Platos 4 Virtues - 1406 Words

The Four Virtues of the Republic In the Republic, Plato sets up a framework to help us establish what the four virtues are, and their relationship between them to both the city and the soul. According to Plato, the four virtues are wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. There are three classes within the city: guardians, auxiliaries, and artisans; and three parts within the soul include intellect, high-spirited, and appetitive. By understanding the different classes of the city or parts of the soul, one will be able to appreciate how the virtues attribute to each one specifically. Book II of the Republic opens with Plato’s two brothers, both who want to know which is the better life to live: the just or the unjust. First, Socrates†¦show more content†¦For Plato, â€Å"Justice, I think, is exactly what we said must be established throughout the city when we were founding it†¦everyone must practice one of the occupations in the city for which he is naturally best suited† (Cahn 147). This only happens when the city is not in a state of internal conflict with itself allowing the highest principle, good, to be seen; making it the most unified, therefore being just. Since the proper order of the city has now been established, it is time to turn inward to one’s soul to determine where justice and injustice might lie, and what the difference is between the two. Plato believes, â€Å"if an individual has these same three parts in his soul, we will expect him to be correctly called by the same names as the city if he has the same conditions in them† (Cahn 148). Now that Plato has found the four virtues within the larger environment of the city, he now wants to investigate their relationship to the smaller environment of the soul. The first part of the soul that calculates is considered rational by having the ability to make good judgment, known as its intellect. The second part of the soul that desires certain indulgences and pleasures; such as, food, drink, and sex, is considered irrational and is known as its appetitive part. The third part of the soul is known as the high-spirited, which allows a person to get angry by giving way to the use of their emotions. The appetite of one’s soul draws a personShow MoreRelatedAristotle s Theory Of Virtue1493 Words   |  6 Pageswhat virtue is. Aristotle’s definition of virtue can be described as the as the â€Å"state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean relative to us, this being determined by reason and by that reason by which the man of practical wisdom would determine it† (Nicomachean Ethics, 31). In addition to that, Aristotle illustrates two types of virtue that stem from his primary idea; moral and intellectual virtue. Ari stotle expounds moral virtue as actualizing from habit, in which the virtue cannotRead MoreExamining the Ethics of Plato and Aristotle Essay1063 Words   |  5 Pagesfive fundamental concepts of Plato and Aristotle before providing my own opinion and view on their ethics. I will concentrate on their theories on the good life as a life of justice, censorship, knowledge and the good life. I will first examine Plato’s ethics. Plato was a philosopher who was both a rationalist and absolutist. According to his view, people must be schooled to acquire certain kinds of knowledge i.e. mathematics, philosophy and so forth. This training will give them the capacity toRead More Aristotle vs. Plato Essay1408 Words   |  6 Pagesrenders excellent the thing of which it is a function is Plato’s definition of virtue. What does this definition really mean though? Plato and Aristotle both had their own unique arguments devoted to the topic at hand, and their own ways of describing what virtue really is. 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The question, however, remains: How does one achieve Plato’s ideal state when there is evil and deception in the world? In answering this question, Plato puts forth two arguments: an allegory to describe the complexities and necessities of reality, and a royal lie to carry out the ideal form of civilization. In this paper, I argue Plato’s Allegory of the Cave justifies the need for a royal lie found in the Myth of the Metals, for the royal lieRead MorePlato s Interpretation Of Utopia1630 Words   |  7 Pagesplays in their comprehensions of politics, differentiating between the kinds of reason and politics produced as a result. Plato is regarded as the first writer of political philosophy while Aristotle is recognised as the first political scientist. Plato’s interpretation of Utopia is founded upon the existence of three separate classes: the producers, the auxiliaries and the guardians. Plato envisions the guardians as wise rulers whom are best placed in positions of absolute authority. Plato understoodRead MoreThe City-State Analogy in the Republic2769 Words   |  12 PagesI. Introduction Plato’s definition of justice in The Republic1 is based upon his division of the individual soul (psychÄ“) and the state (polis) into three mutually interrelated parts. In this essay I will examine the structure of Plato’s analogy between the soul and the state in order to determine whether it is able to support a meaningful definition of justice in spite of charges of circularity and incoherence that are levelled against it. I will begin by considering Plato’s argument for the division