the republic
The Republic by Plato (427-347 B.C.) is a basically an examination of the "Good Life," or the harmony achieved by applying pure reason and justice. As a typical Plato piece, the book itself is a series of arguments between Socrates, Plato's mentor, and several other theorists. They argue issues concerning the social conditions of an ideal republic, which is chiefly Plato's vision projected through the book's words into our minds' eye. The book contains many ideas that really made sense to me and that surprised me because you could apply these standards to any group of people, of any race, and any economic background anywhere in the world. Even more surprising is that this was written so long ago and yet still today we are reading Plato's theories, but I don't think we're really paying attention, looking at all the chaos in the world today. In the story, Socrates is returning to Athens from a festival when he meets Polemarchos on the road. Polemarchos insists that Socrates accompany him home where they greet his father and start right into a discussion of old age. Socrates says, "It seems right to enquire of them [meaning the elderly men], as if they traversed a long journey which perhaps we will have to traverse." This
The rest of the story, I must summarize. Like the Epic of Gilgamesh, Plato's book sets out to teach a lesson. Socrates goes on to discuss additional key elements of an ideal society: the ruler must seek truth for an entire lifetime; "truth" can only be seen through eyes of "understanding;" the truth may be difficult and blinding at first, but then the individual will be set free; the highest pleasure is only reached by the philosopher (the lover of wisdom); a "greed for wealth" causes democracies to turn to tyranny; poets are "imitators," and he ends his discussions urging his colleagues to go out and follow his advice, employing reason to achieve justice and wisdom. By doing these instructions, we avoid chaos and create the ideal republic, as envisioned by Plato. In another discussion, Socrates addresses which people would be good rulers and which would not. Of the three classes of citizens, he places the merchant class lowest, the high-spirited soldier class second, and the high-minded, more human-minded philosopher class highest. He believes the philosopher would make the best ruler because he/she would act most just and civil and show the most ideal "harmony" in ruling over the passions and appetites of the other two classes. This reminds me of my philosophy studies of the id, ego, and superego and also how there must be that balance between all three in order for an individual to function at his/her best. Socrates believes that the ruler should live at a common level with his/her people and that the city should supply all of its needs, rather than have the ruler
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1071
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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