Plato & Aristotle Plato and

Plato & Aristotle Plato and Aristotle on Justice and Pride Plato on Justice Plato claims justice involves all three parts of the whole performing their proper function. The Republic is an example of a dialogue, where the principle ideas of the work are conveyed through a conversation between Socrates and other individuals. In the first part, Socrates breaks down the common perception of justice through a logical series of questions.

Then in order to properly define what justice is, Socrates suggests that justice at work would be more evident in the State (i.e. city or nation), and once justice in the state is determined, then the same virtues can be applied to the individual. Therefore, what is justice in an individual will also be justice in the state. The three parts of the political body are the philosophers, the guardians and the workers/producers.

The theoretical perfect state that Socrates and his companions construct is recognized to require each of these three social classes, and corresponding virtues are ascribed to each. When each class of citizen is possessed of the required characteristics and performs the role that has been delineated, then the state functions as it is supposed to. The first recognized social caste is the workers/producers. These are the citizens that produce goods and perform services necessary to the community, such as farmers, sailors, herders, blacksmiths, and traders.

These workers are responsible for meeting the basic needs of the community, namely food, shelter, and clothing. In addition, there will be those professionals that provide luxuries beyond the survival necessities listed previously, such as art or literature or specialty foods. It is firmly established through debate that an individual should be most skilled at his profession when that is his sole occupation- for example, a carpenter does not also seek to be a farmer, for to do so is to limit his skill at carpentry.

Specialization of function is therefore a cornerstone of the functioning state. The conversation then turns to the soldiers of the state, or the guardians, as they are dubbed. While it is first suggested that the army would consist of the farmers, builders, and others fit of body from the worker class, who are pressed into military service in times of need. Socrates pints out that this goes against the prinicple of specialization which was just proved to be more efficient. "One man cannot practice many arts at once..

But is not war an art?" This is the root of the creation of the guardian class- that specialization confers more benefit than generalization, so it is not good for farmers and herders to try to also be soldiers. Soldiers, as defenders of the state, should be devoted to this one task, just like any other profession. The distinction, of course, is that the guardians' job is considered so important that they must live a completely different way of life than the people who desire luxury.

Deprived of the luxuries of the working class, and taught not to desire such things from a young age, the guardians are more effective soldiers because the defense of the state is their singular goal in life. These guardians are int particular trained to be courageous in situations that would make normal men quake in fear. The rulers are to be taken from the ranks of the guardians, and they are to be selected because they have never wavered in their duty to the state.

They are to be watched throughout their lives, and if they show the proper level of dedication to the good fortunes of the state, then they shall be selected to rule. If at any point they have failed in their duty to the state, then they shall be refused the elevated status of being a ruler. The three parts of human nature are the mind/soul, the emotions, and the bodily appetites.

In following the train of thought that justice in the context of the state can be related to the context of the individua, we see that each of the three social classes correspondes with a part of human nature, according to the prevalent virtue of each. The workers are related to the bodily appetites- it is they who are motivated by the luxuries to had in life, as well as being responsible for providing the goods to satisfy those needs.

The guardians correspond to the emotions, and their greatest asset to the community is the courage that is required to face death in battle. The rulers correspond with the mind/soul- just as the mind directs the body in the individual, the rulers direct the body of the state (i.e. The guardians and workers.) Part Two: Aristotle on Pride Aristotle claims that pride is not a vice, but a major moral virtue.

He opens his argument by saying that the word pride itself implies gratness, and therefore a proud man is one who considers hiomself-worthy of great things- in contrast to a moderate man who is worth little and considers himself worthy of like amount, or the foolish man, who thinks himself more worthy than he actually is. Aristotle also distinguishes the humble man, as the one who does not consider himself worthy of his own good fortunes.

The point is that the proud man claims what he deserves, and nothing more, whereas other sorts claim either more or less than is to their credit. The proud man is a recipient of rewards in accord with his measures, and the best part of those rewards is offered up to the gods as sacrifice. Those who sacrifice the greatest amount receive the greater honor. Therefore, honor is one of the yardsticks by which proud men measure themselves.

According to Aristotle, the proud man prizes his honor highly, but does not claim more than his fair share of it. He again contrasts this behavior with that of the vain man (who claims more than he deserves) and the "unduly humble" man (who claims less than what he has received). Aristotle asserts that the proud man deserves the most, and as a consequence must also be of high moral fiber to deserve it.

His logic dictates that the proud man is the most virtuous man of all, being brave in the face of danger and fair in his dealings with people. Again, Aristotle stresses that the proud man concerns himself mostly with matters of honor and dishonor. However, the only honors that have value to the proud man are those bestowed by good people- any other casual or excessive praise is undeserved, and therfore a dishonor.

The proud man is also distinguished by his moderation in the face of hardship as well as bounty- he isn't made overly happy by good fortune or overly sad by bad fortune. While those who have the good fortune to be wealthy or powerful through birth may seem proud, they are not virtuous, states Aristotle. Pride implies goodness and virtue- to possess power and wealth is nothing without virtue, and one who is not virtuous cannot truly be said to have pride.

Any pride they feel is false, while the good or.