PLATO

BREAKOUT ROOM 2
 BACKGROUND OF PLATO

● Plato is an Ancient Greek Philosopher who is a student of Socrates and the teacher
of Aristotle. He is of noble Athenian lineage.
● He was born in Athens, Greece. Founder of the Academy
● He is one of the most influential individual in human history
● Plato introduced the “Idea or Forms”.
● His masterpiece is the Republic
● Plato’s family was Aristocratic and distinguished.
● Innovator of the written dialogues and dialectic forms

SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato https://www.britannica.com/biography/Plato

 (1) PLATO’S MORAL PHILOSOPHY

I. Plato’s Concept of the Soul

- He believed that the soul is divided into 3: Reason, Spirit & Appetite
- Through this trilogy of the soul, it provides the order of the Ideal State.
(a) Appetite – it is the desires of the Man like greed, economic gains, physical
comfort, pleasure
(b) Spirit – it is the warrior like qualities, the ability to empathize
(c) Reason – it is the highest faculty of the soul; it is beyond time and space;
immortal and it is our ability to judge.
SOURCE: https://countercurrents.org/2018/08/platos-theory-of-soul/ https://rnavya2012.medium.com/philosophies-ethics-of-plato-2bf4b6668ac5
 PLATO’S MORAL PHILOSOPHY

II. Cause of Evil: Ignorance/Forgetfulness

- Trilogy of the Soul plays a very important role because it has 2 parts- rational &
irrational-
- Plato believed that moral evil is the result of ignorance or false knowledge
- Evil or vice is part in soul when it is created. The cause of Evil starts when the
soul enters into a body and it persuades the soul to create disorder by
overthrowing ruler ship of reason.
- Evil is also transferred through the transfer of the soul from one body to another
after death.

SOURCE: http://www.literary-articles.com/2013/12/platos-moral-philosophy-or-platos.html
 PLATO’S MORAL PHILOSOPHY

III. Recovering Lost Morality

- The REASON being the highest faculty of the soul, it must take the control
over the irrational parts and must distinguish false knowledge as to what is
good or bad.
- For Plato, only Knowledge can produce Virtue
- One may do “wrong” acts but for Plato it is a product of the false
knowledge and people must overcome this to recover the lost morality.
- He believe that “knowledge is virtue” and that these false knowledge must
be replace with accurate or right knowledge to overcome such deed.

SOURCE: http://www.literary-articles.com/2013/12/platos-moral-philosophy-or-platos.html
 PLATO’S MORAL PHILOSOPHY

IV. Virtue as Fulfillment of Function

- The good life is a balanced life which Plato strongly believes that we can
achieve such balance when each part of the soul (Appetite, Spirit, Reason)
does their functions.
- When all three parts perform their functions and co-operate with each other,
then the justice is achieved.
- Virtues are actions which flow from knowledge of the tripartite soul.

SOURCE: https://faculty.mtsac.edu/cmcgruder/platoe.html
 (2) PLATO’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

1. State - Artisans – dominated by desires

- Plato’s Ideal state is composed of 3 which is destined in the Republic to
categories: artisans, auxiliaries & produce materials goods.
philosopher-kings. - Auxiliaries – ruled by the spirit
- this categories reflected to the particular which has the courage to protect the
combination of the tripartite soul. state
- Philosopher-Kings – ruled by reason
which posses the knowledge to rule
wisely.

SOURCE: https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2326/Plato-427-347-B-C-E.html https://philosophynow.org/issues/90/Platos_Just_State

 PLATO’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

2. State (Origin) 3. State (Goal)

- Plato believed that the origin of - Justice
the State was through the - To attain “Good Life”
formation of groups/groupings - Regulation od Education System
of the earliest families to form - Abolition of family on the basis of
tribes which eventually united to Communism
form the city. - Confirming Unity and Reciprocity
- Through Republic and Laws - Harmony

SOURCE: http://socialscienc.blogspot.com/2015/02/ideal-state-by-plato.html
https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/ltp/1956-v12-n2-ltp0949/1019942ar.pdf
 PLATO’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

4. State (Virtues) 5. State (Domain)

- Through the Ideal state of Plato, his goal is
- Plato strongly believes that there is no
that 3 civic virtues will prevail, Wisdom,
Courage & Temperance.
division between the public and private
- These virtues reflect the nature of Soul. because temperate living is encouraged
- For Plato, when the trilogy does their work because even if wealth nor poverty, it both
and does not meddle on what isn’t its own, leads to vice.
Justice will be upon the lives of the people
which will result to function properly in the
state.

SOURCE: http://www.tripartite-soul-theory.com/platos-republic/ideal-state.html
 PLATO’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

6. State (Requisite of Political Leadership) 7. State (Government)

- The one who is fully educated that - Plato is strictly Aristocratic. The best form of
understands the visible and intelligible government.
world. The realm of opinion and - Aristocratic Government is a kind of
knowledge; appearance & reality. government that places the strength in the
- Through the early age, one must undergo hands of a small, privileged ruling class. “Rule
intensive trainings until one will be at the age that of the Best”
is able to reach the highest knowledge and be able - However through time, Plato describes that
to rule from the “best government” it sequentially
deteriorated towards Tyranny – “worst”

SOURCE: https://www.slideserve.com/clea/the-philosophy-of-plato https://utopiafiction.com/platos-regimes/

https://slideplayer.com/slide/5884958/19/images/30/Who+is+the+Philosopher-King.jpg
 Types of Government
ARISTOCRACY It is ruled by law and wisdom; kingdoms
that aren’t tyrannical. It is ruled by the
wise. As for Plato, it is the best type of
government.

TIMOCRACY It is ruled by honor and duty. In which a

certain amount of property is necessary
as a qualification.

OLIGARCHY Ruled by the rich; rich governs the poor.

DEMOCARCY This is where FREEDOM reigns where

people vote on and make laws. “ruled by
many”

TYRANNY Rules without law which uses extreme

and cruel methods
 (3) PLATO’S VIEW OF:
JUSTICE, PRIVATE PROPERTY & COMMON GOOD

(a) JUSTICE (b) PRIVATE PROPERTY

- Plato viewed justice as an idea. He - In Plato’s ideal city of Republic, he forbids
defined it as doing what is one’s own property ownership for the guardians but
which clearly means that everybody does retains the property of the lowest class
including the artisans or farmers that provides
their own work.
the food for everyone. He strongly believes
- Philosopher-Kings must rule, Auxiliaries
that lands (agricultural) are the field of farmers
must protect the state and Artisans must who are politically devoted to keep up the
produce goods for the state. ruling class.

SOURCE: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1812976 https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/notes/platos-theory-of-justice-useful-notes/40136

 PLATO’S VIEW OF:
JUSTICE, PRIVATE PROPERTY & COMMON GOOD

(c) COMMON GOOD

- For Plato, the best political order is the one that promotes social harmony,
environment of cooperation, friendship among different kind of social
groups which will benefit from and adds to the common good.

SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_good
 (4) The Grasp of the end and type of Government; The reason
for requisite leadership

ARISTOCRACY TIMOCRACY OLIGARCHY

- Attain primarily by means
- Grounded by of military conquest,
- Because of so much pleasures, money
wisdom and reason is obtain over virtue. Leaders of the state
acquisition of honors rather
seek to change the law to accommodate
than intellectual means
the materialistic lust of the citizens.

TYRANNY
- Consumed by lawless desires
DEMOCARCY
which led it to terrible things such as - It
is consumed with
murdering and plundering; unnecessary desires; like
consumed by the bases pleasures in desire for riches.
life

SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato%27s_five_regimes
 (5) PLATO’S VIEW ON WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS WITH
HIS REQUISITE TRAITS FOR POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

● Plato strongly believes that Women can also do the same things as Men
● He also suggested that Women in the guardian class receives the same education as
Men.
● For Him, there is no “gender” as label as long as one posses the appropriate character
attributes.
● Since Plato believed that Women is just equal to Men, he also believes that the same
distribution of duties in the societies will be given to Men and Women

SOURCE: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-01/did-platos-the-republic-have-a-woman-problem-emily-hulme-
kozey/12006292https://philosophynow.org/issues/90/Platos_Just_State
THANK YOU!