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Plato was a philosopher in the time of the distinguished Greek philosophers. He wrote a book entitled The Republic in which he explains some of his philosophy on subjects ranging from education to government. The Republic discusses the nature of justice and the institutions of society. In some ways it is idealistic in that it describes Plato's ideal society. But it also deals with human knowledge, the purpose and composition of education, and the nature of science. The principle of justice is the main theme of The Republic.
Plato makes a connection between the principle of justice and his Theory of Forms in The Republic. When talking about the Ideal State, Plato is saying that one should never act without knowledge. So, if one wished to build a just city, they should only do so after they have understood the meaning of justice. But they cannot achieve an understanding of true justice until they have grasped the Form of Justice itself. Plato refers to his Theory of Forms throughout the dialogue, as it plays a major role in understanding his views of an Ideal State. Socrates is the main character and Plato uses Socrates as to voice his own opinions about his Ideal State.
Through a series of questions, Socrates attempts to help his companions discover their own ignorance, since the starting point of philosophy is the realization that you do not have knowledge. Socrates is always at the center of the discussion and is often contemptuous and ironical, but he never strays from the importance of the subject being discussed. Socrates first states that justice is a good character. He then seeks agreement that no excellence is achieved through destructive means. The function of justice is to improve human nature, which is inherently constructive. Therefore, at a minimum, justice is a form of goodness that cannot be involved in injuring someone's character.
Justice, in short, is a virtue, a human excellence. His next point is that acting in accordance with excellence brings happiness. Then he ties excellence to one's function. His examples are those of the senses -- each sensory organ is excellent if it performs its function, as the eye sees, the ear hears.
Therefore, the just person is a happy person is a person who performs his function. Since these are tied together, injustice can never exceed these virtues and so justice is stronger and is the good. However, Socrates does not stop there. He goes on to examine the question of the nature of justice and the just life. He identifies the four of the Athenian virtues: wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. For the bulk of the book, he looks at each virtue separately in terms of the perfect city state, but our focus is on justice.
But he makes the point that justice, of the virtues, resides in man's relations to other men, not just in man as an individual. Thus, it is an excellence in social organization and in the organization of the human soul. So justice is a virtue, which must be connected to the function of efficient and healthful cooperation. Justice is in one sense the greatest virtue for it is key to making the other virtues work together for the common good. If all the parts are to work together as a whole, each must have on function to excel at. Like the organs of the body, all contribute to the whole, but the eyes only see, the ears only hear.
They do not share functions. Using this analogy, justice would be something like the moral mind which guides the body in its activities. Justice, then is the head, at the top of the hierarchy in social terms. When the other three virtues work together in orderly fashion within the state, justice is produced.
But for justice to be produced, it must come from everyone doing his assigned function under the excellent guidance of the ruling class. Plato attempts to demonstrate through the character and discourse of Socrates that justice is better than injustice and that justice is the good which men must strive for, regardless of whether they could be unjust and still be rewarded. His method is to use dialectic, the asking and answering of questions which led the hearer from one point to another, supposedly with irrefutable logic by obtaining agreement to each point before going on to the next, and so building an argument. Early on, his two young listeners pose the question of whether justice is stronger than injustice, what each does to a man, and what makes the first good and the second bad. In answering this question, Socrates deals directly with the philosophy of the individual's goodness and virtue, but also ties it to his concept of the perfect state, which is a republic of three classes of people with a rigid social structure and little in the way of amusement. Although Socrates returns time and again to the concept of justice in his discourse on the perfect city-state, much of it seems off the original subject.
One of his main points, however, is that goodness is doing what is best for the common, greater good rather than for individual happiness. There is a real sense in which his philosophy turns on the concepts of virtue, and his belief that ultimately virtue is its own reward. Despite his emphasis of justice as a function of the perfect state, Socrates also deals with justice as a personal virtue. He finds that there is a parallel between the organization of the state and the organization of the individual. Just as there are three virtues other than justice, Socrates finds three parts in the individual soul -- sensation, emotion, and intelligence. The just person then must have balance between these aspects.
Each must function in moderation to contribute to the health of the whole. Appetite and sensation are matters of desire. Desire must be subordinate to reason, or else they will throw the individual out of balance and lead him into injustice and unhappiness. Emotion (spirit and will) also can master desire. The alliance of emotion and reason is similar, Socrates says, to the rulers and the guardians in the state. Thus, the individual is a miniature state, and justice in the soul is like justice in the state.
In the opposite case, the situation of the unjust, whether state or individual, desires hold a tyranny. Because there is a lack of internal control, outside things move the unjust around at will. Thus the unjust lives a life of fear and anxiety, the fruit of being out of control. Socrates asserts that only the man of reason has pure pleasures. All others have varying degrees of unhappiness. By equating the philosopher with the man of pure reason, he sets up a situation where proof is not so much necessary for any of his points as it is to say that the philosopher, the only one who sees clearly, says so.
Interestingly, Socrates couches a form of despotism in terms which are intended to seem benevolent. Since happiness is the sign of justice, and pleasure is one sign of happiness, then the just person is the happy person. Interestingly, he equates true pleasure with knowledge, the province of reason and the philosopher. Socrates and had virtually the same beliefs about man's relation to the State, although Plato's political theory of the State was more rational than Socrates. Socrates and Plato believed that man was not self-sufficient, they believed man would be most happy living in a State.
They also believed that all men wanted to live the truly good life where they could be in tune with the truth and achieve their ultimate goals. Plato's view is more rational than Socrates' in the sense that he created an ideal State. These philosophers that were from ancient Greece believed that no man was self-sufficient enough to live on his own. Plato believed "A State comes into existence because no individual is self-sufficing." This indicate the importance of a State to an individual according to Plato. These two philosophers believed that man would be much happier if he was part of a State rather than on his own. Socrates once stated, "We are all more productive if we specialize in one thing rather than try to excel at many things." As Socrates stated above within the State you would specialize in one thing only, while a different individual would specialize in something else and this would allow the quality and the quantity of the product to increase.
Plato, who concerned himself with the truly good life for man, it was imperative to determine the true function of the State. He believed that the State was crucial in order for man to live a good life. Plato wrote that "a proper government would lead to a peaceful, ordered society in which all humans needs are met. " Meeting the needs of the people was very important within the State, and to help meet the needs of the people Plato thought that the relationship between the individual and the State would be similar to the relationship between parents and their children. This meant that the government would have power over the people but the people would be considered in the decision making. Socrates also believed in man's true happiness, which is what is in man's best interest, not just something that will make him temporarily happy, such as alcohol. He believed that in the 'Just State' was where man would be truly happy.
Plato's political theory is developed in close connection with his ethics. He believed strongly in the wants of man, "The State does not exist simply in order to further the economic need of men, for man is not simply 'Economic Man, ' but for happiness, to develop them in the good life. " In Plato's Republic we wanted poets, but he also objected to the way they speak about the gods, and the way that they portrayed immoral characters. Therefore if he was going to have poets in his State they would have to produce examples of good moral character, and "Lyric poetry would only be allowed under strict supervision of the State authorities." Socrates also says that "Women are to be trained as men: in the ideal State they will not simply stay at home and mind the baby, but will be trained in music and gymnastics and military discipline! just like men." These regulations and theories were part of Plato's Ideal State. By creating an ideal State Plato was expressing the only way the State would be run and remain successful according to his point of view. Plato thought long and hard about what would be the perfect system of government.
He thought that everyone should be educated from birth to the highest level possible for their abilities and interest. This would then result in three classes of people. The first being the minority ruling class who were able to reach the highest level of education by the virtue of wisdom. This class would in turn be supported by the military class who were able to boast courage as their virtue. In turn, they would be supported by the merchant class whose unique virtue was temperance. The military class and merchant class would be the less educated people who were destined to this role by the mere fact of who they descended from.
The same can be said of the ruling class, whose families were educated as well. The three virtues of wisdom, courage and temperance were accompanied by a fourth, justice. Justice characterized the people as a whole. Plato also thought that philosophers should be kings. "Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils -- nor the human race, as I believe, -- and then only will this our State have a possibility of life and behold the light of day. " Plato regards a philosopher as some one who loves wisdom.
The philosopher has passion for knowledge and wants to keep expanding his...
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Research essay sample on Believed That Man Principle Of Justice
