Politics was a very significant part of Greek culture and participation in politics was one of the main duties of citizens in Ancient Athens; however, the political regime of Ancient Athens was flawed, this presented an opportunity for political thinkers to criticize it and develop their own ideas; Plato and Aristotle were among the political thinkers, they contributed to the politics of their time in significant ways. Plato’s views were shaped by his teacher Socrates, the political state of Athens, and the Peloponnesian War; the Republic is one of his most famous works, it was written as narrative, and his thoughts were communicated through the voice of the character Socrates. The central ideas behind the Republic are government and justice; throughout the book, Plato describes the ideal state in which citizens use their skills and work together to bring harmony and peace to the city-state. He goes into explicit detail about the organization of the state, the different classes, and the characteristics that each class must possess; in his political theory, Plato argues that a few virtuous philosophers should rule the city. Aristotle was a student of Plato, and although they agreed on some aspects of politics, they disagree on more significant concepts; in Politics, Aristotle describes his political theory and covers a wide range of topics; however, unlike the Republic which focuses on justice, Politics focuses on the central idea of the purpose of life, which Aristotle argues is virtue and happiness. The focus of this paper will be Plato and Aristotle’s positions on the issue of who should rule. Plato argues that a few philosophers should rule, and Aristotle argues that the many, or multitude, should rule; their ideas are complex ...
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...g and practical because it can be applied to our contemporary politics and modern society. Through analyzing and comparing Plato and Aristotle’s complex political theories of the correct and incorrect political regimes, the quantity of rulers, and the important characteristics and virtues of the best rulers, this paper aimed to argue that the wisdom of the multitude would result in a better, more just, and harmonious state than the wisdom of the few. However, both of the Republic and Politics are thought-provoking and relevant pieces of literature that have stood against the test of time and still remain popular works that contribute to the world of political science and allow us to reflect on our modern society, as well as introducing various ideas in which our society can be altered and improved to achieve the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
Justice in Socrates’ City While Adeimantus and Glaucon appear to enthusiastically accept Socrates’ conclusions about the nature and benefits of justice at the end of Book IV, even going so far as to complete his argument about the profit of justice themselves, they only do so because they have followed Socrates’ argument linearly without going back to test new claims against established premises. Had they done so, they would have been to discover the gaps in Socrates’ logic and the full implications
Plato’s Republic: Justice and Injustice in Thrasymachus' Account ABSTRACT: This paper has a two-fold task. First, I show that there are three types of individuals associated with the Thrasymachean view of society: (a) the many, i.e., the ruled or those exploited individuals who are just and obey the laws of the society; (b) the tyrant or ruler who sets down laws in the society in order to exploit the many for personal advantage; (c) the "stronger" individual (kreittoon) or member of the society
Context and Contradictions in Plato's Phaedrus and Plato's Symposium It is well known that Plato, a devoted student of Socrates, chronicled many of Socrates' speeches and conversations. Every so often one can find instances where Socrates and other players in these conversations seem to contradict themselves, or at least muddle their arguments. One such occurrence of this is in Plato's Symposium and Plato's Phaedrus. Both texts speak of love in its physical sense, both texts describe love and
dialectical method is inherently dynamic and open-ended: not only are such conclusions as are reached in the dialogues subject to further criticism, so are the assumptions on which those conclusions are based. In these and other ways explored in this paper, Plato demonstrates that paideia has no harbor within philosophy. Jaeger declares in his massive Paideia that civilization, culture, tradition, literature, and education are all merely aspects of what the Greeks meant by their term `paideia', and that
theory. In particular, Plato rejects the modern account of rationality as the maximization of subjectively evaluated self-interest because, had he adopted such an account, his theory of justice would be subject to criticisms which he holds are fatal to the contractarian theory of justice. While formulating a theory to remain within ethical constraints sometimes violates the canons of scientific theorizing, Plato avoids this mistake. The first serious account of justice Plato considers in the Republic
The Perspective of Plato and Aristotle on the Value of Art As literary critics, Plato and Aristotle disagree profoundly about the value of art in human society. Plato attempts to strip artists of the power and prominence they enjoy in his society, while Aristotle tries to develop a method of inquiry to determine the merits of an individual work of art. It is interesting to note that these two disparate notions of art are based upon the same fundamental assumption: that art is a form of mimesis
All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they are loved for themselves; and above all others the sense of sight”. This is the foundation of human knowledge Aristotle presents us with in Book Alpha of the Metaphysics. The next question which we must naturally ask ourselves is, How? How is it that we can have any knowledge at all? We by our very nature desire to know and we love the senses in themselves but what
a symbol that needed to be disposed of for the elites to remain the power-holders in society. List of Works Cited Plato. "The Apology of Socrates." West, Thomas G. and West, Grace Starry, eds. Plato and Aristophanes: Four Texts on Socrates. Itacha, NY: Cornell University Press, 1984. 1Plato, "The Apology of Socrates," Thomas G. West and Grace Starry West, eds., Plato and Aristophanes: Four Texts on Socrates. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1984), s.19c, p.66. 2Ibid, s.29a/32d
This world is filled with distorted images about reality. Inside the cave, the prisoners believe that the shadows they see on the wall are actual reality. Their “bodily eye” tells them that this world is real because their senses perceive so. Plato suggests that the senses do not perceive actual truth. The “mind’s eye” is not active inside the cave because the prisoners are imprisoned in this distorted world, which they believe is reality. When one prisoner is pulled out of the cave and into
lthough today's society includes much technology and new things are supposedly being discovered every day, many age old questions still remain unanswered; questions such as: "Can virtue be taught?" This question is examined in detail throughout Plato's Meno, and although the play leaves the question as to what virtue is unanswered, Socrates attempts an answer to Meno's question. Although he is not particularly keen on answering whether virtue can be taught without first having a complete understanding
City Atlantis is known to most people as a legend or myth written by the Greek poet Plato, but is it possible that this lost continent really existed? Is it all legend or could there be some fact to it? Contrary to common belief there have been numerous geological and historical findings that actually give proof to the existence of this lost city. In the book Imagining Atlantis it tells us the story written by Plato. "According to ancient Egyptian temple records the Athenians fought an aggressive war
are by nature pleasant; and virtuous actions are such… Their life, therefore, has no further need of pleasure as a sort of adventitious charm, but has pleasure in itself.” Ethics, I.8 Aristotle was a student under Plato, and although he did not believe in the metaphysical Forms that Plato so firmly believed in, he did apply an element of the theory behind the Forms. Instead, what Aristotle postulated was that there was some ultimate, some final goal to which we all reach, but instead of being some
The Ambiguity of Plato For hundreds of years, Plato has been admired as a writer, a master rhetorician, an artist, and above all, a philosopher; however, Plato's backlashes against sophistry and art have led to much confusion concerning his ideas and beliefs. John Poulakos says of Plato, "[F]or most rhetoricians Plato has always played the same role he assigned to the sophists--the enemy" (Nienkamp 1). Plato will always appear to be the skilled rhetorician or artist who speaks out against rhetoric
elites to remain the power holders in society. Works Cited and Consulted: Plato. "The Apology of Socrates." West, Thomas G. and West, Grace Starry, eds. Plato and Aristophanes: Four Texts on Socrates. Itacha, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997 "Plato." Literature of the Western World, Volume 1. 5th edition by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001. 1197-1219. "Plato." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Volume I. 6th ed. NY: W.W. Norton
In Cicero’s, “First Philippic against Marcus Antonius,'; he is offering his view on the political situation after the death of Caesar. His purpose for coming before the Senate is to drive them to the realization that Marcus Antonius and his actions are slowly breaking down the unity of the country. He praises Marcus Antonius for his fine speech, intentions, and promises, then points out the fallacies and unconstitutionality of Marcus Antonius’ actions. He reminds the Senators that