The Importance Of Democracy By Socrates

Many of the lessons that my family taught me deal with the idea of freedom. My father, mother, and brother taught me to always be myself, and to do what I want to do. Both of these ideas follow the concepts of a democracy, which we live in. In a democracy, the “good” is freedom, and the “just” is tolerance of diversity. While these are the values that shaped my fathers and brothers teaching, they are not correct. Freedom can be a bad thing, especially too much. Socrates says,” For extreme freedom probably cannot lead to anything but a change to extreme slavery, whether in a private individual or a city” (564a3). I may believe freedom to be the “good” and the way to happiness, but that is because I am stuck in the cave, believing the images

The most just being the philosopher for he seeks the truth. However, I believe that there are other ways for one to become happy that do not involve becoming a philosopher. I think that Plato is assuming that everyone is the same and if everyone saw the life of the philosopher they would want it over their own. Socrates says, “So, of the three pleasures, then, the most pleasant would be that of the part of the soul with which we learn, and the one of us in whom it rules has the most pleasant life” (583a). He assumes that the most pleasant or the happiest life comes from learning or the love of knowledge. But for some people that just isn’t what they want most in life. The issue with assuming that people would choose the life of the philosopher if they could, is that everyone has the opportunity to. If one wants to become a philosopher, even if they cannot make it, they have the opportunity to try. The philosopher believes his life to be superior to others because that is what he wants in life. Because Plato assumes that everyone wants to be a philosopher he concludes that everyone must have the same education, that is only found in his

Plato believes that can only be achieved in this utopian society, Kallipolis. This is because he is under the impression that a democracy will teach one to desire the wrong things. The “good” in a democracy is freedom, and he thinks that, ” For extreme freedom probably cannot lead to anything but a change to extreme slavery, whether in a private individual or a city” (564a3). He is assuming that freedom will lead to extreme freedom, whatever that is, and that will actually lead to slavery. In his assumption freedom becomes a terrible thing that will return to what it was trying to protect against, slavery. I feel that wanting freedom is not a bad thing at all, but a way to let everyone be who they want to be. Our whole society is based off the idea of freedom, and not everyone living here is unlawful and a horrible person. There are many good people who live in a