city described in Plato’s Republic. From Plato’s remarkably feminist ideals and vague sense of barebones socialism, there’s a lot in this city that I hypothetically would throw my support behind. This is not to say that I think that this is the “best” option of the cities that we studied options, or even that it would even work if applied to real life. However, the ideas brought up about how to create this city and what would be required of all it’s citizens in order to make it work are undeniably fascinating and are never black or white. But what I love about the Republic, and why it so personally resonates with and has impacted me, is that it brings up interesting questions about morality and how far one should go in order to create a perceived “perfect society”. Questions that there is no easy answer to.

In Plato’s Republic, Plato proposes a political structure, that he believes will lead to a harmonious unity between his citizens. However, he neglects the important social structure, that is required to create equality, peace, and prosperity for all. The wisdom found in The Gospel of Luke, serve as the other important facet vital for establishing an ideal society, a social and ethical structure. Together, these two texts describe the two essential aspects required to create the ideal state that allows its citizens to coexist in harmony, while experiencing the great expanse of prosperity that a utopian society has to offer.

In the simile of the cave We are asked to picture a group of people

Plato, on the other hand, was from an aristocratic and upper-class family in Athens. He was also one of Socrates’s most highly regarded students and ended up opening his own Academy. Plato’s life was heavily influenced by the ideas of Socrates and heavily impacted by “the deterioration of Athenian politics (Pg. 80).” After the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War, political tensions in Athens began to arise between different groups of people and Plato despised it. More specifically, Plato despised democracy, as he thought it allowed unqualified people within the government to make important decisions. After the execution of his beloved teacher, Plato vowed to make a change.