Basic Nature Of Mankind In Plato's The Republic

Through the reading of Plato, specifically his book by the name of The Republic he is able to identify the basic nature of mankind. In which he uses the character Socrates as a voice of reason who questions theories of the men surrounding him. Most of these theories focused on what it the true meaning of justice and why men act justly. Plato argues that men act justly because they fear punishment or for the sake of being rewarded. Whereas, some may argue that people are naturally good and act justly for the sake of being just. Those who argue for the good of mankind included James Madison when drafting The Federalist Papers. Madison believed that people were virtuous and naturally acted just; therefore, they would make up a good democracy. Plato felt that there could never be a true democracy because it would be ruled by unjust men and result in tyranny. A democracy has to represent the majority, which is …show more content…
It can be inferred that since ordinary men are more likely to become corrupt when gaining power because they do not know how to handle it. They would use the power mainly to help themselves, and we cannot assume that the leader will have the best interest of the majority. When Plato mentions that the ideal leader would be a philosopher it is because a leader needs to be someone who can see beyond human nature. They are able to expand their minds in order to think about the interests of the people. The only reason that they would become crooked is due to being mislead by what they see around them. Plato makes a valid point that most people only act justly when they know they can get something in return, rather it is positive or negative. The ordinary minds of men do not think to do good for people because it is the right thing to do. However, they are ultimately thinking of themselves which is why it can concluded that no one is naturally