The Republic, By Plato And Modern Day Social Classes

In the Republic, Plato divides social classes into three categories. These categories were Rulers, Guardians, and Craftsmen. These classes work together to ideally create Utopia. Plato believes social order must be maintained in order to have a fully functional society. These social classes are similar to the Feudal System, and modern day social classes. Each class has its own role, which if not carried out can disrupt the flow of society. Within each social class all men, women, and children had their own roles that they also had to fulfill. Rulers, otherwise known as â€Å"True Guardians† held the most worthy role, although not the most important. Their social metallic property was gold. The Rules were leaders and philosophers who kept society in order. To fulfill this role one must be specially educated in specifically math and dialect. Plato believed that rulers must live in poverty, with any possessions they do have held in common. The very things, then, that mean the mos t to commoners will be denied to the rulers. The next class were the Guardians, otherwise known as â€Å"auxiliaries†. As the name implies, they were soldiers or warriors. They were responsible for defending the city from invaders, and for keeping peace. They enforce convictions and ensure that rules were obeyed. Their metallic property was silver. Although not as worthy or as looked up to as Rulers, the Guardians held what is considered the most important role in society, much as in modern day society ourShow MoreRelatedPlatos Republic - Book V1232 Words   |  5 PagesPlatos most famous work is undoubtedly The Republic it has weathered the test of time to provide us with the most influential philosophical doctrine surviving from the ancient Mediterranean. Over the years Plato has been hailed by some as an advocate of womens rights because of some views he puts forth in The Republic. In Book V of the work Plato has Socrates, acting as his voice, engage in a discussion of th e perfect state with Polemarchus, Adeimantus, Glaucon, and Thrasymachus. In the conversationRead MoreMedical Ethics Essay997 Words   |  4 Pagesfor us as citizens and what may not be. What we ultimately determine as universal good, is it really the best course for the nation? The topic of Universal Healthcare is a very large and complicated subject matter that incorporates everything from social-ecomonical status of patients to euthanasia. A topic such as this, the key to understanding the many different and wide-ranging questions this topic poses is to approach it with an understanding of Moral Philosophy. A better understanding throughRead MorePlato Was An Ancient Greek Philosopher Essay1698 Words   |  7 PagesPlato was an ancient Greek philosopher thought to have been born in 428 B.C, he was the son of Ariston and was brought up in an aristocratic way of life. Because of his social status and connections he obtained through his family, it was thought he would inevitably end up involved in Athenian political life, but this did not happen to such an extent, a friend of his, Socrates had an enormous effect on him and why he did not end up with a prominent role in politics. He explains this in his SeventhRead MoreThe Between Men And Women Of The Guardi an Class1970 Words   |  8 PagesDespite the arguments for equality given between men and women of the guardian class in The Republic, Plato didn’t offer a solid theory that liberated women in general. Book V within the Republic, deals with the status of women. This essay will show that Plato’s theory is not sustainable by assessing certain parts of his dialogue and offering insight on the subject of gender based on critical analysis and modern day perceptions. Before analyzing Plato’s arguments, its evident to note that women haveRead MoreThe Importance of Education in The Republic by Plato1062 Words   |  4 Pages The great philosopher Plato, speaking through the character of Socrates in his book The Republic, holds the belief that true and good education is what leads civilizations to prosper. Due to this, he is very concerned with the issue of education and how it will be addressed in the state that he and his fellow companions hope to design and build. He talks about how important education is in achieving this idea of justice and morality. Furthermore, I believe that many of the concepts he brings aboutRead MorePlatos Ideas About Philosopher Kings Depicted in Republic Essay1698 Words   |  7 PagesIn Platos most famous work Republic he puts forward the view that only the study of philosophy would allow man to see what was good and just. Therefore to cure the ills of society it would be necessary to either make kings philoso phers or make philosophers kings. I intend to show how Plato justifies this view and then attempt to point out some possible problems with this justification and to forward my own view that the people should ultimately be king. Platos starting point was his recognitionRead MoreSocrates Ideal Society Essay1467 Words   |  6 PagesIn Plato’s Republic Book 2 and 3, Socrates gives two arguments and proposals about making a just city. Socrates proposes and later argues, the ideal society being a society in which there is supervision over the storytellers. He believes this is necessity to make sure the youth of the society grow up to be just characters. Socrates’ second proposal that an ideal society would have the â€Å"myth of the metals† as a â€Å"noble lie† implemented into their society. This ideal society therefore following theRead MoreThe Noble Lie in Plato ´s The Republic1438 Words   |  6 PagesIn The Republic Book 3, Plato uses a fictional character named Socrates to argue that people in society must be handpicked to rule as well as also handpicking people to become ruled in order to confirm there will be no disagreements over who is leading. He essentially claims cho osing what every citizen does with their life is necessary for creating a steady and working structure in society. This theory of telling people what they were destined to do in life is known as the â€Å"noble lie.† It tells everyoneRead More Plato’s Influence on Western Civilization Essay3085 Words   |  13 Pagesdeveloped an ideal image of our current day country, long before our country existed. In ancient Greece, a great philosopher named Plato founded one of the most famous schools in all of history. Plato was a student of an enlightened man and a teacher of many others. Plato’s contribution to our existing government is given little credit, yet thanks to him we function as one of the most sophisticated societies in the entire history and the world. Plato, whose real name was Aristocles, was believedRead MorePlato, The, And The Myth Of Er1757 Words   |  8 PagesIn 399 BCE, nineteen years before Plato transcribed Republic, classical Greek philosopher Socrates was formally put on trial and executed on the citation of two â€Å"impious† acts: having â€Å"failed to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges† and â€Å"introducing new deities.† These two recognized accusations, and the punishment that Socrates paid for them through a poisonous hemlock-based liquid, was witnessed by his student, Plato. Plato was inspired to later write Socratic works and dialogues dedicated