Plato felt that ordinary people are not experts and prone to making uninformed decisions. He also felt politics could attract power-seeking individuals, motivated by their personal gain rather than the public good, leading to corruption and tyranny. Plato concluded that politics requires expert and just rulers who are carefully selected and trained. In practical terms, his idea is very controversial and not feasible, but serves as a good illustration of the implications of rule by a chosen elite rather than by the people.
Plato believed there were three parts to a human soul and proposed that people would be divided into three classes, depending on which part of their soul is dominant. Plato believed that it is the philosophers who are capable of seeing the true forms see the theory of forms of goodness, virtue and justice. They would also be able to understand that to live virtuously is the best kind of life and that virtue overrides self-interest.
They would, therefore, be the best kind of rulers. Plato came up with a somewhat controversial system for his ideal republic. Children would be taken from their parents and raised by specialists to increase their loyalty to the state and feeling of community and to educate and monitor them. They would later be divided into the three classes.
The ones that show most promise at early stages would be given special education and a select few would become rulers. Having received their advanced education they would be funded by the state, live lives of contemplation and run the state out of feeling of duty, not a desire to rule. They would be granted no luxuries, bar a modest salary to prevent them from becoming greedy. They would own no property and have no family. Other children would be raised to become workers and auxiliaries.
To prevent class hatred, they would be told a myth that the gods made them with gold or silver or bronze in their constitution, and instructed the rulers to identify what class they belonged to.
Even mating would be regulated by the state. One major issue is the undermining the value of family, which is one of the most important elements of most societies. In The Republic , Plato argues that kings should become philosophers or that philosophers should become kings, or philosopher kings, as they possess a special level of knowledge, which is required to rule the Republic successfully.
To deal with the problem of justice, Plato considers the ideal polis, a collective unit of self-government, and the relationship between the structure of the Republic and the attainment of justice.
Plato argues that philosopher kings should be the rulers, as all philosophers aim to discover the ideal polis. Although theoretically it would be ideal if the Republic and the modern state were ruled by knowledge, and not power, power is crucial in the make-up of political activity.
At the same time, it is inevitable to pick out some features of the modern state congruent to those of the ideal polis. Nowadays, most modern states are democratic, in the sense that people have a say in the running of the state. To Plato, it all boils down to what democracy means, literally.
It should, Plato urges, be left to the experts. With this allegory, Plato is not only stressing the idea that specialization is key to the running of the Republic, but also that philosophers were unappreciated in BC Athens, and thus useless because the world would not use them and their knowledge. It also stresses the dangers of liberty and equality, as well as the unnaturalness of democracy. At the same time, philosophers must possess qualities that enable them to rule; for instance, they must be able to recognize the difference between friend and foe, good and bad.
Justice is a virtue, as is knowledge, which requires understanding. Understanding refers to goodness, and thus, knowledge and goodness are one. Ben Davis May 13, Why did Plato think philosophers should rule? When did kings become philosophers? Why is Plato known as the father of idealism philosophy? What is self According to Plato and Socrates? What is the meaning of self According to Plato? What is the greatest contribution of Plato? How did Plato influence Aristotle? What is the contribution of Plato in ethics?
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