Plato’s writings often focus on finding the essence; or eternal, unchanging form of a concept, what is the essence of tree, or piety, or justice. When Socrates questions characters in the dialogues as to what they think he is often given an example instead of a definition. Plato, in his writings, tried to do the opposite to determine the form and then in turn determine how that would be represented in the physical world. Plato’s Ontological hierarchy begins with living true to your being which in turn can become a just individual and society, this can result in an expression of “the good," the highest form Plato can imagine. The good can begin when a person is living most true to their being. This happens when a person lives a just life, To
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At the top is the philosopher king who is determined by their ability to lead and most importantly their wisdom. Ideally, it should be the most enlightened and educated man in society who will rule over the guardians and the tradesman, “Qualities like ready understanding, a good memory, sagacity, quickness, together with a high-spirited, generous temper” (Plato 213). These qualities are also true for the next layer, the guardians, but the philosopher king will be the best of the guardians. The next layer of society is the guardians whose primary characteristic is their courage. This is a courage that is not courageous due to lack of fear but the knowledge of what one should truly fear in life. This group of people would live communally with no private property because they would know that it holds no value. Children and wives would be shared communally and currency would not exist at this level. At the bottom of this pyramid lies the tradesman or craftsman. This layer would be the unenlightened and would have a currency and property because they would not know how else to function. It is important to state that the whole population would need to have temperance and accept that they may not be able to rise to the higher levels of
At the top is the philosopher king who is determined by their ability to lead and most importantly their wisdom. Ideally, it should be the most enlightened and educated man in society who will rule over the guardians and the tradesman, “Qualities like ready understanding, a good memory, sagacity, quickness, together with a high-spirited, generous temper” (Plato 213). These qualities are also true for the next layer, the guardians, but the philosopher king will be the best of the guardians. The next layer of society is the guardians whose primary characteristic is their courage. This is a courage that is not courageous due to lack of fear but the knowledge of what one should truly fear in life. This group of people would live communally with no private property because they would know that it holds no value. Children and wives would be shared communally and currency would not exist at this level. At the bottom of this pyramid lies the tradesman or craftsman. This layer would be the unenlightened and would have a currency and property because they would not know how else to function. It is important to state that the whole population would need to have temperance and accept that they may not be able to rise to the higher levels of