Several Greek city-states had the government form of an oligarchy, where the small group of people wield the ruling power. They were considered the highest class as political power was shared amongst the group (Carr). The groups were formed based off of aristocratic birth or wealth (Carr). Unlike this class, the lower class citizens in the oligarchy did not share the same rights as they lacked full political rights and were not eligible to rule (Carr). They are thus excluded from voting or having any type of say for any political decision for the city-state Furthermore, the right to vote or to be eligible for power was based off of wealth in this government form. In contrast to this government for his city-state lived under, Aristotle explores…
government they want to live happily. As Aristotle said, every human has the capacity to distinguish between what is good or bad for the city and it is something that came since a person was born with their natural instinct. They just need the practice and that is the public education that in the city is implemented with virtues. Aristotle is also concerned that human beings are not perfect, or excellent, or always be good, a person can be bad also and it is the natural sense of life. “It follows that there cannot be a single excellence common to all the citizens” (Aristotle 92). Aristotle studies the human behavior in order to create this functional constitution with the needs of the people and the weakness of the human to heal every aspect…
What is justice? Today, where it is common for people to only look out for themselves, justice is an extremely important tool. But what exactly is justice? What is right, what is wrong, and who decides that? To find an accurate definition, we as a society should not just focus on one opinion, but the views of many. Similar to how our society is today, the society in The Republic, lived the same, struggling to determine what the correct definition of justice was, and how to pursue the right answer. In the paper, I will be discussing all aspects of Plato’s Republic, including the Philosopher King and his nature, and justice in that time.…
The tyrant, who is also the most unjust man, is the least happy, but the aristocrat, the most just man, is the most happy, which shows that it pays to be just. In turn, Socrates comes up with his own definition of justice where, just like the ideal society, the just man has to balance the rational part of his soul, the spirited part of his soul, and the appetitive part of his soul. The problem, though, is that with this definition, the hoi polloi of America is…
The Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristole conceived the term “aristocracy” as the “rule of the best”- morally and intellectually superior, governing in the interest of the entire population. The word is derived from two Greek words, aristos, which means “best” and the second one is kratein, which means “rule”. (Aristocracy) Aristocracy is a term used interchangeably with nobility. Aristocrats play significant roles in Medieval…
Khaled Hosseini is the most famous Afghan in the world according to Time Magazine. He was born in Kabul, Afghanistan where his mother taught history and Farsi at a local high school, and his father worked as a diplomat. His family moved to The U.S. seeking better living conditions in 1980. After deciding he wanted to write in addition to medicine, he wrote The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And The Mountains Echoed. All of these works reflect his experiences and express his admiration for Afghanistan. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini develops the themes of suffering and perseverance, female friendship, and love.…
In this essay, with all the information I have gathered from the readings and lectures, I will be discussing an essential concept of Aristotle’s virtue ethics; his “doctrine of the mean”. I will provide a detailed explanation of Aristotle’s mean, how it is meant to be applied when making decisions, provide arguments from various sources that agree with the main concept of the “doctrine of the mean” and with all of the information gathered, I will prove that this doctrine is extremely useful to people when it comes to making moral decisions in life.…
Material wealth and social status are imaginary assets. True value is found in questioning the standard and pursuing virtue through education and self-discipline. Philosophers Diogenes and Socrates both have commentaries on what it means to live with values, and though their holistic philosophies on life are very similar, their outlooks on this specific topic are poles apart. In this paper, I will contrast the beliefs of Diogenes and Socrates in regards to the evaluation of a life of worth.…
The position Thrasymachus takes on the definition of justice, as well as its importance in society, is one far differing from the opinions of the other interlocutors in the first book of Plato’s Republic. Embracing his role as a Sophist in Athenian society, Thrasymachus sets out to aggressively dispute Socrates’ opinion that justice is a beneficial and valuable aspect of life and the ideal society. Throughout the course of the dialogue, Thrasymachus formulates three major assertions regarding justice. These claims include his opinion that “justice is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger,” “it is just to obey the rulers,” and “justice is really the good of another […] and harmful to the one who obeys and serves.” Socrates continuously challenges these claims using what is now known as the “Socratic method” of questioning, while Thrasymachus works to defend his views. This paper seeks to argue the implausibility of Thrasymachus’ views through an analysis of his main claims regarding justice, as well as his view that injustice brings greater happiness.…
The main discussion of the book is on the topic of what is just and unjust and what lifestyle is beneficiary. After countless examinations and definitions, Socrates in book IV is able to convince his comrades that political justice is simple; virtue which in turn is the greatest good(444a-b). He then concludes that if justice can be found in a city, then ideally it can also be found within an individual. He believes that a just person would be one that is not distracted by their indulgences of appetites, which Plato classifies as drink, food, sex and money loving. Socrates believes that a person with a balanced soul will refrain from acts that we consider to be unjust, for example, murder, adultery and treason. But how do you achieve a person with a balanced soul? Socrates believes it comes from upbringing, through education and parenting.…
Is a just person the best choice for a ruler; many philosophers have laid out different ways in which they believe a society should be ran whether it be a single ruler such as a prince or multiple rulers like philosophy kings. Machiavelli intended for a society/principality to be ruled a strong ruler whether he be just or unjust, moral or immoral; whereas Plato believed for a society to work a just ruler such as the philosopher kings along with its other social counterparts was the perfect society. This paper intends to show how a just ruler was not something Machiavelli saw as pertinent to a society's survival whereas Plato deemed it to be at necessary for order and efficiency and for a city to work.…
“The Republic” by Plato is considered to be a Socratic dialogue finished in 390 BC. In what is considered one of the most valuable pieces of work of Plato tries to answer questions such as: why should people do good things? Or other questions like: are people rewarded for doing bad things? However he also treats other themes as the theory of forms, the immortality of the soul and the roles of the philosopher and of poetry in society. But what we shall explore is how he develops the theme of justice, describe his just state and finally reflect on this just state.…
The rich fear the poor and so, become more dictatorial. Although there is growing poverty, the wealthy choose to ignore it and carry on accumulating more money. Plato points out here that the worst defect of this regime, and all regimes henceforth, is “that a man can sell all he has to another and live on as a member of society without any real function…” . Its believed to be the worst defect because a man can have no role within the state but still live in it as a pauper. Despite this, Plato credits this regime with having the virtue of…
Aristotle believes that there is only one goal, one ultimate end for every individual—that is eudaimonia, translated as happiness, not as a feeling but happiness as the highest human good or a life full of activity. He claims that a person should live a way of life distinct from the lives of animals, where they only live for the sake of living or pleasure.1 As human beings, people should use their power of speech to communicate and make rational decisions within a polity, striving to live their lives up to their full potential and to their full capacity for a happy life.2 The life of politics, the via activa, is thus the key to the chief good or the best life for humans; however, the life of action must be of certain type of quality, in accordance with reason, since different actions may lead to the good or the bad life. In other words, a person’s actions must be in line with arête, with virtue or excellence.3…
‘God’s Grandeur’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins is an Italian sonnet written in 1877. I feel that this poem conveys an important meaning about how God will never turn his back on mankind, even when they have given up on him. This message is particularly relevant because of what was happening in the world at the time it was being written- technology was advancing and people were beginning to doubt God.…