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Plato's Republic
In The Republic, Plato uses several analogies, myths, and allegories to illustrate his philosophical and political stances and concepts. These myths serve to clarify, simplify and explain to his readers and students complex ideas. For example, in one of the most famous passages of The Republic, the myth of the cave, Plato demonstrates his otherwise complicated concept of the Forms. The world that our senses encounter creates illusions, like the shadows formed on the walls of the cave. Only the philosopher who is willing to comprehend the truth can leave the cave and witness the origin of these shadows, that which causes them to appear: the Forms. Furthermore, Plato uses the sun as a symbol of the ultimate Form of the Good. Through this myth the student is able to visually conceptualize an otherwise abstract notion of Forms or Archetypes.
Similarly, Plato uses myth to describe his political and social views. In Book Three, Plato uses the myth of the metals to outline various classes in society. The Guardians or ruling class possess a soul made out of gold. The auxiliary classes possess a silver soul, and the craftsmen in society a soul of iron or bronze. Ostensibly only the ruling classes are conscious of the reality of this social structure, and Plato tells the story to inspire civil obedience. The myth of the metals, therefore, reinforces Plato's beliefs that a society is best off when it is ordered and structured along class lines, and that although all people derive from the same source, their roles in society differ according to their abilities and professions.
Finally, toward the end of the Republic, in Book Ten, Plato uses the Myth of Er to speak of the journey of the soul after death. Plato's myth corresponds with the notion of karma or cause and effect, in which a person's afterlife will be determined by his or her deeds in this lifetime. This myth therefore teaches a moral lesson for Plato, as he outlines the nature of just and unjust acts. Those who act with justice will be rewarded for thousands of lifetimes to come, and conversely, those who act unjustly will be punished. As with many religious and philosophical texts, The Republic contains myths, allegories, and symbols to illustrate key concepts and make otherwise abstract material more palatable for the reader.
Plato's Republic Plato Republic In Plato's Republic, he states that democracy is second only to tyranny as the worst form of government because tyranny arises from democracy. This goes against what most people believe of democracy. Today, democracy is viewed as the best political system because the prime tenets of a democracy are freedom and equality. Essentially, democracy is all about free people governing themselves. However, Plato is critical of democracy precisely
From this we need to understand that the existence of entities, beings which superior power and knowledge is accepted. People not only accept that these being actually exist, but they obey their commands. From this one can deduce that morality is connected with power. People obey the commands of the gods because the gods are what they are. The implications are that on the one side, the gods have access
Plato's work is idealistic and, as such, some of the rationale behind many of the conclusions he draws on do not necessarily have a logical or practical motivation. Nevertheless, they are logically tied to most of the assumptions he makes in his work, which is why his conclusions could, ideally, be transposed into the society he had projected. The most important conclusion of his work may be that each part
Socrates: A Just Life Socrates' view on man's search for justice is one of the great guiding lights provided by the Ancient Greek civilization. Provided for civilization through the writings of his student, Plato, Socrates lays the framework for the idea that justice is good and that every man seeks to find through self-examination what good is. From this basic concept, the Socratic method of teaching, which has been passed down
Plato’s Republic: A Definition of Justice According to Plato, “justice is the excellence of the soul, and injustice the defect of the soul” (20). Another definition of it, however, is that justice is “the repayment of a debt” (4). This is a rather narrow definition of justice, and it is one that Socrates unpacks—but it to can get to the heart of the underlying meaning. The just man is one who
If this is true that by the same standard, a person who can keep money can also steal it. Thus a moral person would be at the same time a thief. How can a thief then be moral? After much debate, Socrates states that: "So the claim that it's right and moral to give back to people what they are owed -- if this is taken to mean that