The Republic, By Plato

Imagine the potential of their assets in the prehistoric past, Plato says that societies always formed for a particular purpose. Human beings are not self-sufficient. No one works alone can get all the real necessities of life. In order to resolve this difficulty, we come together in mutual societies to achieve our common goals. This works because we can not work more efficiently if each one of us specializes in the practice of a particular profession: I make all of the shoes. I grow all of the vegetables. I did all the carpentry work. Etc. Thus, Plato held that such separation of functions and specialization in the work are the keys to establish a society worthy of attention.

Plato’s idea of civic justice displays a criteria for specialization that holds each individual responsible for producing their own rendition of excellence that leads to a just life, which produces a just city, and ultimately civic justice. Plato describes civic justice as “…doing one’s own work provided that it comes to be in a certain way” (433b-pg.108).

In his philosophical text, The Republic, Plato argues that justice can only be realized by the moderation of the soul, which he claims reflects as the moderation of the city. He engages in a debate, via the persona of Socrates, with Ademantus and Gaucon on the benefit, or lack thereof, for the man who leads a just life. I shall argue that this analogy reflecting the governing of forces in the soul and in city serves as a sufficient device in proving that justice is beneficial to those who believe in, and practice it. I shall further argue that Plato establishes that the metaphorical bridge between the city and soul analogy and reality is the leader, and that in the city governed by justice the philosopher is king.

What was the most underrepresented social group in the elected assemblies of the world? whether is the minority ethnic, religious groups or the poor? According to Putman’s statistic, the answer was “women”. (Putnam 1976 cited in Megyery 1991) Statistics have shown that although women around the globe occupy more than one half of the population, very small proportion become political elite. Different from what women have encountered, man tends to dominate many spheres in life which includes electoral politics. Such gender disparity happens everywhere not just in Canada. Ever since Canadian women suffrage and the right to candidacy was achieved, they have made a couple strides in political arena, yet not as many as they wish with the existence of electoral glass ceiling standing

The first article “We’re a Republic”, states that we the United States of America do indeed have a republic government. People tend to walk around believing that we are a democracy, but that’s only because they think of democracy in a different way. We see democracy as in we the people get the say in what the government does, when in fact true democracy is making decisions through voting or meetings. The Framers never intended for the United States be a democracy. They believed being a democracy was dangerous and not a good idea. The constitution clearly states that we are meant to be a republic, where representatives make the decisions for us. I agree, not only do we pledge to the republic but we also elect officials to speak and make decisions for us, which is basically what a republic consists of.

Phaedo is a recount of Socrates’ final hour before his death, written by Plato in the form of a dialogue between Phaedo (Socrates’ prison guard) and Echecrates (1). In Socrates’ final hours we find him surrounded by like minds, pondering what happens to the soul after death, and if death is truly the end or just a new beginning. Those present at the prison include Socrates, Apollodorus, Simmias, Cebes, and Phaedo (2).

In reality, however, women are equally and in some ways more qualified to hold leadership positions than men. Although there is no single explanation for why women are underrepresented in politics, the gender gap in the political arena stems from the lack of female participation in elections as women are often discouraged or feel threatened by society to run for political office. Young women who aspire a career in politics encounter both structural and emotional barriers, which prevent them from running for political office. Women battle issues of self-confidence, face stereotypes, and derive false perceptions of political campaigns, all of which broaden the gender gap in the political

When one reflects upon the various characteristics of all the previous presidents in the history of America, one trait has remained unchanged: they have all been male. In well over 200 years and 57 presidential elections, the United States has never elected a woman as president. Still more telling, a woman has never even been nominated to run for president at the top of the ticket of a major national political party in the U.S., and only two, Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin, have been selected for the number two slot. Nevertheless, women have been running for the nation’s highest office even before they earned the right to vote in 1920 with the passage of the 19th Amendment. In 1872 Victoria Claflin Woodhull became the first woman to

Socrates advocates this when he says “The result, then, is that more plentiful and better-quality goods are more easily produces if each person does one thing for which he* is naturally suited, does it at the right time, and is released from having to do any of the others.” (p. 45 370c)  In the simple city, the City of Pigs, that Socrates first creates, the professions include farmers, builders, weavers, carpenters, cobblers, shepherds, cowherds, metal workers, importers, and merchants*. This city contains the bare necessities, and the professions reflect that.

Equality for women has been an ongoing debate for years. Most people recognize the inequality for women in areas besides the business world. However, women in politics is one of the most well-known topics. Until a few years ago, the thought of having a woman as president was absurd. It wasn’t until the 2008 election that the idea of a woman for president would change drastically. Both Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton decided to run in the 2008 presidential election. Although neither of the two were elected, they both still made a dramatic impact on the views of women in politics. Michelle Bernard states that the 2008 election was a breakthrough for women in general. However, Marie Cocco disagrees, stating that the loss was a major disappointment for women. Although both authors feel strongly about their

Plato thought that citizens of the Republic must be willing to strip away their material ornaments and consider more than their bodies when deciding what is good and just. Socrates continues that, if stripped of bodily differences, a woman (clothed in 'virtue') possesses the same quality of soul as a man. Thus she should possess the same role in the Republic: "there is no practice of a city's governors which belongs to woman because she's woman, or to man because he's man; but the natures are scattered alike along both animals" (455d). Therefore Plato does not just believe that women can play a vital role in his utopian society, he believes that women have the capacity to rule as guardians. He does maintain however that as with men it is the very best women who have the capacity to rule as guardians in his society.

In Plato’s, “The Republic,” Socrates mediates conversation, as he challenges himself, and those around him to arbitrate the value of justice and conceptualize the significance that it holds for both the individual and the state. Throughout books I to VI, Socrates, Glaucon, and Adameitus constructively develop a sense of justice through argument and the formation of an ideal state. However, this embodiment reaches a deadlock in the middle of book V when Socrates pronounces that everything discussed thus far is nothing but an ideology, unless a philosopher king is manifested.

In Plato’s Republic Book 1, Thrasymachus argues that morality is the advantage of the stronger. To support his view, Thrasymachus first claims that the governments, which are the stronger parties, always pass laws based on their own interest, and then argues that subjects must always obey these laws, therefore morality is the advantage of the stronger. Socrates gives two sets of counter arguments. First, by differentiating apparent advantage and actual advantage to the stronger, Socrates argues that the obedience to the laws by the subjects can be occasionally not in the actual interest of the rulers. Second, by claiming that all craftsmen only consider the welfare of the recipients of expertise instead of their own interest,

After reading The Republic there are three main points that Plato had touched on. The first of these three points is that Plato is disheartened with democracy. It was due to Socrates’ untimely death during Athens’ democracy that led to his perception of the ideal state as referred to in The Republic. Plato perceived that the material greed was one of the many evils of politics; in Plato’s eyes greed was one of the worst evils of political life. Thus economic power must be separated from political power; he came to this conclusion due to an experience that filled him with a hatred for mob mentality. He concluded that a democracy must be replaced with a government ruled by the wisest and the greatest people fit for the job; the people that would be fit for the job would be called Philosopher-Kings; which I will touch on later. Plato feels that democracy is a form of political organization that is exceptionally inferior as compared to other types of political organizations such as a monarchy and aristocracy. He came to this notion because of the fact that in his eyes the average man and woman would be inclined to make improper decisions for the society based on greed. Plato viewed all forms of government as being corrupt; the key components in an ideal society are morality and justice. The forms of government that Plato thought were corrupt was timocracy, which would ultimately fall and crumble into an oligarchy which then turns into a democracy, then last but not least turns

While is it the belief of many that the Principle of Specialization is the most repulsive feature introduced to us by Plato in the Republic, the opposing argument is that the use of specialization is a great idea. Businesses aim to operate with as much productivity as possible while having very little waste, so why not our communities? The Principle of Specialization is present in all aspects of the community, from its humble beginnings of only a handful of men1 and even more so in the state that grows into one that needs an army for protection 2. By examining each new layer that is added, we can study each new aspect of specialization that is added to the