Pol_Hons_Ketu

PLATO
BRIEF LIFE SKETCH:

Plato was born around 427/428 BC. He was born in Athens. He is regarded as the ‘founder
of philosophical idealism’. He has been credited for laying the foundations of Greek political
theory. His real name was Aristocles meaning best and renowned. His nickname was Plato
which was derived from platys because of his strong, broad shoulders. His father, Ariston
traced his ancestry to the early kings of Athens.

Plato excelled in music, mathematics, poetry, rhetoric (the art of effective speaking and
writing). He even wore awards for bravery and it was said that he never got married. In 407
BC, he met Socrates and totally got influenced by him. Since his meeting with Socrates, he
abandoned his idea of becoming a poet. The execution of Socrates took a turning point in
Plato’s life. As a result of this, he became an anti-democrat. Plato took active part in politics
around 404 BC. He then left Athens, went to some other parts to study. In 386 BC, he
returned back to Athens. A friend of Plato here gifted a recreation spot named after its local
hero Academus or Hecademus. It was here that Plato established his Academy which
became a place of higher learning and intellectual pursuits in Greece for the next hundred
years.

Some of the notable works of Plato includes The Republic, The Statesman and Laws. Plato
spent the last of his days at the Academy teaching. He died in the 347 BC.

PLATO’S FAMOUS WORK-THE REPUBLIC:

The Republic was considered as the greatest and the most well known work of Plato. It was
written around 380 BC and was originally written in Greek. Many scholars called the
Republic as “Socratic Dialogue” because Socrates was the main spokesman. This book was
written in the form of dialogue. Plato’s Republic was also considered as one of the best
examples of dialectical method. In the Republic, Plato gave so much emphasis on justice.
The Republic in Greek means justice, therefore, exploring the notion of justice. Not only did
it focus on justice, it also touched education. In the words of Rousseau, Plato’s view and
thoughts on education in his work The Republic can be considered as ‘the finest treatise on
education ever written’. Plato also talked about good life and the means to achieve it. He
was also against democracy.

PLATO’S IDEAL STATE:

Plato’s ideal state was different from the state which exists in today’s context. His ideal
state was an imaginary state. Every individual, according to Plato needs the basic necessities
of life i.e fooding, clothing and shelter. In order to achieve these, they need to be united and
organised. Therefore, different people with different talents exist.

He gave some basic principles under the state which are as follows:

i. Classification of citizens into three different classes: Plato classified the citizens
into three different classes and also gave three traits. This was called the
“theory of three classes and three souls”. This idea was borrowed from
Pythagoras.

There exist three classes according to Plato. These three classes includes-

a) The Guardians- The guardians are the considered as the most intellectual ones. They are
the philosopher rulers.

b) The Auxiliaries-This include the spirited ones. They include the warriors who are
courageous and therefore lead the citizens.

c) The Farmers and the Artisans- They include the producers who work mainly for their
survival, for their own gain and profit.

According to Plato, there exist three different traits viz., a) Wisdom/rational b) Spirit c)
Appetite. These traits are found in every individual but they differ in quantity. An individual
adopts his role according to the supremacy of the quality he owns. While in some
individuals wisdom is predominant, others are better when it comes to appetite or spirit.
State is also considered as a bigger form of individual according to Plato. The first trait
wisdom is needed by rulers in order to keep appetite and spirit in proper proportion. The
third trait, appetite encourages production which in turns increases the capital and help in
the growth of the state. The state is responsible to take care of production and in some
cases, in the process of protecting its production even leads to war. In such cases, the
second trait spirit is needed. Spirit is always needed alongside appetite.

ii. State control over education: Plato opined that state should have control over
the education system in the state. He holds that it would be best if state take this
initiative.
iii. Establishment of justice: Justice was considered as the basis of the state.
Therefore, establishment of justice was a must to make sure that every individual
gets it.
iv. Communist Social system: Plato was of the opinion that the social system of the
ideal state should be by nature, communist. He was against private property.

Under his ideal state, Plato also mentioned about the Philosopher Ruler, who he gave so
much importance on and also the concept of justice. Plato under his ideal state also talked
about communism of family and property, education, democracy, etc. These points under
the ideal state would be discussed in the following manner.
Philosopher Ruler: Plato believed and agreed to what his mentor, Socrates needs to say
about a philosopher. A philosopher was one who loves wisdom, who has the passion for
knowledge, who was always curious and eager to learn and someone who love the truth.
Plato believed what Socrates said –that ‘ideal was real’. Based on that, he brought up his
‘idea of good’ or ‘form of the good’. The idea of good was an important concept given by
Plato. This idea or form is the one which allows a philosopher-in-training to become a
philosopher ruler. In other words, the idea of good makes a Philosopher ruler ready and
qualified to rule. In his idea of good, he held that knowledge can be obtained only by a few
individuals who has leisure and material comforts. Here, he was referring to the few who
are capable of becoming philosopher rulers. Leisure according to Plato is essential for
pursuit of wisdom. Under the idea of good, a philosopher would be able to administer
justice and also work for the good of the community.

The philosopher ruler also needs to possess:

-good character

-should be calm

- should be of sound mind

- Truthful

- Discipline

-courageous and should be high-minded.

The philosopher ruler should be somebody who would be public spirited. This was to make
sure that the ruler was good enough to direct the state towards the highest and the noblest
ends. He was also expected to be a wise legislator as he would be framing laws.

View on Justice: The concept of justice was the basis of Plato’s ideal state. In his view, he
said that ideal state is not possible without justice. According to Plato, justice is where every
individual performs the function of which he is the most capable in. This means that he will
not interfere in the functions of other individual. Therefore, each individual and each class
focusing only in their functions and efficiently performing its role. The presence of justice
this way helps in the growth of peace and prosperity in the state.

View on democracy: Plato was an anti- democrat. Plato started disliking democracy because
he thought that it was because of democracy that his mentor Socrates was executed. He
equated democracy with moral corruption and delegation. He opined that democracy make
politicians ignorant. As mentioned, he blamed that restored democracy in Athens led to the
death of his teacher Socrates. He was also of the view that democracy leads to opposing
ideologies, competing political systems and other problematic issues in the society.
Democracy, according to Plato brings disorder. Generally, people try to portray it beautifully
saying liberty and equality are the basis of democracy but practically these are the roots
which bring disorder according to Plato. Democracy is anarchical by nature. In other words it
is referred to the disorderly state with absence of authority. He also deemed it as
mobocracy where a mod/ a crowd of disorderly people rules in democracy. He was also
against the fact that democracy gives equal rights to people without consideration. He holds
that the able and the disabled should be given different rights. Democracy also brings
injustice according to Plato. In a democracy, every individual is free to choose a role
according to one’s own will. They are never given their roles based on their abilities.

Communism of family and property: Plato was against private property. He stood for
communism instead where it said that property should be community owned. He also
opined that a man should abstain himself from his wife, his children and property as well so
that one can concentrate on contributing to the state. He supported communism of family
and property because state is to be meritocratic by nature. Therefore, to avoid any kind of
nepotism, favouritism, accidents, etc, communism is encouraged. For children, he opined
that there should be a common nursery for them. He was of the view that these children
should be separated from their parents while they were young and should be sent to the
nurseries where they will be looked after by well-trained nurses. This was to make sure that
they do not know their biological parents. His opinion was that if children are taken away,
they can respect every elder because they would not know who the biological parents are.

View on education: The ideal state, according to Plato can be made possible through
different scheme of education. This shows that he laid emphasis on education. The state is
to perform its task of conducting and supervising education properly. He looked into
education as an instrument of moral reform, for this, he believed would transform and
mould human beings in general. Education helps in inculcating the right values of selfless
duty towards all. In other words, it can break the barrier of the selfish nature of human
beings. Thus, education was considered as the key to the realization of a new and better
social order. He considers the state as an education institution and called it ‘the one great
thing’. He got this influence of giving importance to education through his mentor Socrates
whose belief was “virtue is knowledge”. Plato holds that human beings are capable of
learning for as long as they live, hence, education would be a lifelong process. Proper
education can be gained under an able teacher. The teachers can help pupils bring out the
best in them. Plato recommended a state-controlled system of education. He held that
education should be made compulsory and comprehensive. The education system should be
made proper in such a way that there exist elementary education and higher education.
Under elementary education, individuals would be taught till the age of 18. After a person
turns 18, the next two years would be compulsory military training. This comes under the
first phase. Next comes the second phase i.e, higher education. At age 20, the best would be
selected to go for further detailed studies.