Platos Explanation of an Ideal State in his Work, The...

What is the ideal state? This question has sparked debate since the very formation of organized political society. In Plato’s The Republic, Plato seeks to define justice and in doing so he seeks to explain the ideal just state. In Plato’s explanation of an ideal state, there is an extreme emphasis on unity and harmony. The reason unity and harmony are so important to Plato are because they are responsible for bonding together Plato’s ideal state and protecting it from tyranny. Plato explains at great length the framework which ties together the individual soul with the ideal political society. Without unity and harmony, an aristocracy would ultimately decay into a democracy, and according to Plato, sooner rather than later a tyrant would†¦show more content†¦110). Special emphasis should be placed on the word â€Å"community† being used to describe the ideal state seeing as how a community signifies a united group of people. In Platos ideal state, there are three different groups of society which unite to create a harmonious and happy state. Those three groups are the producers, warriors, and rulers. It is through justice that the harmony of these three groups is kept. Without justice, the three groups would mix and aristocracy would be on a path towards democracy. It is with this idea in mind that Plato proposes teaching the citizens of the ideal state the Allegory of the Metals. Platos Allegory of the Metals serves more than one purpose in his ideal state. First of all, the allegory serves the purpose of keeping harmony amongst the social classes. According to Plato they will appeal to a prophecy that ruin will come upon the state when it passes into the keeping of a man of iron or brass (P, p.107). Therefore, there can be no replacement of the gold and silver with the iron or brass, in other words a producer may not become a Guardian. Plato goes on to explain the second purpose that the allegory has is that â€Å"it might have a good effect in making them care more for the Republic and for one another† (P, p. 107). Because an integral part of the AllegoryShow MoreRelatedPlatos View in Human Knowledge Essay examples1392 Words   |  6 PagesPlatos View in Human Knowledge Plato presents three different views about knowledge in Meno, Republic, and Theaetetus. In Menos case, Plato believes knowledge as something innate in us when we are born; in his later view, in Republic, Plato believes we perceive things and gain knowledge; and from the last view, in Theaetus, Plato believes knowledge is the combination of a true opinion and a rational opinion. Strangely enough, Platos views in Meno, Republic, and Theaetetus are similar,Read MorePlato And Plato s Republic1119 Words   |  5 Pagesthe ideal government. In Plato’s Republic, he discusses his ideas and views of how this ideal government would function. 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