1) (From the Republic Book VII) WHY SHOULD THE PHILOSOPHER RULE? EXPLAIN WHY HE IS BEST SUITED TO RULE AND EXPLAIN 2) WHY IT IS A DILEMMA FOR HE TO CHOOSE TO RULE. WHY DOES HE HAVE TO BE COMPELLED AND WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE COMPULSION? 3) BE SURE TO COMMENT ON HOW THIS QUESTION IS RELATED TO THE ANSWER PLATO ATTEMPTS TO CONSTRUCT TO GLAUCON'S CHALLENGE?
Part 1
In Plato’s Republic, Plato sets out to prove that it is always better to be just than unjust. Doing so requires him to look into the soul of human beings. Souls by nature are difficult to examine so he suggests that he use the analogy of a city-state. Using this as an analogy suggests that finding the “ideal” functionality of the state he will also have found the
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In the Allegory the prisoners represent the general population in society, the cave represented lack of education and the released prisoner represents the philosopher. The philosopher, represented by the prisoner, has escaped the lack of education is now capable of grasping Form of Good allowing him to see all other forms. Having obtained understanding of the Form of the Good, the philosopher, just as the prisoner who had seen the light is best fit to lead the prisoners out of the cave, the philosopher is best fit to rule the city-state.
Part 2 At this point the philosopher is faced with a dilemma. Why, after finding this “Earthly Paradise” of the Form of Good, would the philosopher return to the cave and take upon himself the task of leading his former comrades when returning to the cave means returning to the darkness? Even though the philosopher is best fit to rule what would compel them to do so? Plato being aware of this dilemma offers a reason the philosopher would be compelled to rule. One reason the philosopher would return to rule would be a sense of obligation to his former fellows. After all, he was enabled to reach this understanding of forms by the education the city made available to him. Since the city gave him this knowledge he owes them his service as ruler. This claim is countered by the suggestion that by compelling the philosopher to
The whole point of the allegory is to represent to journey to enlightenment. The prisoners represent either the unenlightened that have not had enough experience to gain great wisdom or the uneducated that have not learned enough to gain great intelligence. And being thrown out of the cave into the outside world represents the process of becoming enlightened. Once enlightened they would of course not want to leave and to make them go back into the Cave would be cruel, as is noted by Glaucon. But as is explained they must be made to descend again among the prisoners in the den, and partake of their labors and honors, whether they are worth having or not” (873). Plato claims that these enlightened have a moral responsibility to bring their wisdom to the common people in order to help them learn more so everyone can benefit from the knowledge of an individual. This is certainly an agreeable prospect and one that is not seen enough in the real world. Once
Stage Three of Plato’s allegory pushes us further along the path of enlightenment, where new wisdom is being thrust upon us as we are opened up to yet another set of truths that we have never experienced. The prisoner is being pulled from the cave
Plato's Allegory of the Cave is a piece of social commentary that explores humanity's seemingly inherent desire to revel in the bliss of ignorance and the plight that awaits those insurgents who dare to attempt to expose them to the harsh light of the truth. In the metaphor Socrates uses, the chained prisoners represent the population of Athens, the puppeteers manipulating the shadows represent those in power who the people misguidedly revered, and the man who was blinded to the darkness after seeing the truth was none other than Socrates himself. The shadows the prisoners considered reality were in truth lies told by those in power in order to manipulate the masses. Socrates loved to use his wisdom to unmask these pretenders, and because of
When it comes to addiction, there truly is no easy way out. The worst type of addiction comes from the opium poppy, heroin. Heroin addiction can be extremely easy to fall into and can have some awful withdrawal symptoms. In many ways the recovery process of heroin can be paralleled with “The Allegory of the Cave” in such that being on the drug can be similar to living in the cave, the process of quitting the drug can be viewed as leaving the cave, the after effects can then be used to describe living in the upper world, and finally relapsing can be described as returning to the cave. A person using heroin, and the prisoners who are dwelling in the cave, can often be seen as one in the same due to the fact that they are almost held in their
These two pieces written by Plato also have two characters, Socrates and the prisoners, who are similar. After returning to the cave, the prisoner would be reentering a world of darkness, having to talk to all the unreleased prisoners. He would live with the other prisoners, being able to see better than all of the rest. Because of his different perspective of reality and new knowledge, he would assume the position of the leader of the group and take care of the prisoners. Socrates does this exact thing in The Symposium. He seems to be the most enlightened one in the group and appears to be the puppet by which Plato speaks about his own views. Alcibiades speaks about how he looked up to and loved Socrates during his speech starting at 212c. Socrates acts as the mentor and leader in The Symposium, just as a prisoner would be if he were to leave the cave and become enlightened.
According to Plato, political rule’s purpose is to enforce a certain version of justice. Plato’s version of justice is neither Polemarchus’ idea of doing good to friends and harm to enemies, nor is it Telemarchus’ idea that justice is the advantage of the stronger (Plato pg. 7 & 15). Justice in The Republic is adhering to your role in order to secure the good of the whole, and not just the individual. The proper expression of this view of justice results in a city that is harmonious because its individual parts are functioning correctly. In order for the individual citizens in the city to carry out their proper roles, they must be separated into three categories: gold souls, silver souls, and bronze souls. Gold souls individuals are those who are competent to rule; silver souls are guardians who protect the city and also keep watch over the
Plato continually attempted to enter the world of politics, but after being let down time after time and seeing the execution of his beloved mentor Socrates, Plato criticized the regime of his time (Athenian democracy). He sought to draft his own representation of the ideal constitution, outlined and explained in his work Republic. Plato’s critique of democracy is expected since democracy embodies the opposite of his ideal regime: A government controlled and ruled by the uneducated masses that easily slips into chaos and tyranny. According to Plato, democracy cannot function efficiently due to its unnatural, weak leaders, disordered functionality, and its appetitive citizens. He defines his conception of democracy through its deviation
Plato’s Republic proposes a number of intriguing theories, ranging from his contemporary view of ethics to political idealism. It is because of Plato’s emerging interpretations that philosophers still refer to Plato’s definitions of moral philosophy as a standard. Plato’s possibly most argued concept could be said to be the analogy between city and soul in Book IV, partially due to his expansive analysis of justice and the role justice plays in an “ideal city,” which has some key flaws. Despite these flawed assumptions that my essay will point out, Plato’s exposition on ethics is still relevant for scholars and academics to study, due to his interpretive view on morality and justice.
In The Republic by Plato, Plato constructed an ideal city where Philosophers would rule. Governed by an aristocratic form of government, it took away some of the most basic rights a normal citizen should deserve, freedom of choice, worship, and assembly were distressed. Though the idea of philosopher kings is good on paper, fundamental flaws of the human kind even described by Plato himself prevent it from being truly successful. The idea of an ideal democratic government like what our founding fathers had envisioned is the most successful and best political form which will ensure individual freedom and keep power struggle to a minimum.
can also help one to distinguish it as a just city. Therefore, within Plato’s definition
The allegory apparently is arranged to equate people who know nothing about the Theory of Forms to these prisoners in a cave. In the passage Plato has Socrates set up the following situations and
In this essay, I will try to point out reasons why I think Plato wants the state to be ruled by philosophers and why I think he is right. In his time, Plato was disappointed by the way his teacher Socrates
Plato is remembered as one of the worlds best known philosophers who along with his writings are widely studied. Plato was a student of the great Greek philosopher Socrates and later went on to be the teacher of Aristotle. Plato’s writings such as “The Republic”, “Apology” and “Symposium” reveal a great amount of insight on what was central to his worldview. He was a true philosopher as he was constantly searching for wisdom and believed questioning every aspect of life would lead him to the knowledge he sought. He was disgusted with the common occurrence of Greeks not thinking for themselves but simply accepting the popular opinion also known as doxa. Plato believed that we ought to search for and meditate on the ideal versions of beauty, justice, wisdom, and other concepts which he referred to as the forms. His hostility towards doxa, theory of the forms, and perspective on reality were the central ideas that shaped Plato’s worldview and led him to be the great philosopher who is still revered today.
Plato and Aristotle’s views on the nature of a human being and the city are fundamental blocks of forming the best political regime. The ideal city of Plato stands upon the four virtues: wisdom, courage, moderation and justice. The concept of justice embodies the understanding that only when citizens are fulfilling their obligated roles while not interfering with others can a city achieve harmony. For this purpose, farmers, artisans, and shepherds will do what’s expected of them per their expertise while the Guardians, a special class, is fit to rule the state. So his view that since every individual has a different yet pertinent role in the city and as most men are only
Plato was a known and significant philosopher, who studied under Socrates around the 4th century B.C.E., in ancient Greece. One of Plato’s most famous works was the “Republic.” Based on Socrates’s influence on Plato, Socrates is usually one of Plato’s primary characters in his writings such as, “The Allegory of the Cave.” “The Allegory of the Cave,” illustrates the effect of education and the usefulness of describing a scene of prisoner’s in a cave and the one prisoner who became released from the cave. The two sources in book 7, describe the fire in the cave and the sun outside. Both sources represent knowledge, however, they have two different levels of knowledge: the fire in the cave represents the sun, and the sun outside of the cave signifies philosophical truth, knowledge, the form good, and justice.