FREE ESSAY ON PLATO`S THE REPUBLIC

PLATO`S THE REPUBLIC

Socrates' ideal city is described through Plato in his work The Republic, some questions
pondered through the text could be; How is this an ideal city formed, and is justice in
the city relative to that of the human soul? I believe Socrates found the true meaning of
justice in the larger atmosphere of the city and applied that concept to the human soul.
Socrates describes his idea of an ideal city as one that has all the necessary parts to
function and to show that justice is truly the harmony between the three stages of the
city and soul in the human body. 
Plato introduces the idea of the happiness. Socrates says, …in establishing our
city, we aren't aiming to make any one group outstanding happy but to make the whole city
so, as far as possible  (Plato 420b). I agree that in order to examine one thing that is
difficult to comprehend, it is wise to look on a larger scale. In this case, Socrates had
to examine the difference of a whole city and other concepts of cities in order to
determine justice in the world and inner soul. 
In order to develop the perfect city Socrates had to develop the other ideas that
contribute to the ideal city, the City of Need, and the City of Luxury in order to
develop the Perfect City. I believe Socrates in-depth discovery process for the perfect
city is a great philosophical look into the idea of justice. Socrates brought up a
subject many men at that time would never have thought about and Plato believed that the
idea of justice was worthy of writing a literary work to pass his philosophy on to future
generations. Since the crucial elements of justice may be easier to observe on the larger
scale like a city than on one individual. The focus for Socrates is a perfect city,
because the city will represent human soul, Socrates says; we'll go on to consider it in
the individuals, considering the likeness of the bigger in the idea of the littler?(Plato
369a). Plato's ideal city is really the search for the truth of justice, if Socrates were
able to find the relationship between the soul and city in his ideal city then he would
have the true meaning of justice. We saw from the reading how he came about braking down
the city's parts and also that of the soul in order to see the reaction between three
different regions which Plato and Socrates describe in The Republic. According to Plato,
Socrates broke down the perfect city into three parts; each part is tied to a specific
virtue that he believes will help define justice. The three virtues are wisdom, courage,
and moderation. Wisdom is the whole knowledge, which describes the rulers of the city.
The rulers should be the ones who incorporate philosophy and ruling together to rule the
city wisely. Courage describes the guardians, who's job was to defend the city from
invasion and take new lands for the city. The third virtue of the ideal city was
moderation which is the concept of self-control and knowing ones role, also the concept
of one man, one job. The ideal city described in the work is ideal to me because it
relates all essential parts to bring harmony among the different kind of people and the
virtues that go hand in hand with to bring about justice. Therefore, the question arises,
if I would want to live in the ideal city Plato has described in the work. My answer
would be yes because it seems that everyone has a specific role to follow depending upon
their abilities, both physically and mentally. When I look back to the early cities Plato
discussed I agree with the city of need, but that is only part of the whole scheme of
things. We need to add the luxurious things and leaders and the people to protect the
city. No one of those first two cities could be great by its self, sure each one had
their strong points but together they are harmonious to develop the perfect city. The
perfect city needs both cities' traits, beginning with the basic philosophy if each
person doing a specific job and doing to help the city. In the city of need, Socrates
described that each tradesman had a particular job and now in the ideal city we can see
that that trait is one part of the structure for the ideal city. Another trait that we
see in the perfect city that we also saw in the city of luxury was the idea of wanting
more than you have. That idea brought about the need for guardians. Guardians were the
spirit of the city and their job was to fulfill the needs of the city by taking new land
and defending against invasion attempts. Then to tie the entire city together, the rulers
were needed so that there was order and knowledge. When Socrates begins with his perfect
city he says he needs rulers who are the best of the guardian class, their job is to make
the citizens happy and serve the general well being of the state. Socrates has truly
developed a perfect utopian society in his eyes, but in many other peoples and mine. I
believe he has just created the basis of a society that will grow and become unhappy,
non-harmonious and lead to the fall of the city. I believe the citizens of the ideal city
will be happy but for how long? People are notorious for wanting more and more until the
reach a point where there is no more or something bad happens because we are never
satisfied. There is bound to be happiness in the city for a while, but a soon as someone
has the initiative to strive for something new the balance will be thrown off. Look back
in the text, when Socrates was faced with the question of whether or not a woman is fit
for a guardian position. Socrates believed that if a woman can do everything a man can do
then so be it. she could become a guardian. Well, in response to Socrates the other men
looked at Socrates like he was crazy, how could a woman be a guardian? When one group
decides they want more the happiness will be destroyed, because each group will want more
and more. That is the reason I believe that the city is ideal for the time in which
Socrates lived however I can't believe it would ever work today or even shortly after
Socrates' time. The lower groups always want to reach for the top. When we see kids
today, they are always striving to become the best and do something out of the ordinary,
something that may be out of their class but if determined they can accomplish any feat.
I know from my own experience that no one wants to be told what to do and have be
classified into a group. We classify everything and the lower classes want to be higher
and the higher they go the more they want. This is just basic human nature. Putting Plato
and Socrates' city to real life, take any country or city. For instance, England was a
country based upon a system of groups. The leaders were those of the royal class. The
kings were thought of to be knowledgeable and was a trait only certain people have, there
were also people who entered the armies or were placed into them. The armies were the
guardians of England, protecting their empire and constantly looking for new land to
acquire. Back in the country, peasants worked as tradesman and farmers. They took care of
the basic needs of everyone in the country by producing products for the entire country.
Now look today at our country, the United States of America. We are all descendants of
ancestors that came from European and other eastern countries that had adopted that way
for thousands of years. What happened? To be honest, people do not want to be placed in
certain roles. It is fine if you are the upper class, but the guys at the bottom want to
achieve success and rise to the top. That is a reason for the American Revolution and all
other revolutions that have spurred from the lower class. No one wants to be content with
being at the bottom; everyone wants to be at the top. Plato's ideal city would work if
people were content with their god given positions. If there is harmony between the
groups, then there is happiness, as we see in the soul and city throughout The Republic.
However, in real life people find harmony with themselves when they achieve their goals
and live a good life. I agree with that philosophy because I also want to achieve more
and I am happy when I achieve my goals. No one is truly happy though because people will
always want more. I agree that Plato's idea was great and a well-devised plan which
provided the basis for many cities that have flourished in the past. However how could
one totally agree with a proposal that is from so long ago, it is simply outdated in
practice but not theory. We can still strive for inner harmony and harmony within a
community and society but we must find that harmony through trials of our own.