Platos view of a perfect world - Essay Example

Plato’s view of a perfect world Is Utopia society’s version of a unicorn? Is a ‘perfect world’ merely a mythical creature or is it possible of coming to existence? Before we answer these questions, we must determine what Utopia really is. Our American society, can we consider it Utopia? Is it perfect? I doubt it. We are a country still fighting against discrimination. There is still poverty certain parts of the country and crimes are still a problem. We watch the news and see youths’ terrorizing the halls of their schools, gunning down their own classmates. With all that, I could hardly say that America is perfect. On the contrary, I think its’ very far from being Utopia. What is Utopia? But what is Utopia? I would think that it is a world where there is peace and love among all men. But according to Plato’s The Republic, he considered a perfect state to have two things: the perfect man and the perfect justice. The Perfect Man A perfect world cannot exist if the people that consists it are flawed. I must agree albeit hesitantly, because come to think of it, the world is nothing but the sum of the people which consist it. Hence, to make a perfect world, the men that form it must be perfect as well. Although we have come a long way since our barbarian ancestors, we are not perfect still. According to Charles Darwin, men may have noble qualities and god-like intelligence and yet “men still bears in his bodily frame the inedible stamp of his lowly origin.” Since it is our body that limits us and prevents us from being perfect, Plato has suggested in The Republic that in the modern world, sickly and deformed children are segregated and put to death so they don’t contaminate nor burden the rest. They are flawed, and there is no room for flaws in a perfect world. It also suggested state arranged marriages. People would be matched according to their traits, so they can bear the perfect individuals. Like dogs, to make a superior breed, only the superiors mate. The Perfect Justice Plato suggested that in a perfect world, there is unity among men and they are one with the state. Men cease to be mere individuals and instead they are seen as members of the state. I agree with this line of thinking because if men today would think this way, they would hesitate before doing harm to another, because if they injure another, they injure the State. And in a way, they injure themselves. However, to attain this oneness with the State, Plato suggests communal property under the control of the state. Likewise, it suggests that the State rears the children without parents knowing their offspring. All of these are aimed to prevent accumulation of wealth, brains, beauty and other qualities of birth. Again, I must agree to this line of thinking. Because to have a complete unity with the State, one must surrender everything to it, otherwise, wealth will be concentrated only to certain individuals, beauty and brains would only be limited to only one family. This is what is happening now. And as we see, it leads to inequality and injustice. Can We Attain Utopia? In my opinion, it will be nearly impossible to attain Utopia. First of all, we are flawed men. And as things are going with respect to human rights advocacy, I don’t think it is possible to segregate the deformed and sickly and put them to death. Such would be contrary to all tenets of human rights. Likewise, while it’s more possible to have community of property as such exists in certain communist nations today. I don’t think it is possible for the State to rear children. No parent would agree to give up their child. All of us are brought up in a family environment and we are taught how important family ties are. In the work of Rene Descartes, he concluded that a piece made by one person out of scratch is more perfect than a piece that evolved from different pieces merged together. We are the latter. The human race evolved and our society is what it is now based on various experiences. Thus, it is less perfect. To attain perfection, we must start over. Destroy what we have now and build it anew. Thus, to have a perfect man, we have to unlearn the basic lessons of human rights. We have to learn not to pity and realize that not all men are created equal and the inferior ones are expendable. To have perfect justice, we must forget about property and ownership. And we must unlearn the values of family ties. All these are unthinkable, let alone possible. These values are too radical for us. Conclusion I agree to Plato’s view of a perfect world. As I’ve said, it is very radical and yet in theory, I cannot argue otherwise. Because how can the world be perfect if it consists of flawed men? How can a world be perfect if we are not united or if we are unequal? However, in my personal opinion, if that is what makes the world perfect, I do not want a perfect world anymore. I do not have what it takes to radically change my beliefs, to forget that every human have dignity and rights. I am not willing to let go of neither my property nor my family. I must admit, my judgment is flawed. I am flawed. Personally, I do not think we need a perfect world. We are humans. We are flawed by nature. Life is about learning and developing whatever we have. If we are already perfect, what else do we live for? What else is there to attain? Bibliography Devine, D. J. (2004) In Defense of the West. Maryland: University Press of America, Inc. Bacon, Francis. (1620) Preface to the Novum Organum. Western Vision and American Values, pp 91-93. USA: Belleview University   Darwin, Charles. (1871) from The Descent of Man. Western Vision and American Values, pp 94-95. USA: Belleview University   Descartes, Rene. (1637) Principal Rules of the Method. Western Vision and American Values, pp 65-68. USA: Belleview University   Nietzsche, Friedrich. (1895) from The Antichrist. Western Vision and American Values, pp 75-77. USA: Belleview University   Plato, (360 B.C.) from The Republic. Western Vision and American Values. pp 51-64. USA: Belleview University   Read More