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Paper-1 - 1 - Plato and Aristotle
Paper-1 - 1 - Plato and Aristotle
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
Components of ToK.
1. Types of Knowledge :
1. True Knowledge : Ultimate knowledge : Permanent
2. Rhetoric : Opinions and beliefs : Changing nature
2. Source of Knowledge : Soul
3. Method of Obtaining Knowledge : Dialectics (debate)
4. Role of teacher : Not to impart knowledge but to engage the student in dialectics
Utility of ToK
Defines the scope of philosophy which is the Pursuit of True knowledge and method of philosophy is logic
and debate
Place Athens
Views on Democracy:
DEMOCRACY = Rule of Ignorance
Considered democracy as the worst form of govt. and cause of all evils
He recommended - Philosopher King — Autocracy
Theory of Ideas
Idea
o Idea is invisible
o Idea is behind the observable reality
o Reason is required to understand the idea - Only the ppl who can understand idea
(philosophers) — can establish Ideal state
o He says
Matter– Changes (World of matter is a world of change)
Idea - Permanent - True knowledge of Socrates (Idea of horsiness)
o Philosophy is the pursuit of idea
Political purpose
Ideal state-> Idea of ideal state -> idea of kingdom of God -> enlightened soul (resided in kingdom of God)
-> man of reason -> PK
Theory of souls
Inspired by Pythagoras
Elements of soul
o Reason - Gold
o Courage - Silver
o Appetite – Copper
Theory of Justice
Justice ->foundational principle of state + ethical doctrine + first virtue of society like truth
Justice is necessary of legitimacy of state.
3 components
o Proper positioning of the elements
o Functional Specialization on the basis of quality of soul
o Non-interference in each other’s tasks
Advantages - Peace, harmony and excellence in what one is best at
4 People -
o Cephalus - Duties and dues - Weapons to mad man - Justice has to be universal and transcendental + Justice is
duty
o Polmarchus - Being good to urfrnds and bad to enemies - Justice has to be for the good of others + Justice is
virtue
o Thrasymachus - Sophist - Individualism + Materialsim = Realist
Justice is the interest of the strong
Sophist view- Realists
Suggests Might is Right
World understands Argument of power rather than Power of argument
Self is prior to society.
Plato
Society is prior to self
Conflict and disharmony
Anarchy and chaos
Reality - difficult to reject
So Thracymachus and Plato complement each other
Both points need to be understood.
o Glaucon - Justice is the interest of the weak - weak ppl need it cause they cannot survive alone.
Theory of Education
Plato has dealt with issue of education in such a detailed manner that Rousseau called “The Republic” as the
best treatise in the field of education.
Education - Means to create an ideal state - to understand the quality of the soul of each person
Logical conclusion of theory of justice.
Source of inspiration
o Sparta
State sponsored edu
Equal Opp to women
Compulsory military education
State control, not private
o Athens
Creative and logical thinking related education
Proposed system
o Sparta + Athens + own ideas : Compiled the strong elements of Sparta and Athens and added his
own ideas
o Holistic view = Physical + Logical + Moral, Practical + Theoretical
o Equality of Opportunity to women ;
o Lifelong
o Stages and tests - Filtration
o 50 years - Philosophers
Philosopher kIng
o No conflict as - Philosophers only interested in knowledge not in ruling
o No appetite for power.
o So have to be reminded of their responsibility towards the state
o Reluctantly take up the job of PK
"Those states are best governed where the rulers are reluctant to govern rather than where they are
eager to govern”
Key points
1. Diagnosis - correct but prescription - wrong
2. Person not interested in his job, who does his job just out of duty cannot do justice to his job
3. Overlooks psychology, too much philosophy
4. Aristotle ->Ruler should be worldly wise rather than wise in world of ideas.
5. May not be the best way to tackle corruption to achieve good governance.
Theory of Communism
Plato had proposed the system of C of P and F for the guardians to check against Corruption and Nepotism
Communism means common ownership and it is against private ownership
Why Plato proposed
o Education primary measure to create Ideal State by identifying spiritual qualities of the soul
o Communism as Supplementary mechanism — to check possibility of corruption
o Only for the Guardian Class - Rulers + Soldiers (Auxiliaries)
o Not for 3rd class -
Not possible - Men of appetite - can’t control themselves
Not required - not in a position to use public office for private ends
Critical Evaluation
o Plato’s Diagnosis - correct, Prescription - wrong
o Prop and Family - true that corrupting influence - nepotism and corruption
o Family - bigger evil, but this is one sided view of family
o Aristotle - Greatest disciple and greatest critic
On Property
Property - corruption - true
Benefits - Motivation + Sense of achievement + Source of Charity
Property => Stakes in the state
Not wise to abolish property — find other ways to tackle corruption
Everyone’s property is no one’s responsibility.
On Family
Family - time tested institution
Ensures emotional stability
Communism of wives not progressive — Going back to barbaric ages
o Aristotle stands corrected when we see tragedy of commons-> climate change overgrazing etc.
o Karl Popper - Open society and its enemies - criticisedPlato+Hegel+Karl Marx - Regimented
Societyand subordination of the ppl to the state completely
Evaluation of Plato
Plato as a Communist
Q- Compare Plato’s Communism with modern communism.
Communism = modern ideology by Karl Marx. However Idea of Communism is much older.
Prof Maxeysays the origin of communism in Western Philosophy
Plato had proposed the system of C of P and F for the guardians to check
against Corruption and Nepotism.
Scholars have compared the ideas of Plato and Marx
o Both talk about classes
o Both consider Property to be a source of Evil
But beyond these SUPERFICIAL SIMILARITIES lie FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCES
o PLATO - Idealist MARX - Materialist
o PLATO - idea is ultimate reality MARX - Ideas is false consciousness
o PLATO - believed in Natural inequality MARX - Against Inequalities
o PLATO - Class divided society MARX - Classless society
o PLATO - Subordinates man under state MARX - State as an instrument of exploitation
– Stateless
o PLATO - Change through education MARX - Change through a violent revolution
o Criteria of PLATO- Spiritual MARX- Economic
o Communism-Only two classes Across all classes
This shows the fundamental differences and superficial similarities
Plato as a Feminist
Feminism=> umbrella ideology => Concern - discrimination against women
Plato is called the First Feminist because
o In a patriarchal society — he gave equality of opp to women to get educated
o Communism of family - state to take care of children - women to participate in politics
o Women eligible to become Philosopher queens. Believed = women don’t suffer from natural
disabilities
Status as femisnist is a matter of debate because
o Upliftment of women was not his main concern
o Opp given to women to use their talents in the service of the state by half of human race
But we have to acknowledge the significance of Plato’s approach towards women which was far ahead of
its time
After him only J.S. Mill
Plato as a Facist
Q- Was Plato a Facist or Totalitarian or Enemy of open society?
In 20th century the World has witnessed the emergence of fascism in the regimes of Hitler and Mussolini
Scholars wanted to find the origin and traced it to Plato’s works
Fascist states - totalitarian states - deprive all sorts of freedom to its people — Only duties and no rights
— Leader is considered superman - absolute powers
PK, CoF, Regimented society, Theory of Justice
Karl Popper - “Open Society and its enemies”
o Calls Plato first fascist
o “Plato’s political program far from being morally superior to fascism is actually identical to it”
o In Vol. 1 of his book - “The Spell of Plato” - those who don’t understand what Popper is saying is
because they are under the spell of Plato
o Criticizes Plato for his hatred towards democracy, holism, historicism and essentialism.
o Prefers piecemeal social engineering.
o On the above ground he calls him TOTALITARIAN thinker and a PROTO-FACIST
Winspear- Republic as blue print of authoritarianism
Levinson - “In defence of Plato”
o Fascism and Platonism are incomparable;differ in space and time, only superficial similarities.
o Plato’s work was logically consistent – Fascism is hodge-podge of ideas
o No desire for exploitation
o Believes in reason vs. against reason.
o Against violence and power politics.
o Genuine desire to give a life of excellence and harmony.
o He also said that Plato’s critics were not wrong entirely
Rajeev Bhargava- Popper is ideologically biased.
Gilbert Ryle - Whether Platofascist or not, after Popper’s work no one will see Plato in the same way it
used to be.
ARISTOTLE
Age 400 BC - Father of Political Science, Father of Comparative Politics, Father of Rule of Law
Place Macedonia
Concern Criticism of Plato - For any answer think ..how to compare with plato —
possible ??
How to prevent revolutions
Best Practicable
158 constitutions
School of Thought Thinker of Common Sense - Important to be worldly wise than wise in the
world of ideas
Golden Mean is the Golden Rule - Moderation
Not to sacrifice good for the best
Functionalist - Conservative - Piecemeal social engineering
o Fundamentalist - No change at all
Teleology - school of destiny
Influences Plato
Father = Physician+Philosopher
Books Politics
Theory of State
“Man is by nature a Political Animal”
NEEDS
Importance of state
Nature created man in such a manner that it becomes essential for him to live under the state (teleology)
In greece - sophist and socratic tradition.
Sophist => State is artificial => Man is prior to state
Socrates, Plato & Aristotle => State is natural & State is prior to man
State is prior to man — he says -
o Man is not self-sufficient. Has various needs
o Creates a family to fulfil these needs. But all his needs are not met
o Village => State
o State capable of fulfilling all his needs =>Sohighest of all associations and deserves highest of man’s obedience.
o Aristotle says “State comes into existence for the sake of life and continues for the sake of good life”
o Good life is not possible in the absence of state.
o He achieves fulfilled life and self-actualization.
o Man is social animal — In absence of state - Worst animal
o Chronologically - man comes first - but he becomes a man only after he lives in a state
Aim of man =>excellence ,whereas aim of State => self-sufficiency - capable of fulfilling all the needs of
man
Teleological argument — Man is destined to live in the state
In words of Aristotle - "One who can live without a state is either a beast or god but cannot be a man”
Different conceptions of state-> idealists, classical liberals, positive liberals, anarchists etc.
Theory of Citizenship
2 Universal principles
o Just Soli- citizenship by birth
o Jus sanguine – citizenship by blood
Takes a substantive view of Citizenship
Aristotle - goes beyond the 2 principles to say —> Citizenship = Duty towards the state - to participate in
legislative and judicial functions
Direct democracy - POLITY
Only those capable of performing these duties are citizens - Adult males - propertied class
Excludes
o Women - Limited understanding, household tasks
o Old people - Health
o Children - Immature
o Slaves - Absence of reason
Conclusion
o Criticised for - narrow composition
o But appreciated - SUBSTANTIVE meaning of citizenship than just formal status - duty to participate
and take interest in the affairs of the state
Theory of Slavery
Slavery = Natural and Desirable ==> Unavoidable
Slavery
o Legal - prisoners of war
o Natural - Born to be slaves — Aristotle concerned with this
2 types of ppl
o Mentally strong — Masters
o Physically strong — Slaves
Qualities of Master
o Reason - to take decisions
o Courage - to bear the consequences
Qualities of slaves
o Cannot take a decision OR lack the courage to bear the consequences
o Need other people to take the decision for them
Utility of slavery
o Economic system - slaves - phy strong - work for long hours
o Political system - masters - time to participate in the events of the state
o Masters - time to develop intellect
o Slaves - Someone to take decisions for him & Development of virtues by staying with master
Link it with Plato
Critical eval
o Criticised for justification of slavery
o Insti of slavery against - Principles of Human dignity
o Example of black slavery.
o Immanuel Kant - "Each man is an end in himself. He should not be treated as means to an end”
Theory of Property
Common Ownership - Common use — Everyone’s property is no one’s responsibility
Common ownership Individual use - Very exploitative (African dictators)
Individual ownership - Common use —> Take what u need, donate the rest —> Golden mean between the two.
Similar to Gandhi’s theory of trusteeship
Property
o Anything in which a man contributes his labor
o Not by deceit and fraud
o 2 types
Animate - Slaves
Inanimate - Property
“It is a difficult business for the people to live together. It is more difficult when property is involved”
Theory of Justice
2 types
o Distributive justice — Public policy (Legislature )
o Rectificatory — For the sake of justice (Judiciary )
Principle of Proportion
Merit
“It is unjust to treat equals unequally. It is equally unjust to treat unequals equally”
Aristotle — supports Meritocratic society
ToJ concerned with 2 types - Distributive and Retributive.
Both have Principles of Proportion.
ToJ<=>ToS (linked)
o Reason + Courage = Masters and rest slaves
ToJ Theory of Revolution
Follow ToJ ==> No rebellion or revolution
NO ABSLOUTE EQUALITY ( doctor = nurse )
PROPORTIONATE EQUALITY
Criticism
o Merit as sole criterion — not applicable in societies like India
Similarity with Plato’s theory.
Other schools of thoughts.
Theory of Constitution
Govt = Constitution = State
No difference
158 Constitutions
Diagram
Theory of Revolutions
Aristotle gives the earliest example of political sociology in comparative politics.
Issue of political obligation, revolution and resistance has been a matter of eternal concern in intellectual
tradition of political theory.
Aristotle — extremely sensitive — rebellions and instability.
He calls even a small change - revolution.
Exhaustive study on the causes of rebellion
Gives both general and particular causes.
o General Causes
Commonest - Feeling of inequality => Feeling of rebellion & sedition => Revolution - State
should be careful of this feeling
So => Middle class is the best — moderation
Corruption & carelessness of officials
Influx of foreigners
Highhandedness of persons in power
o Regime specific/Particular
Monarchy - Family quarrels and jealousy ==> Feeling of obedience to law
Oligarchy - Concentration of wealth in few hands - inequality - Poor conspire against
rich ==> Rich should work in the interest of the poor
Democracy - Demagogic leaders- Rich will conspire against poor = Tyranny ==> Increase
people’s stakes in the govt
How to deal with revolution
o Treat the general causes
o Treat regime specific causes
o Feeling of patriotism, law abidingness and civic virtues
Still relevant today. Golden mean of Plato (= Extreme idealist) and Machiavelli (=extreme realist)
Aristotle = Idealism + Realism
o Idealist - State is prior to man — uses dialectics to make his point
o Realist - Theory of Revolution — reality of politics