Society originates Essay Example for Free

Society originates Essay Kallipolis now has three classes, the producers, the Guardians and the Philosopher-Kings and each member will perform that function, and only that function, for which he is destined by nature30. To distinguish between these classes and discover to which class each person belongs Plato brings in education and also his theory of a tripartite soul. Through this education process which is a concern of the state31 , all people reach their full potential and thereby acknowledge their social position. To understand the nature of the philosopher kings we examine Platos theory of the soul. There are three types of desire in the tripartite soul which correspond to the three parts of the state32; appetitive desires (base ones for things such as food, money and sex), spirited desires (for honour, victory and reputation) and rational desires (for knowledge and truth). In each person one of the three desires rules, thereby determining their class and values. Uneducated people are ruled by their appetites and although they can be trained through physical education and a mix of reading, writing, dance and song33 they will only have acquired a level of virtue to act prudently34. This is the producer classes. For these money is the best way of satisfying their desires. Further education leaves people ruled by their spirited desires35; this is the Guardian class that want honour. They are more virtuous than the producers but not as virtuous as the philosopher kings. Those that make it right through the education system are the philosopher kings who are bound by rational desires of the soul. They are fully virtuous and knowledgeable36 and C. Reeve argues that the education process will make them distribute the benefits of this knowledge among the citizens whilst ruling. There are other proposals for the production of citizens of the right sort including restriction of the arts, the institution of mating festivals and private property is to be abolished37 (for the two higher classes so they can focus solely on their function as rulers). Plato states the philosophers are above any corruption due to their education and training which makes them designed solely to govern and it means they possess knowledge and understanding no one else in the city does. They will not be corrupted by ruling because they recognise that others, lacking their knowledge, would do a worse job than themselves. It is a duty they must perform, to spend the rest of their time doing what they really want to do philosophical research. Plato also sets down strict guidelines for the guardians way of life, especially the absence of family life and private property which he considers the greatest temptation in public life. Plato has two ways to further explain this division of class to the reader and the people within the state. The first is the allegory of the Cave. To understand this we have to understand the forms of the good38. Kraut defines them as eternal, changeless, imperceptible and bodiless objects a pre-eminent good39 which will improve our lives we if understand and love them. Those that discover these forms, the philosophers, will attain complete happiness and will have a duty to relate these forms back to society. All mankind is situated within the cave and are all initially chained to the wall, seeing shadows of the forms which they believe are the real things. Those that break free, the philosophers, are free from illusion40 and see not only the form of the good. They are able to exit the cave and see this light and have a duty to bring it back to society. The other story is the myth of the metals41, often known as the noble lie42. The tale goes that when each person was fashioned by the gods a metal was added to each person which qualifies their social class. Those with gold in them are rulers, silver in the auxiliaries and iron and bronze in the producers. Within each class however children can be born with a higher/lower metal in their souls than their parents. When this happens they are to be promoted/demoted to their proper class43. This myth was propagated to serve to increase their (civilians) loyalty to the state and to each other44 and to persuade people to accept their social class as their destiny and therefore not to challenge it. The Economic classes should therefore take this rule without demur as the relationship of classes, like everything else in the state is perfect45. It promotes the fact that there are natural differences between human beings46 and that through education these metals can be ascertained and streamlined. However as a Christian I do not believe Platos view, that the philosopher king should rule, is correct. There are several reasons for this. The first is education does not necessarily make anyone more virtuous than others. The Bible states that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God47 and this is shown in practise today by the fact that the educated rulers can be corrupt, unfaithful to their wives and motivated by money/involved in bribery. Since the Bible tells us that we all are selfish by nature, and education cannot remove this, we should not expect the rulers to solely put the needs of others above their own desires for power, wealth, property and status, however noble that may be. The taking away of the family from the philosopher class would also in my opinion make him a worse ruler, less in touch with society and less developed as a character. Also from a secular viewpoint it is not right to put only educated rulers from one strata of society in power when those from a less education background could be more in touch with society and its needs. Also the prospect of a state education system selecting the leaders of the city is a matter of concern as the relevant knowledge which Plato advocates is purely a matter of opinion and therefore may be biased. Also these rational desires, that the philosopher king is supposed to have, are not I believe the monopoly of the educated. They can be found at all levels of society. Also Plato denies personal advancement in his city, especially once a person has been graded. In reality however once people have met their basic needs there is a desire for more. Also it is not natural for people to forgo private property even if they are a ruler. Therefore I would conclude that Platos view, that the philosopher kings should rule, is incorrect and unrealistic in terms of any real society and its values.2,045 words. Bibliography TEXT USED Plato, The Republic, Penguin Classics 2nd edition 1987 OTHER WORKS David Reece, Plato in Political Thinkers, pp 54-72 Edward Andrew, Equality of opportunity as the noble lie History of Political Thought X, 4 (1989), pp 577-596 Rex Martin, The ideal state in Platos Republic History of Political Thought II,1 (1981) P1-30 Richard Kraut, The defence of justice in Platos Republic The Cambridge Companion to Plato, Cambridge 1992, pp311-337 Christopher Rowe, Plato: the search for an ideal form of state Plato to Nato (1990), BBC books. Timothy Shiell, The Unity of Platos Political Thought History of Political Though XII,3 (1991) pp377-390 1 Plato, The Republic, P 56 Quote of a sub title 2 Rex Martin, The Ideal State in Platos Republic P1 3 Plato The Republic P56, Quote from Editor, Desmond Lee 4 Ibid P58 5 Ibid P59 6 Ibid P60 7 Ibid P60 8 Ibid P61 9 Ibid P61 10 Ibid P61 11 Ibid P61 12 IbidP62 13 Ibid P62 14 Plato The Republic P62 15 Ibid P63 16 Ibid P63 17 Rex, Martin The Ideal State In Platos Republic, P2 18 Plato, The Republic P63 19 Ibid P64 20 Ibid P64 21 Plato, The Republic, P65. 22 Ibid P66 23 Ibid P67 24 Ibid P66 25 Ibid P68 26 Ibid P121 27 Ibid P121 28 Christopher Rowe, From Plato to Nato P23 29 Plato, The Republic P119 30 Christopher Rowe, From Plato to Nato P23 31 Ibid P70 32 Christopher Rowe, From Plato to Nato P23 33 C. D Reeve in Political Thinkers An overview of the Republic 34 C. D Reeve in Political Thinkers An overview of the Republic P3 of article 35 Ibid P3 36 C. D Reeve in Political Thinkers An overview of the Republic 37 Christopher Rowe, From Plato to Nato P24 38 Plato, The Republic, P239. 39 Richard Kraut, The defence of justice in the Republic, The Cambridge companion to Plato 40 C. D Reeve in Political Thinkers An overview of the Republic 41 Plato, The Republic, P213 42 Edward Andrew, Equality of Opportunity as the Noble Lie P 577 43 R. Martin, The Ideal State In Platos Republic P10 44 Plato, The Republic P123 45 R. Martin, The Ideal State in Platos Republic P 9 46 Edward Andrew, Equality of Opportunity as the Noble Lie P1 47 Bible, NIV Romans 3 v 23 GV100 Introduction to Political Theory, Essay No 1 Name: Sarah Pickwick Class: 7 Teacher: Mr J Olsson.