Philosophy Final Paper
Malkah Safren
Phil-191-DL1
December 19, 2010
Final-Exam Essay
Plato’s views on politics strongly rejected the idea of democracy. This reasoning came about when he saw the fate of his beloved friend Socrates who was condemned and sentenced to death when it was highly undeserved. Plato saw how the common man is easily swayed by appeals made through irrational emotions and illogical arguments. He believed that the general population cannot vote or rule with objectivity, reason and wisdom. People by nature are biased to their own opinions. Plato believed that society should be run by a select group of highly intellectual individuals. By this he meant that only philosophers, who went through intense training, seeking enlightenment, should govern society. It was with this belief that he established his Academy for philosophical study in order to provide training to such a group of individuals. He believed that there are three classifications of people on different levels who have different strengths. They are workers (such as craftsmen, farmers and shopkeepers), guardians (such as soldiers, police and firefighters) and finally, philosopher-kings who should be the ones governing society. Plato’s different classification creates a hierarchy and each should only move within its level. Justice occurs when these three factions of society should work together in order to create and maintain order. When an individual tries to move to another class, it harms society and creates injustice since the whole is the sum of its parts. The only situation where class changing is acceptable is for someone who has intellectual capabilities and would be a good candidate for the philosopher-king class. I believe that Plato would be very disturbed by the fact that the government is cutting school funding. Because of this, more teachers are being laid off and extra – curricular activities are being cut. As a result, it is causing damage to the future generations and
Phil-191-DL1
December 19, 2010
Final-Exam Essay
Plato’s views on politics strongly rejected the idea of democracy. This reasoning came about when he saw the fate of his beloved friend Socrates who was condemned and sentenced to death when it was highly undeserved. Plato saw how the common man is easily swayed by appeals made through irrational emotions and illogical arguments. He believed that the general population cannot vote or rule with objectivity, reason and wisdom. People by nature are biased to their own opinions. Plato believed that society should be run by a select group of highly intellectual individuals. By this he meant that only philosophers, who went through intense training, seeking enlightenment, should govern society. It was with this belief that he established his Academy for philosophical study in order to provide training to such a group of individuals. He believed that there are three classifications of people on different levels who have different strengths. They are workers (such as craftsmen, farmers and shopkeepers), guardians (such as soldiers, police and firefighters) and finally, philosopher-kings who should be the ones governing society. Plato’s different classification creates a hierarchy and each should only move within its level. Justice occurs when these three factions of society should work together in order to create and maintain order. When an individual tries to move to another class, it harms society and creates injustice since the whole is the sum of its parts. The only situation where class changing is acceptable is for someone who has intellectual capabilities and would be a good candidate for the philosopher-king class. I believe that Plato would be very disturbed by the fact that the government is cutting school funding. Because of this, more teachers are being laid off and extra – curricular activities are being cut. As a result, it is causing damage to the future generations and