I believe Plato’s Republic is important because it alludes to both the good and bad that is democracy. In this prompt Scott Christiansen quotes Plato saying that democracy is a “charming” form of government because it is diverse and gives equality to those who are poor and rich. These words describe democracy in a positive light; however, soon after Plato begins to delve deeper into why democracy is not all melted pots and campfire songs. Plato proceeds to say that democracies usually evolve into a form of government where chaos between the rich and the poor is prominent. This disorder and disagreement between both diverse groups ultimately leads to the search for a leader that will protect ideologies held by these groups. Sometimes these
First, Pericles strongly promoted the benefits of an organized democracy at a funeral orientation for fallen Roman soldiers. He cried, “While every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public, we rewarded our most distinguished citizens by asking them to make our political decisions” (2). This encouraged citizens to work hard. They elected people to office similarly to how Americans elect people for office today. The Greek democracy heavily impacted the modern day American democracy because every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public and make important political decisions.
He also believed that “the welfare of society had always been left to corrupt or incompetent politicians, ignorant voters, over-ambitious generals, and other people unsuited to run a state” (Plato: Democracy). He believed that philosophers should be in charge (Plato: Democracy) and in his mind, the government should be representative of the ordinary man. While Plato would never have considered himself a supporter of democracy, I believe that many of his ideas fit nicely into one. In my ideal government, the voice of the general public would be more important than those of politicians, because as humans, we are easily corrupted and when only a few individuals are in power, it is only the rich and powerful who end up with a
The basic and most important element of democracy is to understand that a democracy guarantees all humans rights. Not only that, but a democracy allows the citizens of that country to decide who will lead their country. Athenian Democracy: The Athenian Democracy is the first known democracy in the world. Athenian democracy was discovered in 508 BC by Cleisthenes.
Plato an ancient Greek philosopher, whose philosophical work influenced the founding of western thought. Born in 427 B.C in the town of Athens, during the time of the Peloponnesian War Plato witness the collapse of Athenian democracy and emergence of an Oligarchy, establish by the Spartan. The repressive system of government was known as the “the thirty” the thirty were elected officials who managed all of Athens affairs. However, the end result of the thirty was repressive governing for the Athenian people who were accustom to democracy. This was one major event, that had a profound impact on Plato life, due to the unjust ruling placed upon the Athenian people, by 403 B.C democracy was restored once again and Plato had an interest in politics,
Another example of the negativity of having an excess of democracy could be seen is with Shay’s Rebellion which showed one of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. With a direct democracy it is run by the people and every decision is made by the people. With this no state was willing to raise an army to put down Shay’s rebellion. On the other hand with a republic the states have to follow the rules stated within the Constitution. A Republic offered something that was able to limit the strength on the central government which was checks and balances within the three branches of the government, which ensured that one branch doesn’t get to strong.
For example in the United States we do not have a direct democracy like Athens, but a representative democracy. This means we elect representatives to make decisions for us. Without Athens democracy, the United States’ government may not be the democratic society it is
Plato believes that the highest class in society should represent and govern the people because of their skills and ability to produce and ensure a perfect society. Furthermore, I believe that good governance should consist of governing and controlling, freedom, justice and encourage
While some, like Plato in his The Republic, thought it weak to give government into the hands of the common people, Pericles countered this argument with a compelling argument of greatness. By putting government into the hands of the people, the people are united and more devoted to their country. Democracy bonds the people together in a way that no other government can understand. Pericles confidently states, “Athenians advance unsupported into the territory of a neighbor, and fighting upon a foreign soil usually vanquish with ease men who are defending their homes.”
Failure during the Peloponnesian War caused Greeks to question democracy and traditional Greek values. Plato disagreed with the way the state was run, especially after Athens’ loss at war. He discusses the meaning of justice and outlines how the ideal state should be governed in The Republic. He believes that the ideal state should be governed by a class of guardian rulers, who were trained as philosopher-kings. These rulers are the only members of society who could understand the Form of the Good and would be able to rule justly and logically.
Plato believed in democracy, but his idea of democracy put philosophers above everyone else as the decision makers. This isn 't a democracy either and resembles a monarchy with philosophers as the royalty. However, Aristotle did believe in a constitutional democracy which is the United States’ current government. Since the type of government Aristotle felt is superior is currently being used in a large power today, it makes his idea more significant. Overall, Aristotle’s way of thinking resembles current thinking in the west more so than Plato when looking at religion and reality, government, art, and
According to Socrates perspective, the democracy of Athens was corrupt and even though they courts were made in such a way that everyone was judged fairly, it wasn’t such because there were no rules or principles set forth. When a person was brought to court in the Athenian court and the person spoke against the jurors or offended them, he or she could be prosecuted based on that. In summary, judgment was passed based on emotion rather than on justice. In the Apology, Socrates stated, “my present request seems a just one, for you to pay no attention to my manner of speech-
What is justice? This is the crucial question that Plato attempts to answer in his dialogue, The Republic. He conjures up an allegory that justice can be found in a person, and a person can represent a city. Thus, his entire dialogue focuses on this ‘just’ city and the mechanics of how the city would operate. His dialogue covers a myriad of topics about justice in addition to the human soul, politics, goodness and truth.
Plato’s republic aims to describe a just state, and in turn a just individual consistently throughout the text. By analogising the justice of the state and the justice of the individual, Plato attempts to demonstrate that a just society will breed just individuals. However, there are certain loop holes within his thought process that can lead one to wonder whether or not his ideas are pragmatic, and could function within a real societal structure- and if human beings given their inherently selfish nature, can adopt the traits necessary in order to achieve justice and the ideal state described in the Republic. Plato described the human soul as a “tripartite soul” where three main qualities seen in the human being, will also be reflected in the three classes of the ideal state. Reason is the highest of the three main qualities, and it forms the class of rulers and guardians.
In Plato’s Republic, Socrates comes to the conclusion that we need to have a strong just society that is in the right order. In Books IV, V, and VI, Socrates explains that every society needs to be built on justice, everyone needs to have an occupation, and what a male and female household should look like. These are my prerequisites to what I consider essential to create a just society. Because without these qualities in an established society, you can hurt an entire civilization. And to Socrates argument, with an ideal king will come forms of co-operated citizens of a city.
Pericles ' viewpoint is nevertheless argued in The Republic, juxtaposing the qualifications of the ruling power and their competence versus the incapability of the general public to foster such a magnitude of power. Using "Socrates" as a fictional protagonist, Plato critiques democracy in The Republic. Through this protagonist, he reflects on the value of merits such as ‘justice, ' that are prevalent in the configuration of society as a whole and in the character of an individual being. He condemns societal democracy due to its foremost features such as freedom and equality. Although freedom is of utmost value to Plato, he is of the faith that freedom concocted with such a form of governance may run the risk of chaotic mobocracy.