Individualism In Plato And Mill

Plato and Mill lived in separate centuries, far from another. Despite this, they were able to connect through philosophical arguments that disregard time. The philosophy of Plato is similar to Mill but contradict their values in separate areas. Plato’s ideology portrays a world with a strict caste system where individuals were born into a specific role. In contrast, Mill believed in a society where a human being is only limited in their sense of purpose through their sheer power of will. Plato and Mill’s resolve is an image of a happy society where the difference is based between individualism and society as a whole. Through Plato’s eyes, every member is important and each citizen makes up the entire individual society. Plato’s ideal community

The simile represents the corruption of people in power or politicians where the knowledge and truth is hidden from the general people. The common people of a society are shown as the prisoners in the cave who are bound by their necks and can view nothing except the wall before them. On the wall, the prisoners are able to see objects and shadow caste from the fire behind. The prisoners are ignorant and believe that the shadows are real because it is all that they have ever known. This did not change until one of the prisoners is let out and for the first time sees objects other than the shadows. Once he stepped outside, the man “would be able to look upon the sun itself and see its true nature, not by reflections in water or phantasms of it in an alien setting” (Plato 516b). The ex-prisoner realizes that the shadows on the wall were a deception this entire time. According to Plato, he will want to go back into the cave to share his new found knowledge and wisdom with his comrades in order to enlighten them. However, the other prisoners did not believe that he was telling the truth and even thought that the ex-prisoner was less intelligent than they are. The objective of the allegory was that Plato believes that a society should be ruled by philosophers who are free thinker. However, this also show that others made ridicule the philosophers and mistreat them even when they are speaking the truth. These

For Plato, it is difficult to conclude that his society of the three classes is an entirely equal one. This is because although each class is a necessity for the city to function properly, one class appears to have more power than the other two. Ultimately, the Guardian class is superior to both the Producers and Auxiliaries. It can also be argued that an individual should have an equal amount of freedom to move upward or demote themselves between the social castes. The suppression of individuality is also a hard concept to grasp for Plato assumes that the masses are easily willing to give up their freedom simple because he tells them to. Nonetheless, Plato points out a valid point about democracy. His simile of the ship can be seen in the current society where politicians try to persuade voters onto their side so they can gain power and recognition. The analogy also helps understand how short sighted the general population are. Especially living in the technological era,quick accessibility is key and the long term future is not of a priority. On the other side, Mill’s city where there is equal opportunity and freedom of expression, it becomes problematic where to draw the line of whether an action or speech is considered harmful. Because causing harm is subjective, there is not one sure rule or way to satisfy each individual of the city. However, Mill view of society is more applicable with