Contribution of Plato to the Area of Politics - Essay Example

This was the conclusion made by the philosopher after his reasoning presented in the “Republic” (Boucher, p.68). The “Republic” makes us familiar with an “ideal” state that is based on the principle of justice. The idea of justice plays a very important role in the philosophy of Plato. The philosopher was irritated by the state of affairs in Athens, especially after the death of Socrates. He understood that democracy was going to disappear, thus his main goal was to save democracy. Thus, Plato decided to present the citizens with the ideas of an “ideal” society, where justice played the most important role. In contrast to previous ideas, the idea of Plato was to present justice not as a simple “rule to follow”, but as a human virtue, which makes people good, honest, and fair. According to Plato, only this approach can harmonize a society that is about to lose democratic principles. The philosophy of Plato, especially the ideas presented in “Laws” created a good basis for the more rational philosophy of Aristotle (Boucher, p.75).