Essays on Philosophical Works

153

The Republic by Plato: The Role of Property in The Ideal State

2 pages / 909 words

Since the birth of society thousands of years ago, thinkers have pondered one of the most basic, important questions with which mankind must grapple: How should society be organized? Plato was one of the first to write his response to that question. His work, the...

The Republic

154

Aeneid: a Study of a Platonic Soul

4 pages / 1759 words

While many scholars are of the belief that Vergil penned the Aeneid to provide the Roman people with a propagandized epic glamorizing their own history, there is great evidence for Vergil’s intending the Aeneid to be something vastly more valuable: a parable on the powers...

Plato The Aeneid The Republic

155

The Metaphoric Meaning of The Cave in Plato's Republic

3 pages / 1407 words

Plato introduces his famous allegory of the cave with the phrase, “like this:” thus establishing that the passage is structured as a metaphor, and therefore must be read both as a figurative description and a symbolic representation of a concrete state of being (VII:514). He...

The Republic

156

The Importance of Unity for a City in The Republic

4 pages / 1735 words

“Is there any greater evil we can mention for a city than that which tears it apart and makes it many instead of one? Or any greater good than that which binds it together and makes it one?…And when all the citizens rejoice and are...

The Republic

157

A Look at The Theme of Equal Opportunities in The Republic

2 pages / 1046 words

Plato thinks that in the Republic Justice is to be found because all persons are treated equally in that each is given a social position and vocational place suited to his/her talents. Do you agree that Plato’s arrangement satisfies what may be called “equal opportunity?”...

The Republic

158

The Myth of Er and Its Purpose in The Republic

3 pages / 1252 words

The so-called “Myth of Er” has long puzzled Plato’s readers. Socrates, whose teachings and conversations Plato chronicles, tells the story of Er, who journeyed to the afterlife and came to life again to tell his story. The tale is not found in any source except...

The Republic

159

A Critical Analysis of The City-soul Analogy as Illustrated by Plato

4 pages / 1955 words

Analysis of Plato’s The Republic, City-Soul Analogy In an elaborate effort to comprehend individual justice, Socrates engages in a lengthy debate which explores intricate details, structures, and overarching principles of a just city. This analysis will explore the City-Soul analogy through three separate human lenses....

Plato Plato Republic The Republic

160

Fair Or Unfair Speech: a Comparison Between The Clouds and The Republic

3 pages / 1265 words

Socrates, a famous ancient Greek philosopher, is depicted as ridiculous in The Clouds by Aristophanes yet as thoughtful in The Republic by Plato. In the former, he runs a Thinkery that educates students, and when Pheidippides enrolls, Just and Unjust Speech bicker about how to...

The Republic

161

Elucidating The Topic of Justice in The Republic by Plato

4 pages / 2000 words

In his text, The Republic, Plato takes on the monumental task of elucidating the topic of justice through the discourse of Socrates with his auditors. Adding to the challenge of this task is Socrates’ faithfulness to arguments made with reason, and not rhetoric. He thus...

The Republic

162

Role of The Classes in The Republic: The Guardian Class

3 pages / 1318 words

In Socrates’ unnamed thought-experiment of a city, as described by Plato, none of the social classes hold as much intrigue as that of the guardians. Appointed by Socrates as either militaristic defenders or leaders upon birthing, depending on which sub-sect the individual guardian belongs, they...

The Republic

163

Doing Away with Gender Roles in The Republic and on Liberty

4 pages / 1745 words

Although Mill’s On Liberty and Plato’s The Republic both advocate the abolishment of gender roles, their respective justifications and resulting ideologies differ saliently. The inception of these differences arises from the basic moral premises from which these ideologies are derived; justice is of fundamental importance,...

Plato The Republic

164

The Views of Plato and Aristotle on The Nature of Goodness

5 pages / 2164 words

The nature of goodness is distinctly disparate between Plato and Aristotle. Plato argues for a higher form of goodness, while Aristotle argues back with a societal form of goodness. Aristotle’s view of goodness is far more realistic to the actual world, and it disproves Plato’s...

Aristotle Plato The Republic

165

A Righteous City as Depicted in The Writings by Alfabi and Plato

2 pages / 1196 words

The concept of the virtuous city is central to both Plato’s and Alfarabi’s treatments of political science. The respective analyses of Plato and Alfarabi bear many similarities, but their final goals differ radically. Plato’s description of the republic is both an ideal towards which cities...

Plato The Republic

166

A Democratic Soul's Critique in The Guardian Class

5 pages / 2607 words

In The Republic Plato fosters an idea of the democratic soul which is fundamentally flawed. He posits that a man with a democratic soul “lives his life in accord with a certain equality of pleasures he has established” (The Republic, VIII, 561b). Conceding the fact...

The Republic

167

The Unspoken Rebuttal of Socrates by Plato in The Republic

4 pages / 2144 words

Plato’s Republic utilizes a political approach to answer what is essentially a moral question. In attempting to identify justice in the individual, Socrates takes an unmistakable turn toward the direction of political philosophy, describing the formation of his ideal city Kallipolis. It can hardly be...

Plato Socrates The Republic

168

Understanding Plato's Forms and The Concept of Philosopher-kings

2 pages / 1133 words

According to Plato, true knowledge originates in the realm of the Forms, or universal, eternal, constant, and absolute truths that only the mind can access, such as the Form of the Good or the Form of the Just. Forms are not part of the visible...

Plato Plato Republic The Republic

169

The Issues of Religion and Faith in The Republic

4 pages / 1843 words

Plato’s Republic is rife with evidence of, and commentary on, the nature of the Greek religion. Some of the treatment is overt, as in the censorship of canonical works of poets and dramatists or in the references to the powers and functions of the gods....

The Republic

170

Interpretations of Plato’s Allegory of The Cave in Erasmus’ Praise of Folly

5 pages / 2253 words

In the Praise of Folly, Erasmus creates a character critical of, yet indebted to, philosophical wisdom. Through Folly, Erasmus weaves his own ideas into her message, confusing readers unable to distinguish between the two voices. In Praise of Folly, Folly refers to Plato’s “Allegory of...

Allegory of The Cave Plato The Republic

171

Gender Equality from Plato's Perspective

1 page / 750 words

Plato employs a meritocratic logic in his proposal for gender equality in Book V of The Republic. In his ideal community, the kallipolis, comprised of producers, guardians, and rulers, Plato advocates a specialization of employment and status based on inherent nature and not on gender-typing....

Gender Equality Plato The Republic