Just a Piece of Paper
A Critique of Plato 's Ideal Regime in the Context of Ancient Athens
Thesis Statement: Plato 's classification of citizens within a given society is detrimental to the progress and, possibly, the survival of a city-state structure like that of ancient Athens.
Introduction:
This paper attempts to critique Plato 's structure of the social classes. The researcher would hope to dismantle Plato 's social structure in his Republic and the presuppose good of such a system to a city-state setting like that of Athens. The researcher will be using Athens as the sample city because it was, at the time, the center of trade and culture of Ancient Greece and the home of the Greats(Socrates, Plato and Aristotle). The study would focus primarily on the political aspect of the subject matter but will go off tangent, from time to time, onto other spheres of interest like that of the society, the economy, and the relationship of Athens with other city-states.
The researcher will first define politics and how the ancient Greeks understood the meaning of the word. He would then describe the inner workings of the political structure of ancient Athens and the dynamics of power within the state. The researcher would then present a glimpse of the political philosophy of Plato in his work “The Republic”. He would then single out the salient points of the Plato 's three classes, presenting the virtues of each class and their specific role in society. The researcher would then apply said classes in the political environment of Athens and analyze the effects of such change to the state, hoping to show the negative impact it would have to Athens. Granted the city-state survives the transition from one political structure to another, the researcher would then examine the long-term effects of Plato 's three classes to the state. He would then present both the positive and negative effects of the three classes to Athens and would attempt to argue that the negative out weighs the positive
Thesis Statement: Plato 's classification of citizens within a given society is detrimental to the progress and, possibly, the survival of a city-state structure like that of ancient Athens.
Introduction:
This paper attempts to critique Plato 's structure of the social classes. The researcher would hope to dismantle Plato 's social structure in his Republic and the presuppose good of such a system to a city-state setting like that of Athens. The researcher will be using Athens as the sample city because it was, at the time, the center of trade and culture of Ancient Greece and the home of the Greats(Socrates, Plato and Aristotle). The study would focus primarily on the political aspect of the subject matter but will go off tangent, from time to time, onto other spheres of interest like that of the society, the economy, and the relationship of Athens with other city-states.
The researcher will first define politics and how the ancient Greeks understood the meaning of the word. He would then describe the inner workings of the political structure of ancient Athens and the dynamics of power within the state. The researcher would then present a glimpse of the political philosophy of Plato in his work “The Republic”. He would then single out the salient points of the Plato 's three classes, presenting the virtues of each class and their specific role in society. The researcher would then apply said classes in the political environment of Athens and analyze the effects of such change to the state, hoping to show the negative impact it would have to Athens. Granted the city-state survives the transition from one political structure to another, the researcher would then examine the long-term effects of Plato 's three classes to the state. He would then present both the positive and negative effects of the three classes to Athens and would attempt to argue that the negative out weighs the positive
Bibliography: Balot, Ryan. A Companion to Greek and Roman Political Thought. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2009. Cottingham, John. Western Philosophy: An Anthology. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 1996. Sedly, David. The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Clavell, James. The Art of War Sun Tzu. New York: Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1988. Abel, Donald. Fifty Readings in Philosophy. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1994 --------------------------------- [ 1 ]. .Ryan K. Balot, A Companion to Greek and Roman Political Thought, (West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2009), 231-245 2.John Cottingham, Western Philosophy: An Anthology, (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 1996), 477-481 3.James Clavell, The Art of War Sun Tzu, (New York: Dell Publishing Group, Inc. 1988), 9-14 1.Donald Abel, Fifty Readings in Philosophy, (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 1994), 411-419