Can the philosopher's
republic work in today's society?
In chapter 5, The
Philosopher-King, section 8c states "The Republic reveals Plato’s
view that a good life can be lived only in a good society because no one can
live a truly good life in an irrational, imbalanced society. Nor can one live a
truly good life without having some social activities, obligations, and concerns. Plato
said that society originates because no individual is self-sufficient. The just
or ideal state meets three basic categories of needs: (1) nourishing needs
(food, shelter, clothing); (2) protection needs (military, police); (3)
ordering needs (leadership, government). These needs are best met by members of
three corresponding classes of people: (1) workers (computer programmer,
banker, truck driver); (2) warriors (soldiers, police officers, firefighters);
(3) guardians (philosopher-kings). A state is “just” when it functions
fully. An unjust state is dysfunctional; it fails to meet some essential need.
Only when all classes of people are virtuous according to their natures is the state whole,
healthy, balanced, and just. The good life is nothing more—or less—than each individual
functioning well according to his or her own nature, in a state that is
well-ordered and wisely ruled."
The
idea behind the republic that Plato suggests makes sense. If you look at the
larger picture, not everyone is fit to lead. Some people are better workers,
some do better as protectors, and others are meant to lead. If everyone played
their role in society, in theory, people would live happily and with an
understood order. Those who were chosen to rule have been enlightened and have
more knowledge to rule for the community. The book states in chapter 5 section
8, The Rule of the Wise, that "Plato’s fundamental vision
is deliberately hierarchical and aristocratic rather than egalitarian and
democratic." Plato thought there were different types of people with
different strengths to be used for the community as a whole.
In
today's society, Plato's idea of this Utopia would not work. People would not
willingly submit themselves to a certain role based on their level of intelligence.
The idea of a class system would not be seen as Plato meant for it to be in our
democracy. I do not think some people are better than others and should be
forced to a way of life they are not happy with, but if this theory could be
implemented in a just manner, we would benefit. Even today we have those who
lead naturally, and those have proven to be much more intelligent than others.
Because our culture has almost become spoiled with participation metals and
given credit just for trying, we have given ourselves a false sense of
confidence. People think they all are fit for the highest job, and it just
simply is not true. Different people excel at different things and that is
okay. There is too much pride and ego to play any other role other than the philosopher
or king. Our reason has become a dim light to our appetites.
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Grammatical Errors: "Because our culture has almost become spoiled with participation metals and given credit just for trying, we have given ourselves a false sense of confidence." I would not start this sentence with "Because". I would remove it and start the statement with Our Culture.
Organization and Flow of Post: The author's post was well organized and written in a way that allowed it to flow and clearly be followed by the reader.
Did the author answer their question? The author did answer the question presented in the beginning of the post.
Did the author provide a concrete example that clearly illustrates their main point? The author provided a generalized opinion of why Plato's Utopia wouldn't work in our society. The author also gave an example that our society members has a mistaken sense of worth by how we give encouragement and praise which is truly not earned. I believe the example does illustrate the main point but could have been elaborated on for more support.
How does the author's concrete example illustrate or not illustrate their main point? It does illustrate the main point by showing that our society is one that is built on accomplishment and being driven to succeed. Knowing that, a society where you are told what you will be and do for your entire life would not be welcomed.
Do you agree or disagree with the author's answer and why? I agree with the author's answer that Plato's idea of Utopia would not work in our society today. I believe that it would not work because we live in a society that is run as a Democracy which protects the rights of individuals and their freedoms. In Plato's Utopia many of those freedoms would not exist, so trying to change the foundations of our country wouldn't be welcomed by most.
What is a concrete example that clearly illustrates why you agree or disagree with the author? My example is The Constitution of the United States. Our country was founded to escape being ruled and allowed to have individual rights and freedoms. The Constitution protects these rights and has shaped our whole society. We cherish these rights, which wouldn't be given in a Utopia like Plato envisioned. That being said, our society would never embrace these ideals without some sort of revolutionary uproar.
What is your explanation of how your concrete example clearly illustrates your reason for why you agree or disagree with the author? My example illustrates why Plato's Republic wouldn't work in today's society. We live in a society which established their freedom and rights to escape a more hierarchical country. Though some of the ideals could be implemented, I don't believe most of them would due to our what our country stands for- Individual Freedom.
Nice peer-review Mysterious Philosopher.
DeleteI agree with my peer's assessment of my answer. To make my point clearer and offer more support, I could have elaborated my main point a little more. Their example of why they agreed with my reasoning of the philosopher's utopia not working in today's society is excellent. They stated that the Constitution of the United States, the foundation of our country, protects us from being ruled. We have our individual rights and freedoms. They also reminded me that our country was founded on democracy, and this utopia Plato suggests is not. Changing the country's foundation would not be welcomed by most people.
ReplyDeleteThe Philosopher-King
ReplyDeleteCan the philosopher's republic work in today's society?
[In chapter 5, The Philosopher-King, section 8c states "The Republic reveals Plato’s view that a good life can be lived only in a good society because no one can live a truly good life in an irrational, imbalanced society. Nor can one live a truly good life without having some social activities, obligations, and concerns. Plato said that society originates because no individual is self-sufficient. The just or ideal state meets three basic categories of needs: (1) nourishing needs (food, shelter, clothing); (2) protection needs (military, police); (3) ordering needs (leadership, government). These needs are best met by members of three corresponding classes of people: (1) workers (computer programmer, banker, truck driver); (2) warriors (soldiers, police officers, firefighters); (3) guardians (philosopher-kings). A state is “just” when it functions fully. An unjust state is dysfunctional; it fails to meet some essential need. Only when all classes of people are virtuous according to their natures is the state whole, healthy, balanced, and just. The good life is nothing more—or less—than each individual functioning well according to his or her own nature, in a state that is well-ordered and wisely ruled."]←( This is not a proper use of a quote. You should only use quoted material when providing textual support or when emphasizing a particular way that an author stated something. In other cases, you should paraphrase and provide a source citation. You should never let the quote do the explaining or use a quote as if it were your own words, even if you provide citation information.)
The idea behind the republic that Plato suggests makes sense. If you look at the larger picture, not everyone is fit to lead. Some people are better workers, some do better as protectors, and others are meant to lead. If everyone played their role in society, in theory, people would live happily and with an understood order. Those who were chosen to rule have been enlightened and have more knowledge to rule for the community. The book states in chapter 5 section 8, The Rule of the Wise, that "Plato’s fundamental vision is deliberately hierarchical and aristocratic rather than egalitarian and democratic." Plato thought there were different types of people with different strengths to be used for the community as a whole.