Reiko Brady Intro to Political Science 8 March 2013 Idealism vs Realism Machiavelli says the prince only has to seem good‚ not be good. Plato insists that seeming is bad‚ being is good. Nicolo Machiavelli is known as being an realist who accepted that fact that humans are brutal‚ selfish‚ and fickle while Plato was an idealist who believed people could be ruled by a philosopher king who ruled over the warriors and tradesmen of his ideal republic with rationality. In his view the philosopher-king
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By studying Plato’s views on the soul‚ virtues‚ and forms‚ one can understand his outlooks on the individual and natural purpose‚ or telos. Plato had a teleological worldview‚ so he believed everything in nature had an end‚ or purpose. In his famous Allegory of the Cave‚ along with the Sun and Line analogies‚ Plato outlines the spiritual and intellectual journey of a human from ignorance into goodness and knowledge‚ which symbolizes a human reaching his or her purpose. This essay will evaluate Plato’s
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Plato vs. Aristotle Plato and Aristotle‚ two philosophers in the 4th century‚ hold polar views on politics and philosophy in general. This fact is very cleverly illustrated by Raphael’s "School of Athens" (1510-11; Stanza della Segnatura‚ Vatican)‚ where Plato is portrayed looking up to the higher forms; and Aristotle is pointing down because he supports the natural sciences. In a discussion of politics‚ the stand point of each philosopher becomes an essential factor. It is not coincidental
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Athens Vs. Sparta Throughout the ancient world there were two dominating empires. (S) The Athenian City (polis) and the Spartan empire. These two cities were both powerful and famous but significantly different. However‚ the city of Athens was by far a much more influential and powerful city-state in comparison to Sparta. Although both the city-states had their own strengths such as their government‚ social structure and their military tactics‚ Athens was a pivotal city that still to this day effects
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Plato’s interpretation of justice as seen in The Republic’ is a vastly different one when compared to what we and even the philosophers of his own time are accustomed to. Plato would say justice is the act of carrying out one’s duties as he is fitted with. Moreover‚ if one’s duties require one to lie or commit something else that is not traditionally viewed along with justice; that too is considered just by Plato’s accounts in The Republic.’ I believe Plato’s account of justice‚ and his likely
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Plato Paper What is the nature of justice? Looking from Plato’s perspective justice can be broken down to its simplest forms. Plato starts where we start; with forms. Forms are the building blocks that build complex ideas and tell us the nature of those ideas. In this case Plato reveals his ideas on the nature of justice through forms. The nature of justice can be simplified to basic forms and rebuilt for everyone can understand. Early in discussion is the topic is consent. Consent
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many similarities between Confucius and Plato. Both taught through means of dialogue‚ and both expressed reticence to provide direct definitions. Both advocated contemplation and education as the means for moral attainment‚ and both sought to balance contemplation with service. Both sought to apply their moral theory to public office (though both failed). And while Plato espoused the ‘heavenly’ forms‚ Confucius espoused the ‘Decree of Heaven.’ Moreover‚ Plato advocated the life of the philosopher‚
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Republic” In his book “the Republic”‚ Plato tried to build up an ideal society. He divided the ideal society into three classes: rulers‚ guardians‚ and workers. As long as each class of people lived harmonious and did their responsibilities‚ the society would become stable and prosperous. How did make people live with harmony? Obviously‚ the core issue of “the republic” is justice. Justice is a proper‚ harmonious relationship among the people in the three classes. Plato suggested that three virtues of
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Athens versus Sparta: A Comparison Athens and Sparta were the two greatest city-states in Ancient Greece. The two cities were both powerful‚ but their beliefs and development were very different. I will compare and contrast Athens and Sparta and finally make a decision on which city would be my favorite. The governments of Sparta and Athens both started as oligarchies. This meant that a few people held power. However‚ Sparta stayed that way and Athens developed into a direct
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that people need luxuries and entertainment. So the second version of the city needs luxuries. Plato ’s "ideal city" is really the search for the truth of justice‚ if Socrates were able to find the relationship between the soul and city in his "ideal city" then he would have the true meaning of justice. We saw from the reading how he broke down the city ’s parts and also the soul. According to Plato‚ Socrates broke down the perfect city into four parts; each part is tied to a specific virtue that
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