Perfect City in Platos View - Research Paper Example

Teacher Perfect in Plato's view, with the philosophers and guardians and the working and how they all work together Platowrote about his ideal city in his work The Republic. He called this ideal city as polis which is based on justice and virtue where its citizens serve each other and live according to a universal truth and strives to realize their potentials. For this ideal city to work, Plato proposed a social stratification for effective governance where each class has its functions and described on how these classes to rule and be ruled. This society is also based on meritocracy which means that a person’s station in society is dependent on one’s capacity, intelligence, talent and hard work. It is far from monarchy which a child of king or queen automatically becomes a ruler by birth right. From this this philosophical thought comes the social and economic stratification which are meant to forge social solidarity in the ideal state (Silvermintz 762) In stratifying, Plato did not discriminate people by birth but by capability and will of who should rule and exercise political power over a state. , "philosophers [must] become kings…or those now called kings [must]…genuinely and adequately philosophize" (The Republic 5). Plato put so much emphasis on the philosopher king or the philosopher ruler whom designated as the Guardians. They are chosen by an inner calling or daimon and by their birth or privileged station in life. The philosopher kings are also those who are supposed to have a philosophical temperament that can judge between mere appearances of objects and permanent abstract forms or in short, those who can distinguish truth from falsity. For Plato’s philosopher’s it is necessary for them “to possess philosophical truths for their own sake, where this in turn implies good regardless of any bene? cial e?ects (Woolf 33). The Guardians are supposed to have a heart of bronze and silver which meant that they have the physical capability and also the intellectual prowess to rule. To have this quality, the philosopher ruler of the ideal city has to undergo rigorous and regulated study which extends until mid-life. Their curriculum of study involves the study of philosophy, the arts, as well as the gymnastics. In the early years of their study, poetry and fictional drama are deemed inappropriate because Plato thought that it could dull the person’s ability to discern and make to make wise judgment. He was also cautious that the undesirable behaviors may be emulated (Republic 395) and that the student may not be able to see its falsity. The study of the Guardians also involved the physical training. To be specific, it involves gymnastics and should train physically that is more suited for war. This physical training however must be balanced with music and poetry to avoid the negative tendencies of each training that is, being too physical may make the Guardian brute or too much music and poetry may make the Guardian too soft. Upon the assumption of the role to become The Guardian, the ruler must also have to live an ascetic life and far from the life of a privilege person so that the ruler will not get spoiled which will weaken him. For Plato’s perspective, living a life of comfort will weaken a ruler because it will prejudice him to perpetuate the life that he is beginning to like. To guard against this character weakness, it is mandated that a Guardian or ruler must live a simple life. This also serves as a safeguard from those who wanted to become a Guardian that it is a position of service to its fellow that there are no material incentives in becoming a Guardian. Thus, a Guardian has no possession also and is not even paid despite the tremendous political power that he wields. Whatever that he has should be donated by society at large and he is not paid for governing. The rationale for this stringent life was that for the Guardian to focus solely on governance. That is, if he will dispense a law or administers justice or that of the state, that he may do so for the interest of the state and greater majority and least to himself. Not all who underwent the training and education to become a Guardian becomes a Guardian. As the training progresses, there are those who fell short to the requirement to become a Guardian particularly the philosophical requirement. They are then assigned to become Auxiliaries or those who are assigned to defend and protect the state. The greater majority of the ideal state’s population is the working class because not everybody can rule and defend the state. Plato spoke little about the working class but nevertheless he deemed this class necessary to the ideal states because they provide the necessary sources for governance and defense. He did not mention them to have any philosophical inclination but rather are ruled by their passions and does not have the intellectual prowess to do anything beyond typical work. They are also driven solely by their self-interest and therefore are cautioned to exercise moderation and to subordinate their desires to the higher good of the ideal state. The working class can be likened to Plato’s allegory of the cave whereby there are group of people who are accustomed to the darkness inside the cave. They only see shadows of themselves and others and can no longer see any reality beyond that. Those who escaped and saw the world above, its sunlight, trees and beauties are those who either become Guardian or Auxillary (Philosophypages.com). Personally, this is the portion of Plato’s work that I find to be least commendable because of the way he thought of the majority of the people in his ideal state. With how he described them, the working class seemed to be no more than a cattle who has to toil all day and is incapable of thought, creativity and higher calling of philosophy. I am also disturbed when he made a sweeping generalization that they are just driven by passions and are selfish. I do not agree in this portion of The Republic because it seems to me that the only set of people who can be called as human beings are those who are in the higher positions of government and military. The rest are, in slang language, lowly people who fell short to be called idiots because they cannot think nor aspire beyond themselves. In reading The Republic, it is more advisable to take it as a moral philosophy or a general guideline on how an ideal state should be where its principles are not to be taken too literally. It should not be read as a manifesto or a template or blueprint on how to create an ideal state because there are portions that are too simplistic to apply in real world particularly in a modern setting. We can set for example the academe, business the craftsmen who could be in the category of working class because they are neither Guardian nor Auxillary. In Plato’s ideal state, they are automatically dismissed as incapable of thought, driven by passion and selfish. Of course we know that they are not. The teachers taught the Guardians and the rest of the population and therefore the intellectuals. Business especially in information world requires a great deal of intellect to succeed. Do not tell me that Steve Jobs or Bill Gates are not capable of thinking nor are people are generally selfish. Nevertheless, the rest of Plato’s The Republic is very insightful on how an ideal state should be. Governance as we know it today are even influenced by his work that we expect our political leaders today to be the best, the brightest and moral as well to unselfishly serve us with just meager salaries. Works Cited Analogy, and an oligarchic personality is someone whose every thought. "Plato: The Republic 5-10." Philosophy Pages. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. Read More