Etini Samuel Udoko
POLS 325 – 001
Prof. Jeremy Mhire
October 28, 2014 Through Socrates Eyes For countless generations, Socrates has been recognized as a key element in the development of political philosophy. His ideas have gradually crafted the way major political philosophers think. We have spent the quarter looking through Socrates' eyes, and I will be analyzing a piece from The Republic. In the republic, Socrates toggles with the question "what is justice?” Although he gives no actual definition, he tries to explore the idea and indirectly giving us an idea of what justice is. However, the main focus of this paper will be on book eight of The Republic, which looks into the stages by which the city in speech disintegrates gradually …show more content…
However, can such a system truly exist? Human beings are generally very selfish, meaning, we only do the things that can benefit us in one way or the other. In book eight, Socrates returns to describe the four unjust constitutions of the city and the man. He had previously described an Aristocratic man, whom he considered to be both good and just. The next stage through the unjust circle is the man who craves victory and honor; Socrates called this regime a "Timocracy or a Timarchy." But how will the system of aristocracy disintegrate into Timocracy, and how do they defer? Socrates believed that rulers of the just city will become ignorant in picking the next generation of rulers, and they would rely on their fallibility of sense-perception. The rulers of the just city will make grievous mistakes overtime, and after a period of time, some positions of power will be controlled by misguided …show more content…
Socrates further describes how timocracy degenerates into oligarchy. Progressing from timocracy, oligarchy is the regime that is based completely on wealth. This city according to Socrates has five major flaws. Firstly, Socrates believed that the city was being ruled by people not suitable to rule, due to the fact that leadership was solely based on wealth; which meant even the uneducated elites, could rule in this system. Secondly, Socrates described this city as two cities instead of one, noting that one was the city for the wealthy, while the other was the city for the poor; he divided them this way because, both factions were consistently plotting against each and do not share a common interest. Thirdly, Socrates explains that this regime cannot fight a battle on their own, because they would have to arm the people, which terrifies the rulers more than the thought of an actual war. Fourthly, unlike the just city, Socrates illustrates that the oligarchy regime has no principle of specialization; meaning that no one has any exact role to play. Finally, Socrates describes this as the first city to allow the greatest evil; without any principle of specialization, most individuals live in this city without playing a role. Socrates refers to these individuals as drones, who are usually criminals or
POLS 325 – 001
Prof. Jeremy Mhire
October 28, 2014 Through Socrates Eyes For countless generations, Socrates has been recognized as a key element in the development of political philosophy. His ideas have gradually crafted the way major political philosophers think. We have spent the quarter looking through Socrates' eyes, and I will be analyzing a piece from The Republic. In the republic, Socrates toggles with the question "what is justice?” Although he gives no actual definition, he tries to explore the idea and indirectly giving us an idea of what justice is. However, the main focus of this paper will be on book eight of The Republic, which looks into the stages by which the city in speech disintegrates gradually …show more content…
However, can such a system truly exist? Human beings are generally very selfish, meaning, we only do the things that can benefit us in one way or the other. In book eight, Socrates returns to describe the four unjust constitutions of the city and the man. He had previously described an Aristocratic man, whom he considered to be both good and just. The next stage through the unjust circle is the man who craves victory and honor; Socrates called this regime a "Timocracy or a Timarchy." But how will the system of aristocracy disintegrate into Timocracy, and how do they defer? Socrates believed that rulers of the just city will become ignorant in picking the next generation of rulers, and they would rely on their fallibility of sense-perception. The rulers of the just city will make grievous mistakes overtime, and after a period of time, some positions of power will be controlled by misguided …show more content…
Socrates further describes how timocracy degenerates into oligarchy. Progressing from timocracy, oligarchy is the regime that is based completely on wealth. This city according to Socrates has five major flaws. Firstly, Socrates believed that the city was being ruled by people not suitable to rule, due to the fact that leadership was solely based on wealth; which meant even the uneducated elites, could rule in this system. Secondly, Socrates described this city as two cities instead of one, noting that one was the city for the wealthy, while the other was the city for the poor; he divided them this way because, both factions were consistently plotting against each and do not share a common interest. Thirdly, Socrates explains that this regime cannot fight a battle on their own, because they would have to arm the people, which terrifies the rulers more than the thought of an actual war. Fourthly, unlike the just city, Socrates illustrates that the oligarchy regime has no principle of specialization; meaning that no one has any exact role to play. Finally, Socrates describes this as the first city to allow the greatest evil; without any principle of specialization, most individuals live in this city without playing a role. Socrates refers to these individuals as drones, who are usually criminals or