Plato Essays -- essays research papers

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 descri... ...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 fro m 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.