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Plato Short Notes

The document provides an overview of Plato and his philosophical ideas and influences. It discusses Plato's views on topics like idealism, political philosophy, justice, education, and the philosopher king. Plato had a significant influence on Western philosophy and political thought.

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3K views4 pages

Plato Short Notes

The document provides an overview of Plato and his philosophical ideas and influences. It discusses Plato's views on topics like idealism, political philosophy, justice, education, and the philosopher king. Plato had a significant influence on Western philosophy and political thought.

Uploaded by

raja
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Plato

Universal Introduction

• Significance: Founder of philosophical idealism , Father of Political


Philosophy.
• Quotes for Introduction/Conclusion
o “The entire European philosophical tradition is nothing but a set of
foot notes to Plato…” Whitehead
o “One can be either Platonic, or anti-Platonic, but can never be non-platonic.” – Karl
Popper.
o "Plato is philosophy , philosophy …" R.W Emerson
• Methodology : Dialectical approach (Socrates). Imaginative, romantic and utopian ,idealist
thinker.
• Influences
o Spartan model
o Pythagoras - Immortality of the human soul
o Heraclitus: Nothing was permanent in this sensory world
o Parmenides : concept of Permanence → concept of Idea.
o Socrates: “Wisest man” , “virtue is knowledge” , “a life unexamined is not worth
living”
• Objective/Concern: Athens as an ideal State, ‘the ignorance’ of the ruling class →
‘Philosopher King.’
• Works
o The Republic –young Plato → Ideal state→ The Philosopher King,
o The Statesman - Rule of law > P King.
o The Laws→ Mature Plato, mixed constitution as the best → similarity Aristotle →
Aristotle’s “ideal state is always Plato’s second best” (Sabine).

Theory of Idea.

• “Father of political Philosophy”


• "Plato is philosophy , philosophy …" R.W Emerson
• Based on - Socrates’s Theory of Knowledge : Know Thyself, Unexamined life is not worth
living, Virtue is knowledge.
o Ultimate Knowledge (cannot be gained through sensory organs)
o Opinions (knowledge of matter and material)
• Concept of Idea
o Matter - Physical, sensory organs, world of change.
o Idea- Spiritual , reason, world of permanence.
o Allegory of caves.
▪ “Reality is the shadow of Idea.” – Plato.
▪ Chain of Ignorance and arrogance
▪ Sun = True enlightenment
▪ Fire = Illusion of knowledge
▪ Real knowledge = knowledge of Ideas
▪ World of Idea = Real World
▪ World of Matter – Illusion
▪ Linkage - Hindu belief – Guru helps to attain enlightenment from darkness. ,
Adi Shankaracharya = This world is world of Illusion (Mithya )
o Aristotle : Rectified Plato’s Theory of idea. Believes in coexistence of Idea as well as
matter.

Theory of soul – Myth of metals

• Earth-born
• Guardian and Producer class
• Not hereditary → functional role in society
was determined by his own natural aptitude
→ Social mobility → a revolutionary step,
considering that all ancient societies were
stratified.

Theory of Justice

• Book : REPUBLIC → “Concerning Justice.”


• Plato critically examined contemporary views on justice –
o Cephalus ( paying one’s debts, Idealist view),
o Polemarchus ( “good to friends and harm to enemies”),
o Thrasymachus (interests of the strong , realist view) → Linkages :Tulsidas : Samrath
ko nahi Dosh Gosain)
o Glaucon (Pragmatic , interest of weak, social contract tradition)
• Plato’s: Not narrow legalistic sense → broad sense denoting the right conduct.
o Functional Specialization
o proper stationing.
o Non-interference.
• Justice = “one class, one duty ”.
• Linkages: Dharma
• “State is individual writ large.”
o “State does not come out of Oak or rock… it inheres in the mind of the people living
in the state”(Plato)
o The two levels of justice:
▪ At Individual level (Just man) – Ethical conception of justice
▪ At state level – Political conception of justice
o For Plato both are parallel and interlinked.
o The functions of a society—ruling, defence and production.
o Linkages : Gandhi; Machiavelli (Dual Morality),realist .
• Criticism:
o Too much Control and monitoring.
o Nietzsche : founding a just society with the help of a necessary myth to give
philosophy its political influence.
o Russell :The compulsory acceptance of such myths is incompatible with philosophy.
o Karl Popper : The abuses of the myth far outweighed its uses…….Plato is against
Equalitarianism and humanitarianism, anti-individual…believes in natural privileges
o Sabine "not only is it a bad politics but also bad psychology"

Concept of state
• Totalitarian , inhuman ,regimented and hierarchical
• Historicism
o Aristocracy → Timocracy → oligarchy → democracy → tyranny.
• PLATOS SECOND-BEST STATE : In the Laws, government by law .

Theory of Communism
• “If education is the primary machinery, to create the ideal state, communism is the supplementary
machinery.”
• What? - property, family.
• Why? – Additional safeguard. Marriage for eugenic purpose, Liberation of women.
• For Whom? - The guardian class, Producer class - neither possible nor required
• Critical Evaluation:
o excessive regimentation, privacy and individuality, challenged some of the cherished
conventions within human society.
o Regressive → “stock breeder”.
o Aristotle : “Remedies as worse than the disease itself”; "Don't sacrifice good for the best";
“Everyone's property is no ones responsibility"
o Supporters : Early socialists like Saint Simon, Owen and Fourier.
o Conclusion :Plato‘s diagnosis about evils correct, prescription are wrong → transparency
and accountability in public life.
Similarity between Marx and Plato :
• Similarities : Existence of class, Private property as evil.
• Idealist, Materialist
• Ideal State, supremacy of the state; state as an instrument of exploitation, wants to end the
state.
• Citizens to sacrifice their interests for the sake of state; revolution against the state.
• 3 classes, Classless society.
• Non violence; Violence
• Idea as the ultimate reality; ‘false consciousness.’
• Communism of wives and family; abolition of private property.

Conclusion: The similarities are superficial and the differences are fundamental .

Theory of Philosopher King.

• “Those states are best governed where rulers are reluctant to govern, rather than the states
where rulers are eager to govern. ”
• “For no law or ordinance is mightier than knowledge.”
• "Not wise to replace an expert practitioner of medicine with a book of medicine"
• “Until philosophers are the rulers or the rulers learn philosophy , there is no end to the
predicament of human life.”
• The theory of the philosopher ruler was the linchpin of Plato’s Ideal State.
• Who? - A passion for knowledge.
• Philosophic Absolutism
• Criticism
o Unchecked power, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
o Not inclusive
o Aristotle : “Law is a reason without passion.” “one should not sacrifice good for the
sake of best because best is unachievable.”
o Strauss - Republic as the greatest critique of idealism , a satire.
o Randall : Republic , a comic irony .
o Karl Popper, -’Open society and its enemies’ - Plato wanted himself to be the
Philosopher king.
• Supporters:
o Levenson - ‘The defence of Plato’- No definite basis to doubt Plato’s intentions.In the
Laws, Plato made a theoretical shift → Rule of law → Aristotle’s ideal state (Rule of
Law) is Plato’s second best state (Sabine).

Plato as Fascist
• Winspear : blueprint by an authoritarian reactionary….
• Toynbee - Plato as being cynical, reactionary and inhumane
• C.E.M. Joad - similarities between Fascism and Plato’s tyrant state, but conceded that there
were fundamental differences too.
• Isaiah Berlin - historicism of Plato in “Historical Inevitability”
• Karl Popper - “Open Society and its Enemies.” calls Plato, Hegel and Karl Marx . Three
arguments.
o Essentialism. divorced us from the reality.
o Holism - sacrifices individual in the name of collectivity.
o Historicism - kyklos (life cycle of state)
• “I believe that Plato’s political programme far from being morally superior to
totalitarianism, is fundamentally identical with it” : Popper"
• Supporters
• Levenson " superficial comparison ,comparing uncomparables
• Rajiv Bhargav : Popper‘s analysis misleading and Popper is ideologically biased.

On democracy :anti – democratic


• Reasons: Socrate’s life, admiration for military discipline prevailing in Sparta , the rule
knowledge
• Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were essentially aristocratic conservatives, keen on revitalizing
and the aristocracy
• Democracy did not tolerate highly gifted persons; against nature.
Plato as first Feminist :P Queens, Despite coming from a highly patriarchal society, Matter of
debate: liberation of women vs utilization in the service of the state.

Theory of Education

• According to Plato, state is essentially Pedagogic.


• A process of filtration.
• Book - In Republic
• Influence
o Socratic belief that “virtue is knowledge”
o state-controlled education in Sparta, training in martial arts
o Athens values of creativity
• Plato’s Academy
• “Plato’s theory of education is the logical result of his theory of justice .” → Plato regards
education as a means to achieve justice, both individual justice and social justice
• Rousseau : Republic as the finest treatise on education to be ever written.
• “It offered a formula for dividing work and achieving harmonious cooperation” (Nettleship).

Universal Conclusion

• Legitimate Concern

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