Idealistic and Realistic View of Justice

1066 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Plato's response to thrasymachus

Introduction
Throughout human existence, there has always been a struggle between the idealistic views and the realistic views of justice. The idealistic person believes that everyone deserves justice; however, there have been times when people have been wrongfully convicted for a crime and spent years in prison. In the movie, The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne understands the corruption of the justice system in Gotham City and creates a vigilante persona to bring justice to Gotham City. The Joker, the realist, realizes that Gotham City cannot be saved because he believes that the true nature of human beings is selfishness. In The Republic, Plato argues that power should be used to govern in the best interests of the entire community. Thrasymachus the realist, however, argued that success can be achieved by caring for the citizenry so that they can provide material wealth and power for the leader or leaders. Batman is the idealist because, by becoming a vigilante, he is considering the community’s best interests which are consistent to Plato’s philosophy (The Dark Knight). Batman believes that justice should be used to protect the weak from the manipulative. Joker is the realist because, by being a villain, he places his everyone else’s interests over others and considers them as the best for himself, which is consistent with Thrasymachus’ viewpoint (The Dark Knight). In this paper, I will discuss the similarities and differences between idealistic views of the Dark Knight and Plato and the realistic views of the Joker and Thrasymachus.
The similarity and differences between idealistic views of the Dark Knight and Plato
Both Batman and Plato share similar idealistic viewpoints regarding how power should be used for the common good...

... middle of paper ...

...The Joker became the most dangerous criminal in Gotham. In both The Dark Knight and Plato’s The Republic, the ideals and realistic beliefs were similar but the methods used to obtain those ideals were mildly different.

Works Cited

Cooper, John. Plato. Complete Works. ed. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company 1997. Print.
Dusty Hoesly and Nicholas D. Smith “Thrasymachus: Diagnosis and Treatment.” Journal of the History of Philosophy 33.1 (1995): 381-408 print.
Korab-Karpowicz, W. J. "Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.” Plato: Political Philosophy. N.p., 3 Oct. 2003. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
The Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart. 2008. DVD.
T.D.J. Chappell. “The Virtues of Thrasymachus.” PHRONESIS: A journal for ancient philosophy 38.1 (1993): 1-17 print.
Plato. The Republic. Baltimore, MD: Penguin, 1955

Show More
Related

  • Justice and Moderation of the Soul in The Republic, by Plato

    3023 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Formation of Real Truth: Plato's Allegory of the Cave and Shakespeare's Othello

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    Plato. “Republic VII.” Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy From Thales to Aristotle. Comp. and ed. S. Marc cohen, Patricia Curd, and C.D. C. Reeve. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1995. 370-374

    Read More

  • Comparing the Family of Kingsolver’s Bean Trees with the Ideal Family of Socrates

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    Plato. The Republic. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. 2nd ed. Michael L. Morgan. Indianapolis : Hackett Publishing Company, 1996. 32 - 246.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Thucydides' Views on the Melian Dialogue

    1591 Words  | 4 Pages

    Works Cited: The Melian Dialogue, Thucydides

    Read More

  • Batman Compare And Contrast Spiderman And Beowulf

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    Batman occurs in a time period and setting location different from Beowulf. Batman takes place in a city named Gotham city that resembles much of that in modern New York city. Gotham is a modern city congested with buildings and people. Beowulf setting is in Denmark during a more medieval period with a less number of people. Another Difference between both heroes is their personality. Batman is more of hypocritical man who cares for the good of the people. Batman also does not believe in killing people no matter the situation or the individual. Overall Batman is more of a modest man who does not care for fame neither does he care for money. Batman uses a mask so his face remains concealed and free from the public and his enemies. Beowulf is more of an arrogant character with lots of pride and unafraid to kill, he likes to show off and only fights battles that have rewards for him. Often the rewards being money and fame. Batman relies on knowledge, gadgets and his sidekick Robin unlike Beowulf who relies on strength and agility with little to no weapons and no combat partner. Comparing batman with Beowulf bring out a great differentiation between both, nevertheless still having similarities and being

    Read More

  • Batman As A Monomythic Hero

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    Miller’s version brings with it many mixed responses from fans and critics, which makes it interesting to explore whether Batman in Miller’s version is an American monomythic hero as presented by Lawrence and Jewett. Even though there is some evidence of how The Dark Knight Returns follows the monomyth, overall Batman cannot be defined as a monomythic hero.

    Read More

  • The Dark Knight Allegory Analysis

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Dark Knight: An Allegory of America in the Age of Bush”, Ron Briley comparing the terrorist acts of 9/11 to one of America’s top movies, The Dark Knight Rises from the Batman series. Briley gives many different ideas of similarities and a lot of good points, but is not as clear as you would hope someone would be when trying to persuade and convince you to believe such an allegory. Briley is comparing many of the main cast in The Dark Knight to many real people who are not as great as these characters are seemed to be.

    Read More

  • Understanding the Heroic Spectrum

    1781 Words  | 4 Pages

    Perceptions of the superhero and supervillain are mainly based on subjective definitions of each concept. These observations often lead to a definitive dichotomy that precisely splits characters into two impermeable divisions. However, this stringent separation is unable to account for the characters that are not at the extreme ends of their respective side. Neither is this rift capable of classifying characters that flirt with both sides of the superhero-supervillain dichotomy. Therefore it is imperative to analyze the established criteria for both superhero and supervillain to derive a more adequate explanation. Most superheroes are not easily characterized, but rather fall somewhere between Superman, the bastion of moral purity, and Doctor Doom, the display of indubitable corruption. This solicits genesis of an entirely new notion about the differences between superheroes and supervillains. A more precise idea is that superheroes and supervillains are lined on a spectrum that spans from pure good to pure evil. Disparities between superheroes and supervillains are not black and white, but rather these characters are on a spectrum that radically changes based on individual cases.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Plato's Republic

    1502 Words  | 4 Pages

    Plato's Republic centers on a simple question: is it always better to be just than unjust? The Republic sustains reflections on political questions, as well. Not that ethics and politics exhaust the concerns of the Republic.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Batman

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the earliest 1940 's superhero films started to become popular on the big screens. One of these popular films is known as Batman, which came out first as a comic book called "The Killing Joke". Batman is considered to be a superhero possessing great talents and for being a true example of hope towards Gotham city. Although these superheroes are one of the main characters in movies, they also have enemies to confront with which are also known as super villains. In this case, the Joker known for his criminal mastermind plays an important role as a villain. Having a huge impact through films, film viewers have had the chance to appreciate different versions of the Batman 's movies. The Joker, being one of the most classical villains in DC Universe is portrayed in different aspects. Analyzing Tim Burton 's Batman (1989) and Christopher Nolan 's The Dark Knight (2008), viewers can assimilate but also differentiate the Joker in couple ways.

    Read More

  • Plato's Works

    1893 Words  | 4 Pages

    Plato. The Works of Plato. Trans. Irwin Edman. New York : The Modern Library, 1983.

    Read More

  • Is Batman A Hero Or A Villain Analysis

    462 Words  | 1 Pages

    The terms "hero" and "villain" are as distinct as the terms "good" and "evil." They are mutually exclusive; the hero is courageous, popular, strong, morally, and willing to save the people at whatever cost, while the villain is despicable, hated, and heinous to his core. However, when we turn away from the archetypal world of comic books, this distinction is no longer as clear. When we look at real human beings we do not see a hero as a hero or a villain as a villain, but rather individuals composed of varying degrees of both extremes. No hero is perfect, and no villain is completely heinous. The most recent film adaptation of the DC Comic series Batman presents this truth of human nature. The Dark Knight Rises effectively communicates the

    Read More

  • Agamemnon as a Tyrant as Described by Plato's "The Republic"

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    Plato. The Republic. Trans. Sterling, Richard and Scott, William. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1985.

    Read More

  • Aristotle: The Pursuit of Happiness

    1374 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Comparison of Plato's and Aristotle's Political Theories." Novel Guide. Novel Guide, n.d. Web. 4 May 2014. .

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Batman Based on Aristotle's Virtue

    1468 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Aristotle, man should strive to mimic Batman because he is virtuous. However, not necessarily Bruce Wayne since he is vulgarian. Yet, I noticed that Batman cannot maintain good relationships with the opposite sex. He will never be able to keep any relationship because of his obsession to fight crime. If Wayne were to find a balance between the normal life and the Batman life, he could have good relationships. However, since the ultimate goal is to attain happiness in the ethics, and part of that involves having good true relationships. Then is Batman really a good model for humans to look up to? No, while one may be virtuous, it does not imply that he will have a good life. Therefore, I do not agree with Aristotle’s assessment.

    Read More

More about Idealistic and Realistic View of Justice

Open Document