Syllabus /Plato

JZT

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 PAPER: POLITICAL SCIENCE (200 MARKS)
PAPER I- (Marks - 100)

Part-A (50 Marks)

I. Western Political Thought: Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Montesquieu,

Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Mill, Bentham, Hegel, Marx, Lenin, Mao,
Gramsci, Kai Popper, Pierre Bourdieu, John Rawis, Frances Fukuyama, Foucault,
Derrida Kierkegard, Jean Paul Sartre, Rene Descarte

II. Muslim Political Thought: Al-Farabi, Al-Marawardi, Abne-Rushid, Imam

Ghazali, Ibne-Taymiyya, Nizam-ul-MulkTusi, Al-Ghazali, Ibn-i-Khuldun, Shah
Waliullah, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Jamaluddin Afghni, Rashid Rida,

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Part -B (50 Marks)
III. State System: The nature and emergence of modern nation-state system,
Islamic concept of state and Ummah
IV. Political Concept (Western and Islamic): Sovereignty, Justice, Law, Liberty,
Freedom, Equality, Rights and Duties, Human Rights, Political authority and
Power.
V. Comparative Politics: Political Socialization, Political Culture, Political
Development, Political Recruitment, Social Change, Civil Society, Violence and
Terrorism in Politics, Gender and Politics, Women Empowerment.
VI. Political Participation: Political Change and Revolution, Elections, Electoral
System, Public Opinion, Propaganda, Political Parties, Pressure Groups and
Lobbies

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VII. Political Institutions and Role of Government: Legislature, Executive,
Judiciary, Political Elites, Civil-Military and Bureaucracy.

VIII. Forms of Government: Monarchy, Democratic, Dictatorship,

Totalitarian/Authoritarian, Unitary, Federal, Confederation, Presidential and
Parliamentary

IX. Political Ideologies: Capitalism, Marxism, Communism, Socialism,

Totalitarism, Fascims, Nationalism, Islamic Political Ideology

X. Local Self Government: Theory and practice of Local Self-Government with

special reference to Pakistan, Comparative analyses of systems of local
governance, Public Administration and Public Policy
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 PAPER-II (MARKS-100)

Part-A (30 Marks)

I. Comparative and Analytical Study of the Political Systems: Political

System of U.S.A, U.K, France and Germany

II. Global and Regional Integration : Globalization and Politics, Global Civil
Society, Regional politico-economic integration and organizational
structure of the European Union, SARRC, ECO, International Financial
Regimes IMF and WTO

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Part-B (70 Marks)

III. Comparative and Analytical Study of the Political Systems: Political system
of Turkey, Iran, Malaysia, India and China

IV. Political Movements in India (Colonial Period): Rise of Muslim Nationalism

in South Asia and Pakistan Movement (with special reference to the role of Sir
Syed Ahmed Khan, Iqbal and Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah)

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V. Government and Politics in Pakistan: Constitution making from 1947 -
1956, A comparative and critical analysis of 1956, 1962, 1973 Constitutions
of Pakistan, Constitutional Amendments up-to-date, Federal structure in
Pakistan, and Central-Provincial relations after 18th amendments, Political
Culture of Pakistan, political developments and the Role of civil and
military Bureaucracy, Judiciary, feudalism, Dynastic Politics, Political Parties
and Interest Groups, elections and Voting Behavior, Religion and Politics,
Ethnicity and National Integration,

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VI. International Relations:
History of International Relations: Post WWII Period
Foreign Policy of Pakistan:
National Interests and Major Determinations such as :
1). Size/Geography
2). Economic Development
3). Security
4). Advancement in Technology
5). National Capacity
6). Political Parties/Leadership
7). Ideology
8). National Interest
9). Role of Press/Bureaucracy  Also external factors like International Power Structure,
10). Social Structure International Organizations, World Public Opinion and
11). Public Opinion reaction of other states
12). Diplomacy.  Foreign Policy-making Process in Pakistan
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Plato

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 Questions
 Explain Plato’s Theory of Justice. How he tries to implement it through the Education System?
(2001)
 Plato’s Communism was, is and will remain impracticable. Critically examine this
statement.(2003)
 Examine the main similarities and differences in the Political Ideas of Plato and Aristotle.
(2004)
 Explain Plato's theory of Justice. How he tries to implement it through educational system?
(2006)
 “Plato intended to build an institution for scientific study of politics and training of statesman"
elaborate (2008)
 Discuss Plato’s contribution to the History of political thought.(2009)
 Platonic and Aristotelian paradigms (2011)
 Plato intended to build an institution for scientific study of politics and training of statesman."
elaborate. (2012)
 Critically examine the concept of "Justice" by Plato.(2014)
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 Political Philosophy
 Initially, Political Science was called Political Philosophy
 Study of philosophy of State i.e. Political Thought is a part of the study of
Political Science
 Philosophy provides to Political Science knowledge of ideal human behavior,
political values, good and bad in political theory, right and wrong laws,
policies and governmental decisions and theory of ideal social-political
institutions
 Political thought or political philosophy, is the study of questions
concerning power, justice, rights, law, and other issues pertaining to
governance
 Whereas political science assumes that these concepts are what they are,
political thought asks how they have come about and to what effect

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 Socrates
 Born 470 – 399 BC
 A classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher credited as one of the founders of
Western philosophy, and as being the first moral philosopher, of the Western
ethical tradition of thought
 An enigmatic figure, he made no writings, and is known chiefly through the
accounts of classical writers writing after his lifetime, particularly his students
Plato and Xenophon
 Method :
 The Socratic method, also known as maieutics, method of elenchus, elenctic
method, or Socratic debate, is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue
between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate
critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions

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 Plato
 He became a student of Socrates, but his studies with the Greek master
were interrupted by the Peloponnesian War, which pit Athens against
Sparta
 Plato fought as a soldier between 409 and 404 B.C
 He left Athens when the city was defeated and its democracy was replaced
by a Spartan oligarchy
 He considered returning to Athens to pursue a career in politics when the
oligarchy was overthrown, but the execution of Socrates in 399 B.C.
changed his mind
 In about 385 B.C., Plato founded his academy, which is often suggested to
have been the first university in history. He would preside over it until his
death around 348 B.C.
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 Plato
 Ancient Greek philosopher
 Born 428/427 BC
 Athens, Greece
 Died 348/347, Athens
 Student of Socrates
 Teacher of Aristotle (384–322 BCE)
 Founder of the Academy
 Best known as the author of philosophical works of unparalleled influence.
WORKS:
 The Republic
 The Statesman
 The Laws

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 Definition of Abstract

 ‫تصور‬Tasawwur ‫خیال‬Khayal : Abstract

 Abstraction : (noun) a concept or idea not associated with any
specific instance
 For example : Right : an abstract idea of that which is due to a
person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
 Existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete
existence
 "abstract concepts such as love or beauty"

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 Definition of MetaPhysics
 The branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things,
including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause,
identity, time, and space
 abstract theory with no basis in reality
 Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the fundamental
nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter,
between substance and attribute, and between potentiality and actuality
 The word "metaphysics" comes from two Greek words that, together,
literally mean "after or behind or among [the study of] the natural“

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 Definition of MetaPhysics
 It has been suggested that the term might have been coined by a first
century AD editor who assembled various small selections of Aristotle’s
works into the treatise we now know by the name Metaphysics (ta meta ta
phusika, 'after the Physics ', another of Aristotle's works)
 Metaphysics studies questions related to what it is for something to exist
and what types of existence there are
 Metaphysics seeks to answer, in an abstract and fully general manner, the
questions:
 What is there?
 What is it like?

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 Definition of MetaPhysics
 Topics of metaphysical investigation include existence, objects and their
properties, space and time, cause and effect, and possibility
 Metaphysics is considered one of the four main branches of philosophy,
along with epistemology, logic, and ethics

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 Definition of Virtue by Plato
 Like most other ancient philosophers, Plato maintains a virtue-based
eudaemonistic conception of ethics. That is to say, happiness or well-being
(eudaimonia) is the highest aim of moral thought and conduct, and the
virtues (aretê: 'excellence') are the requisite skills and dispositions needed
to attain it.
 Eudaimonia, also spelled eudaemonia, in Aristotelian ethics, the condition
of human flourishing or of living well

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 Plato’s Form of Good
 The ultimate foundation of Plato’s metaphysics—his view of reality—is his
theory of Forms, culminating in the Form of the Good. Few, says Plato,
really understand the nature of the Good itself
 The Form of the Good sits atop Plato’s hierarchy of being as the ultimate
Form
 The Forms themselves are abstract, although they do inform the concrete
world, and Plato frequently relies on metaphor to describe them
 To understand the Good itself, Plato relies on an analogy with the sun
 Plato’s central concern is that the world of material objects is shifting,
deceptive, and unreliable
 The Form of the Good, Plato says, is to the intelligible realm as the sun is
to the visible realm
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 Plato’s Form of Good
 It resembles a divine logos, or divine rationality, which became an object of
worship for successive schools of philosophy that developed under the
influence of Plato’s ideas
 Nowadays, we might compare the Form of the Good to laws of nature,
though this is not fully satisfying, since the Form of the Good is not particular
law of nature, but the reason why there are laws at all
 Consider Plato’s influence on theology: The Form of the Good is the ground
of all being, an immaterial object that exists more perfectly than anything
else, a thing responsible for the goodness and rationality in the world
 This is something like an interpretation of the Christian view of God
developed in the Middle Ages, founded in Platonic and Neo-Platonic
metaphysics.
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 Plato’s Form of Good
 Consider the subject of mathematics and geometry
 What is a point? It is a location in space with no dimension
 In other words, it is not a real object. Points are ideal entities, not space-time
particulars
 They take up no space. Likewise, lines have length but no breadth
 Mathematics is about ideal entities, and some mathematicians today are still
“Platonists” about numbers: they hold the view that numbers or other
mathematical objects are immaterial things. And they have to be in order for
us to be able to know eternal truths about them.

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Areas of Inductive Research Deductive Research
Difference
Purpose Is concerned with generation of new theory Is aimed to testing theory
demerging from the data
Start-End Starts with observation and end result is theory It starts with the proposition of hypothesis and the
end result of the research is confirmation/rejection
Hypothesis No Hypothesis Specific hypothesis and bound to follow
Structure It is less structured as there is no guiding factor It is highly structured because there is some
specific aim to be accomplished
Sample Small number of sample are analyzed with Large numbers of samples are analyzed with less
greater gravity depth
Direction Inductive research is bottom –up approach Deductive research is top-down approach

Observation– pattern---theory Theory—hypothesis—observation—Confirm/Reject

General to Particular Particular to General
Method It is a method of discovery It is a method of verification

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 Method

 Theological:
 Combination of Inductive & Deductive method (deduces all his political
philosophy from certain fundamental assumptions)
 Three basic doctrines:
 Virtue is knowledge:
 Terms are identical, no virtue or excellence without knowledge, influenced
the entire personality through intellect
 Idea is Real :
 What is real is “the idea of thing:
 Is the perfect, permanent, immutable, self-existent entity which underlines
the changing, imperfect and outwardly object of perfection” not “the things
itself”… BEAUTY COULD EXIST WITHOUT A BEAUTIFUL THING
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Method…..

 Theory of Knowledge :
 Two kinds of knowledge :
 Opinion or belief:
 Changeable & shakable from its foundations
 Real knowledge:
 Permanent, scientific, mathematically true & based on reason

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Method…..

 Tripartite Division of Human Kind :

 Reason
 Spirit
 Appetite
 Corresponding Division of Society
 The Rulers
 The Soldiers
 The Farmers

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 Summary of Plato’s Philosophy
 Human Soul/Society consists of :
 Reason
 Spirit
 Appetite
 Rule over spirit and appetite by Reason is defined as Justice
 Justice is a Virtue
 Virtue is the requisite skill to attain happiness or well being
 Form of Good (divine laws)provides the details of Virtue
 Learning those details require education
 Education is the base for all the holders of the state’s functional institutions
 State’s Functional Institutions are ruled by Philosopher king
 And that state is called the ideal state
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 Republic
 Handles the Core issue of Discovery of the nature and Habitation of Justice
 Adopts Negative Approach :
 What Justice is not
 Rejection of “Prima Facie” theories of Justice
 Traditional Theory :
 Caphalus :-‘Justice lies in speaking the truth & paying your debts’
 Polymarchus:- ‘Giving everyman what is due to him’. “Justice lies in doing
good to one’s friends and harm to one’s enemy”
 Plato Refutes it on following grounds :
 Friend in appearance
 Inconsistent to morality
 Ignores the social whole or society

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Republic….

 Radical Theory of Justice

 Thrasymachus :
 “Justice is always the interest of the stronger”. “Injustice is better
than justice”
 Plato Refutes :
 The ruler practices the art of government not in his own interest
but to bring about an improvement in the governed
 Justice is always better than injustice. A just man is wiser, stronger
and happier than an unjust man for he knows his limitations too

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Republic….

 Glaucon Theory of Pragmatism :

 Justice is the interest of the weaker
 Justice is the product of fear and it based on the necessity of
the weaker
 Plato Refutes:
 Interest of the society or state
 Obeyed because of inner values
Common Errors in all three Theories
Treated justice as
External
Artificial
Convention
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 Platonic Concept of Justice

 Principles :
 Non- interference
 Functional Specialization
 Harmony
 Types :
 Social
 Individual

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 Background

 In his philosophy Plato gives a prominent place to the idea of justice

 Plato was highly dissatisfied with the prevailing degenerating conditions
in Athens. The Athenian democracy was on the verge of ruin and was
ultimately responsible for Socrates's death
 The amateur meddlesomeness and excessive individualism became main
targets of Plato's attack
 This attack came in the form of the construction of an ideal society in
which justice reigned supreme, since Plato believed justice to be the
remedy for curing these evils

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 Prevailing theories of Justice …….
 According to Cephalus 'justice consists in speaking the truth and paying
one's debt. Thus Cephalus identifies justice with right conduct
 Polemarchus also holds the same view of justice but with a little
alteration. According to him "justice seems to consist in giving what is
proper to him“
 The simple implication of this conception of justice may be that "justice is
doing good to friends and harm to enemies." This is also a traditional
maxim of Greek morality.
 Thrasymachus defined justice as "the interest of the stronger". In the
other words, might is right.
 Plato prove that justice does not depend upon a chance, convention or
upon external force. It is the right condition of the human soul by the very
nature of man when seen in the fullness of his environment.
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Idea of Justice ……

 After criticizing the conventional theories of justice presented differently

by Cephalus, Polymarchus, Thrasymachus and Glaucon, Plato gives us his
own theory of justice according to which
 Individually, justice is a 'human virtue' that makes a person self-
consistent and good; socially, justice is a social consciousness that makes
a society internally harmonious and good
 According to Plato, justice is a sort of specialization
 He used the Greek word "Dikaisyne" for justice which comes very near to
the work 'morality' or 'righteousness', it properly includes within it the
whole duty of man. It also covers the whole field of the individual's
conduct in so far as it affects others.

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Idea of Justice ……

 Plato contended that justice is the quality of soul, in virtue of which men
set aside the irrational desire to taste every pleasure and to get a selfish
satisfaction out of every object and accommodated themselves to the
discharge of a single function for the general benefit
 In additional, Sophistic teaching of the ethics of self-satisfaction resulted
in the excessive individualism also induced the citizens to capture the
office of the State for their own selfish purpose and eventually divided
"Athens in to two hostile camps of rich and poor, oppressor and
oppressed

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Principles/Method of Defining Justice

 Tripartite Division of Human Kind :

 Reason
 Spirit
 Appetite
 Corresponding Division of Society
 The Rulers
 The Soldiers
 The Farmers

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 Justice within Individual
 Human organism according to Plato contains three elements:
 Reason, Spirit and Appetite
 An individual is just when each part of his or her soul performs its
functions without interfering with those of other elements
 For example, the reason should rule on behalf of the entire soul with
wisdom and forethought
 The element of spirit will sub-ordinate itself to the rule of reason
 Those two elements are brought into harmony by combination of
mental and bodily training
 They are set in command over the appetites which form the greater
part of man's soul

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Justice within Individual….

 Therefore, the reason and spirit have to control these appetites which are
likely to grow on the bodily pleasures
 These appetites should not be allowed, to enslave the other elements and
usurp the dominion to which they have no right
 When all the three agree that among them the reason alone should rule,
there is justice within the individual

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 Social Justice
 Corresponding to these three elements in human nature there are three
classes in the social organism :
 Philosopher class or the ruling class which is the representative of reason
 A class of warriors and defenders of the country is the representative of
spirit; and
 The appetite instinct of the community which consists of farmers,
artisans and are the lowest rung of the ladder
 Thus, weaving a web between the human organism and the social organism,
Plato asserts that functional specialization demands from every social class
to specialize itself in the station of life allotted to it
 Justice, therefore to Plato is like a manuscript which exists in two copies,
and one of these is larger than the other

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Social Justice…..

 It exists both in the individual and the society

 But it exists on a larger scale and in more visible form in the society
 Individually "justice is a 'human virtue' that makes a man self
consistent and good
 Socially, justice is a social consciousness that makes a society
internally harmonious and good."

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 True Justice /State Justice
 True justice to Plato, therefore, consists in the principle of non-interference
 The State has been considered by Plato as a perfect whole in which each
individual which is its element, functions not for itself but for the health of
the whole
 Every element fulfils its appropriate function
 Justice in the platonic state would, therefore, be like that harmony of
relationship where the Planets are held together in the orderly movement
 Plato was convinced that a society which is so organized is fit for survival
 Where man are out of their natural places, there , the co-ordination of parts
is destroyed, the society disintegrates and dissolves
 Justice, therefore, is the citizen sense of duties

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 Criticism on Plato’s concept of Justice

 Not a juristic definition of justice

 Cannot be applied to modern nation states
 It develops only 1/3 of individual’s personality
 Monopoly of power in the hands of one class
 It ignores the essentials of human psychology
 It leads to totalitarianism
 It is a class state
 Theory reduces individual to means

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 Plato on Education
 Plato regards education as a means to achieve justice, both individual
justice and social justice. ... In this sense, justice means excellence
 For the Greeks and Plato, excellence is virtue. According to Socrates, virtue
is knowledge
 According to Plato, individual justice can be obtained when each individual
develops his or her ability to the fullest
 Education for All ; Plato want every boy and girl educated optimally
 Education should be provided by the state not by parents
 The total development of a man, mind body and soul by using every
possible mean
 To develop leader among the future rulers
 To develop hard and competent workers.

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Plato on Education…..

 To produce leaders with military skill among the warriors

 To produce future Civil Servants of the state
 The highest goal of education, Plato believed, is the knowledge of
Good; to nurture a man to a better human being it is not merely an
awareness of particular benefits and pleasures,
 Plato curriculum consisted of gymnastic and music, where in gymnastic
include physical training and music used in broad term for drama,
history, oratory and music in real term

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Plato on Education….

 He defined different stages for the organization and curriculum:

 Early child care education :
 According to Plato the education of child should be start at the age of
six year and before this stage the child should stay with their mother
or elders and learn moral education from them
 Elementary School (6-18 yrs)
 Co-education at elementary level and teach them mathematics,
poetry, music and literature till the age of eighteen years
 Military Training (18-20 yrs)
 After elementary education ; two years of Physical education should
be given to them and select best of them for higher education; to
prepare for the future guardians of the state
 3 46
Plato on Education….

 Higher Education (20-35 yrs)

 Higher education should be given from twenty to thirty-five years of
age, he well study the subjects at this stage mathematics, literature
and philosophy
 Fifth Stage :
 During fifth stage they study dialect for another five years and after
that, at the sixth stage one is ready to become a ruler and
philosopher and the one enters in practical life

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Plato on Woman Education….

 Later on he would be appointed at a minor administrative position to get

experience for the future more important governing positions
 Plato also puts an emphasis on women education, he consider the same
kind of education for women
 Women should get the same physical and educational training; they
should know the art of war
 The main aim of Plato was that each member of the society should
undertake his work and responsibilities

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Plato on women Education….

 Plato believed that women are equal to men and that, although some
women are physically smaller or weak, some women are physically equal
to men therefore those women who are physically strong should be
allowed to learn the same skills that men do
 In his book Republic Plato describes how male and female receive the
same education and be given the same duties in society as given to the
male member
 These people are the ones who will be in charge of his republic which
would be an ideal society, where philosophers are kings
 In other words, who knows what is good for the people and for the
mankind and take their decisions based on that knowledge

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 Plato recommended play method at elementary level; student should
learn by doing
 And when he reached the higher level of education, his reason would be
trained in the processes of thinking and abstracting
 Plato wants motivation and interest in learning
 He is against the use of force in education. "Knowledge which is acquired
under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.“
 Strict Censorship on literature
 Compulsory state controlled education system
 Education for mental and physical development

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 Criticism on educational system of Plato

 No place for both artisans and peasants

 Long period of education system
 Rigid control over art and literature
 Uniformity in education for boys and girls
 Undesirable uniformity

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 Theory of Communism
 A corollary (logical outcome ) of his conception of justice
 He believed that without communism there would be clash of ideas and
interests between reason and appetite
 Plato’s communism is based on the premise that property, family instincts
and private interests would distract man’s attention from his obligations to
the community
 Family and property are always impediments not only to philosopher king,
but also to a commoner in his discharge of duties
 As property and family relationships seemed to be the main source of
dissension in the society, Plato stated that neither of them must be given any
recognition in an ideal state
 A sort of communism of family and property was essential to offset the
consequences of Plato’s design of ideal state
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 Communism of Property
 Plato attempted to create a new social order wherein the ruling class
surrendered both family and private property and embraced a system of
communism
 This practice of communism is only meant for the ruling class and the
guardian class
 Plato did not bind this principle on the third class, namely, the artisans
 In other words, they were allowed to maintain property and family, but
were under strict supervision so that they do not become either too rich or
too poor
 Though Plato structured the society in this manner, he never made any
attempt to work out his plan that ensured such a system to function

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Communism of Property…..

 The land and its products were in the hands of the farmers
 So, only the guardians were deprived of property. Plato deprived them
of all valuables such as gold and silver, and were told that the diviner
metal is within them, and therefore there is no need for any ornaments
as it might pollute the divine thoughts
 The guardians were paid salaries just right enough for their
maintenance
 They were expected to dine at common tables and live in common
barracks, which were always open

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Communism of Property…..

 There was no mention of socialization of the means of production

 Plato’s approach was mainly concerned with one factor of production,
that is, property that has to be socialized
 It was ascetic in character
 Plato’s communism existed only for the governing class
 Therefore, it was political communism and not economic communism

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 Communism of Family

 Deprived the guardian class not only of property, but also a

private life or a family because family introduced an element
of thine and mine
 Family would destroy a sense of cooperation that forms the
basis for a state
 To destroy family, it is important to destroy selfishness
 Plato wanted the rulers of an ideal state not to get distracted
from their work and get tempted towards self-interests.

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 Criticism

 Useless
 Opposed the fundamental nature of man
 Difference in nature of male and female
 Relation of husband and wife
 Relation of mother with children
 impractical

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58
 Philosopher King
 Concept is based upon the Tripartite Division of Human Kind
 Tripartite Division of Human Kind :
 Reason
 Spirit
 Appetite
 Corresponding Division of Society
 The Rulers
 The Soldiers
 The Farmers

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 Process of Making Philosopher King
 Multi stage Educational System
 35 years
 Up to 50 years
 After 50, retire and study

 Virtues of Philosopher King

 Lover of Wisdom
 Follower of truth
 Self-Control
 Lover of Justice
 Calm Nature
 Selfless
 Good Memory
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 Features and Criticiim
 Features
 Original Concept
 Rule of Elite
 Product of long education plan
 Criticism
 It is an absolute rule
 It is Tyrannical
 Opposed to Democracy
 Ignores law
 Absolute power may lead to totalitarian dogmas
 Utopian Concept
 First Fascist of the History
 Father of Totalitarianism
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 Ideal State

 Four Pillars of the Republic

 Justice
 Education
 Communism of Property and Family
 Philosopher king
 Plato's theory of the ideal state is set out in detail in Plato's dialogue,
The Republic
 In later life, he modified his view in a dialogue called The Laws
 The Republic is a society ruled by “philosopher kings” who are free of
the chains of materialism and illusion about the nature of reality
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 Features of the Ideal State
 Plato State is Functional Specialization
 Plato System of Education
 Justice in Plato Ideal State
 Dominance of Philosophy
 Monarchy is the Best form of Government
 Communism
 Ban on Arts & Literature
 Sexual Equality
 Citizens of ideal state
 Children are national property

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 Criticism of the Ideal state

 Utopian and impracticable

 Divides the state
 Promotes Dictatorship
 Communism is improper
 Corruption in the ruling class
 Education system is defective
 No individual liberty
 Poor conditions of masses
 Totalitarian state
 Negation of principle of equality

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 Comparison Between Plato and Aristotle
 Plato believed that man could achieve absolute truth only by
consideration of the eternal forms, not through observations and
experiences. Aristotle instead shifted away from this view and
instead used observations and experiences to pursue his goal of
achieving knowledge
 Plato’s philosophy is abstract and utopian, whereas Aristotle’s is
empirical, practical, and commonsensical

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 Comparison Between Plato and Aristotle
 For Plato, the Forms are perfect exemplars, or ideal types, of the properties
and kinds that are found in the world
 Corresponding to every such property or kind is a Form that is its perfect
exemplar or ideal type
 Forms are abstract /translucent/ reveled objects, existing completely outside
space and time
 Thus they are knowable only through the mind, not through sense
experience. The task of philosophy, for Plato, is to discover through reason
(“dialectic”) the nature of the Forms, the only true reality, and their
interrelations, culminating in an understanding of the most fundamental
Form

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 Comparison Between Plato and Aristotle
 Aristotle rejected Plato’s theory of Forms but not the notion of
form itself
 For Aristotle, forms do not exist independently of things—every
form is the form of some thing
 A “substantial” form is a kind that is attributed to a thing, without
which that thing would be of a different kind or would cease to
exist altogether
 Aristotle refuted Plato’s definition, believing it to be unclear and
illogical in claiming that a chair can be understood to be a chair due
to its relationship with a form existing outside of time and space
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Plato is often criticised for being too elitist in his views, as he requires a
great amount of time devoted to asceticism in order to learn. He also sees
the mass public as ignorant and incapable, or at least unwilling to accept the
truth of a reality beyond our own
Aristotle, though, is much more grounded and includes everybody when it
comes to their ability to learn
Plato, a political philosopher, was in the pursuit of philosophical truth .
Aristotle was concerned with the citizen and the design of political
institutions
Plato – “A priory knowledge is equal to prenatal knowledge”’ Aristotle – “A
priory knowledge is not prenatal, but can be gained by induction based on
abstraction”
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 Plato – “The object of our intellectual concepts (i.e. the things we directly
conceive by means of our intellectual concepts ) are the perfect forms.”
Aristotle – “The object of our intellectual concepts are the nature’s
(essences, quiddities ) of material things (on the soul); These objects can
not be the perfect forms of Plato, for such perfect forms can not exist.”
 In Philosophy ;Plato believed that concepts had a universal form, an ideal
form, which leads to his idealistic philosophy
 Aristotle believed that universal forms were not necessarily attached to
each object or concept
 In Ethics ; Plato believed that wisdom is the basic virtue and with it, one
can unify all virtues into a whole. Aristotle believed that wisdom was
virtuous, but that achieving virtue was neither automatic nor did it grant
any unification of other virtues
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 In Science , Plato did write about Mathematics, Geometry, and Physics,
but his work was more exploratory in concept than actually applicable.
Aristotle, among a few others is considered to be one of the first true
scientists. He contributed new concepts in Math, Physics, and Geometry
 Plato believed that concepts had a universal form, an ideal form, which
leads to his idealistic philosophy
 Aristotle believed that universal forms were not necessarily attached to
each object or concept, and that each instance of an object or a concept
had to be analyzed on its own
 In logic, Plato was more inclined to use inductive reasoning, whereas
Aristotle used deductive reasoning. The syllogism, a basic unit of logic (if
A = B, and B = C, then A = C), was developed by Aristotle

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 Both Aristotle and Plato believed thoughts were superior to the senses.
However, whereas Plato believed the senses could fool a person, Aristotle
stated that the senses were needed in order to properly determine reality
 An example of this difference is the allegory of the cave, created by Plato. To
him, the world was like a cave, and a person would only see shadows cast
from the outside light, so the only reality would be thoughts
 To the Aristotelian method, the obvious solution is to walk out of the cave
and experience what is casting light and shadows directly, rather than relying
solely on indirect or internal experiences

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 Plato was Socratic in his belief that knowledge is virtue, in and of itself. This
means that to know the good is to do the good, i.e., that knowing the right
thing to do will lead to one automatically doing the right thing; this implied
that virtue could be taught by teaching someone right from wrong, good
from evil
 Plato could not develop institutions and the frame work
 Aristotle stated that knowing what was right was not enough, that one had
to choose to act in the proper manner—in essence, to create the habit of
doing good. This definition placed Aristotelian ethics on a practical plane,
rather than the theoretical one espoused by Socrates and Plato
 Aristotle was the first philosopher who emphasized and invented the
concept of institutions in a sate

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 Plato’s Views on Democracy
 In the Republic he criticizes the direct and unchecked democracy
of his time precisely because of its leading features
 Firstly, although freedom is for Plato a true value, democracy
involves the danger of excessive freedom, of doing as one likes,
which leads to anarchy
 Secondly, equality, related to the belief that everyone has the
right and equal capacity to rule, brings to politics all kinds of
power-seeking individuals, motivated by personal gain rather
than public good

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Plato’s Views on Democracy…….

 Democracy is thus highly corruptible

 It opens gates to demagogues, potential dictators, and can thus
lead to tyranny
 Hence, although it may not be applicable to modern liberal
democracies, Plato’s main charge against the democracy he
knows from the ancient Greek political practice is that it is
unstable, leading from anarchy to tyranny, and that it lacks
leaders with proper skill and morals

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 Plato’s Contributions Political Philosophy
 Plato developed such distinct areas of philosophy as epistemology,
metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics
 His deep influence on Western philosophy is asserted in the famous
remark of Alfred North Whitehead: “the safest characterization of the
European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of
footnotes to Plato.”
 His greatest impact was Aristotle, but he influenced Western political
thought in many ways
 The Academy, the school he founded in 385 B.C.E., became the model
for other schools of higher learning and later for European universities

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Plato’s Contributions Political Philosophy……

 The philosophy of Plato is marked by the usage of dialectic, a method of

discussion involving ever more profound insights into the nature of reality, and
by cognitive optimism, a belief in the capacity of the human mind to attain the
truth and to use this truth for the rational and virtuous ordering of human
affairs
 Hegel and Marx, centuries later utilized this method to optimize their
philosophy
 Plato believes that conflicting interests of different parts of society can be
harmonized. The best, rational and righteous, political order, which he
proposes, leads to a harmonious unity of society and allows each of its parts to
flourish, but not at the expense of others. The theoretical design and practical
implementation of such order, he argues, are impossible without virtue.

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Plato on Characteristics of a Leader/Ruler …….

 In The Republic, Plato outlines his view on leadership through a discussion on

civic and political life in the Polis, the Grecian city state
 Be a “lover of wisdom,” a cardinal virtue
 Plato was dissatisfied with rulers who lacked knowledge and moral strength
to act according to the common good
 Rulers motivated by self-interest were not strong leaders
 Plato proposes instead that states should be governed by philosophers and
be a lover of wisdom, which is the meaning of the Greek word, philosophia
 Leadership is a duty of philosopher kings who acquire the techniques and
skills for the art of ruling

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Plato on Characteristics of a Leader/Ruler…..

 An ideal state, Plato says, “can never grow into a reality” until “philosophers
become rulers in this world, or until those we now call kings and rulers really
and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus
come into the same hands
 Only philosophers are morally and intellectually suited to govern and lead
 Morally because they are interested in and have a passion for truth and
learning, while showing no interest in the temptations of gaining power
for the sake of power
 Intellectually because they are able to attain knowledge on the ideal
forms of virtue, beauty, and the good

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Plato on Characteristics of a Leader/Ruler…

 Philosophers as leaders
 Virtue and the good are key to Plato’s view on leadership as an art of ruling.
Leaders can attain four cardinal virtues:
 Prudence (as wisdom)
 Justice (as fairness)
 Temperance (as moderation/restraint)
 Courage (as fortitude/resilience)
 The “good” refers to the ultimate goal of attaining knowledge

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Plato on Characteristics of a Leader/Ruler….

 First of all, by relaxing his notion that only philosopher kings ought to rule,
we can agree that leaders, then and today, must be committed to wisdom
and truth-seeking
 Leaders are individuals who work hard to get to the proverbial bottom of
things: they seek evidence and facts to inform their actions and to inform
the actions of those around them
 Second, leaders are also individuals who value justice in their interactions
with others
 Third, effective leaders are also temperamentally moderate in their
approach and show restraint in their actions

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 Plato on Characteristics of a Leader/Ruler….

 They are considerate, yet decisive

 And finally, a Platonic-inspired leader will seek to be courageous in his vision
and is resilient in the face of uncertainty
 Platonic leaders chart out a course ahead while remaining reactive to the
challenges that come their way
 As Plato said: “The direction in which education starts a man will determine
his future in life.”

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