Mercedes Chien
Dr. Joel Klein
Contemporary Civilization
2 November 2015
Family in Political Society
Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics both accredit nature to the teleological functions of men, women, and children. Nevertheless, each philosopher defines family differently to support their main goals of finding the right type of society. While Plato does not conform to the traditional definition of a family—with a husband, wife, and children—and instead defines the role of men and women separately, Aristotle uses the family as a microcosm of political society, in the hopes of showing readers how to create a just society for the former and a virtuous one for the latter.
Plato describes the Kallipolis—the ideal city for the ancient Greeks—in his Republic. The Kallipolis prides itself on abiding by the truth of justice, which Plato defines as a citizen “doing one’s one work” that fits his character (Plato 119). By doing one’s own work, the citizen is contributing to the greater good of society, which Plato coins as the ultimate key to justice—accordingly, the “better [will be ruling] the worse, [which] is to be described as temperate and master of itself” (117). This specialization characterizes the role of family in the political society—one that consists of each individual doing one’s own work to contribute to the greater good. However, the family in the Republic is so loosely created that readers may interpret the “family” as nonexistent in Plato’s novel.
The
In Plato’s republic, a philosophical account on the kallipolis (the beautiful city) is built on the perspective of Socrates and his discussion between his companions. In the republic, the city in which ones live in depends on the soul and the character of the city one lives in. In this paper the character of human nature and politics will be discussed in how a city is ought to be by the influence of human nature and politics. Firstly, the influence of human nature on politics will be looked at, for example according to Plato on behalf of Socrates; he claims that a just soul creates a just society, where it is human nature to be just, that influences in creating a just political system. Secondly, politics influences human nature, where in
In Aristotle's Politics, he focuses much on the regimes of an oligarchy and of a democracy. Democracies exists when the free and poor, being a majority, have authority to rule, and have an equal share in the city. Oligarchies exists when the few wealthy and better born have authority and grant benefits in proportion to a person's wealth (1280a:10-30;1290a:5-10).
Socrates continues the conversation with Glaucon and now focuses on the obligation of the guardians and philosophers to serve the people as a result of their education.
“Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Http://poestories.com/. Robert Giordano. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. “It is the beating of his hideous Heart!” It was about a mentally ill man who committed a murder and heard things because of guilt. The story “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe shows the cause-and-effect relationship for murder and guilt.
In the fifth-century BC, Athens emerged as one of the most advanced state or polis in all of Greece. This formation of Athenian ‘democracy’ holds the main principle that citizens should enjoy political equality in order to be free to rule and be ruled in turn. The word ‘democracy’ originates from the Greek words demos (meaning people) and kratos (meaning power) therefore demokratia means “the power of the people.” The famous funeral speech of Pericles states that “Our constitution is called democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people.” However, only citizens (free adult men of Athenian descent) could participate in political matters. Women and slaves held no political rights, although they were
More than two-thousand years have elapsed since Plato wrote what many consider his most famous work, Republic. To this day, students and scholars alike grapple with the challenging philosophical issues presented therein. The thematic crux of the work lies in the nature of justice. In defining this slippery concept, Socrates details the structure and workings of what he considers a truly just city, the kallipolis. There are those who would say that this kallipolis may be equated to a utopia, an ideal society; however, I intend to illustrate a much divergent point of view. The justice of this city, made analogous to the justice of the individual, is specifically what precludes the kallipolis from being an ideal society. For this
This paper will argue that money is problematic to Plato largely because his ideal city Kallipolis is filled with virtuous leaders and citizens living in harmony and unity. When money is involved, Plato believes that it is human nature for even the most virtuous leader to lack the will to resist the temptation. Plato discusses the five different types of regimes and constitutions people can live under, Aristocracy, Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy and Tyranny. As regimes shift into the next, virtue decreases and corruption in the state arises. When obtaining wealth and acquiring private property is a motivating factor for humans, people start making self-interested decisions; choosing to take part in politics and fighting in wars for personal gains, and not for the benefit of the whole. When education and training is not the priority from an early age, citizens become lazy and there is a divide in the city between the rich and the poor. Plato goes to great lengths to ensure that the city is just by abolishing private property and creating the noble lie.
Philosophy is a Greek word meaning "love of wisdom." Throughout Plato's Republic, wisdom plays an important role. According to Plato, education is wisdom. In the passage, 518d, Plato discusses the true meaning of education vicariously through Socrates. Some literary mechanisms can be found in the passage and I will show how they fit in the text and how they contribute to the main themes of Plato's Republic.
In his philosophical text, The Republic, Plato argues that justice can only be realized by the moderation of the soul, which he claims reflects as the moderation of the city. He engages in a debate, via the persona of Socrates, with Ademantus and Gaucon on the benefit, or lack thereof, for the man who leads a just life. I shall argue that this analogy reflecting the governing of forces in the soul and in city serves as a sufficient device in proving that justice is beneficial to those who believe in, and practice it. I shall further argue that Plato establishes that the metaphorical bridge between the city and soul analogy and reality is the leader, and that in the city governed by justice the philosopher is king.
Greek philosopher, Plato, is considered to be one of the most influential people in Western Philosophy. The fact that he was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle leaves no questions about his competence. One of his fundamental works is the “Republic”. Even though it was written in 380 BC, Plato’s and Socrates’s thoughts are still relevant in twenty first century. This paper will evaluate the quote from the “Republic” and provide a summary of a quote; provide a context from the text for the quote; and finally, it will include my own thoughts on the quote and the Socrates’s argument as a whole.
Have you ever felt offended while in school because the teacher or a student was talking about your religion in a way you didn’t appreciate? Religion is one of the most talked about and controversial topics in the world. We don’t need religion to come into our time of academics. This is important because religion will only be a distraction. Bringing this disputed topic into schools is not a good choice because schools will favor certain religions over another, it will take away the time students can use to advance technological and practical skills, and even though religion was one of main ideas in history, history textbooks could create untrue and unneeded stereotypes about certain religions, which we don’t want.
By uncovering and comparing the differences between the city and the household in Politics, Ethics and The Republic, we will first explain Aristotle’s criticism and Plato’s potential response to his student. This will lead us to understand the relationship between the city state and the household and explain whether the family is a natural
Comparing the political theories of any two great philosophers is a complex task. Plato and Aristotle are two such philosophers who had ideas of how to improve existing societies during their individual lifetimes. While both Plato and Aristotle were great thinkers, perhaps it is necessary first to examine the ideas of each before showing how one has laid the groundwork and developed certain themes for the other.
Should the death penalty be removed? Should it be legal to give the penalty to someone who commits a crime as a minor?
In order to compare these great philosophers, it is important that we first of all view their history from an individual perspective.