Plato's
"Ideal State"
The role and place of the concepts of the "ideal state", its types and forms according to the teachings of the great philosopher Plato. Criticism of the concept of "ideal state" by K. Popper and Aristotle, features of its reflection in the scientific side of those thinkers .
Introduction
We often have to think about who should be in power,
what an ideal state should be. The problem of state structure was, is and
will be one of the most complex and contradictory problems facing
humanity. Many people have been trying for thousands of years to
understand what the state should be "ideally". At the same time,
some people consider the best a strong, combat-ready state with a good economy,
others - a state in which everyone feels completely free and happy. So the
problem of social, state structure develops into the problem of understanding
the good, human values and individual freedom.
In the history of political doctrines, Plato's utopia
is one of the most famous. It simultaneously represents a reflection of a
number of real features of the states contemporary to Plato and a criticism of
a number of shortcomings of Greek city-states, and recommends an ideal type of
community instead of the rejected ones. Marx showed that the source of the
Platonic state was his observation of the general structure of Egypt. He
also showed that Plato's ideal state was only an Athenian idealization of the
Egyptian caste system.
The relevance of the work. This test is
devoted to the study of the teachings of Plato about the ideal structure of the
state. The formation of political philosophy is associated with the name
of Plato. He stands at the origins of the philosophy of state and
law. It was he who first posed and analyzed on a theoretical basis many
fundamental questions of the political and legal profile, which have not lost
their significance for modern researchers. Plato's doctrine of the state
is the first significant contribution to political theory. This teaching
can be seen as a synthesis of Socratic ethics and Plato's theory of ideas.
In the work of Plato, great attention is paid to the
problems of state, law and politics. His two largest works are State and
Laws. The first describes the ideal, from the point of view of Plato, the
state. In the second, the state is as close as possible, thanks to the
correct legislation, to the ideal.
1 . Plato's "Ideal State"
1.1 The role and place of the concepts of " and the ideal state"
The formation of political philosophy is associated
with the name of Plato. It is Plato who stands at the origins of the
philosophy of state and law. He was the first to pose and analyze on a
theoretical basis many fundamental questions of a political and legal profile,
which have not lost their significance for modern researchers.
Some of the philosophers, such as B. Russell and K.
Popper, subjected Plato to sharp criticism, since they considered him a
defender of the totalitarian system. Others, such as V.F. Asmus,
consider this great philosopher to be a supporter of the totalitarian freedom
of the state in its totality, integrity, indivisibility. And still others,
like R. Pelman, saw in Plato an anti-communist who called for a struggle
against the masses.
Many researchers agreed that, according to Plato's
views, a person should rather serve the state than the state should serve a
person.
This work examines the foundations of the ideal state
of Plato, with the help of the works of the great ancient Greek scientist that
have come down to us.
Revealing in his work "State" the project of
an ideal, just state, Plato proceeds from the correspondence that, according to
his ideas, exists between the cosmos as a whole, the state and the separate
human soul. The three principles of the human soul - rational, lustful and
furious - are analogous in the state three similar principles - deliberative,
protective and business, and these latter correspond to three estates - rulers,
warriors and producers (artisans and farmers).
According to Plato's theory, the state arises because
a person as an individual cannot ensure the satisfaction of his main
needs. Plato put this idea into the definition of the state: “In need of
many things, many people gather together to live together and help each other:
such a joint settlement is what we call the state”.
Dividing people into classes, as an argument, Plato
refers to the advantages of implementing the principle of the division of
labor.
2 . Plato's accusation against Poetry
2.1.Poetry
After much
deliberation and many intense debates, Plato finally came to a definition of
justice and declared that living a just life is worth living both in terms of
its consequences and for its own sake. While these findings summarize
the Republic's main controversy , Plato is determined to
clarify his case for banning poets in an ideal city. At first glance, Plato'
resolution to ban poetry may seem extremely harsh, especially given the current
fears of people about censorship. Through careful analysis and better
understanding of the dialogues, Plato' dialogue for his judgment becomes much
clearer and helps to demonstrate the negative impact of poetry on the ideal
city. In the Republic Plato's ability of Plato to
maintain control of the ideal city is confirmed by the expulsion of poetry and
is essential for the defense and survival of the city.
One of the key
motivations for Plato' prohibition of poetry can be seen in his idea that the
soul is perverted and distorted by poets. Plato discovers that the best
soul element is “the one who trusts measurement and calculation” ( Republic 603a). This
statement refers to a discussion between Plato and Glaucon about how things
look versus how they are actually based on measurements and calculations. For
example, an object may appear large because it is at close range, but when
viewed at a distance, it may appear very small ( Republic602c). The
only way to determine the true size of an object is to measure and calculate
it; it is impossible to accurately determine the size using
simulation. So when Plato states that “whoever opposes will be one of the
worst parts of us” ( Republic 603a), he is referring to people
who oppose the idea of using computation to draw conclusions and
duplicate. they are "inferior". By accepting imitations as
reality, people are increasingly moving away from the truth and, therefore,
transforming from rational souls into irrational souls. The
impressionable, appetizing, irrational soul lends itself easily to
art; this must be understood in order to fully understand the ideas of Plato.
Poetry and art in
general were not created for recreational purposes, although this is a popular
belief. According to Plato, art appeals to our deepest feelings and
innermost passions, although in most cases we do not even realize that they
affect us. Poetry deceives most people because we don’t believe that it is
touched by us, and we don’t have to feel what the fictional characters
do. In fact, poetry allows us to live through these characters and behave
in ways that are considered shameful. We are too happy and extremely
envious; we grieve excessively and get angry with anger, but we would not
want to behave so shamefully in real life.
While we don't
want to display these embellished behaviors, we live with them every day,
whether we know it or not. Plato states that “we suffer with the hero and
take his suffering seriously. And we praise the one who influences us the
most, as a good poet "( Republic605d). Here Plato
acknowledges that sometimes we succumb to art because of our appreciation for
it, although we do not believe that such behavior is acceptable in our daily
life. He argues that everything we see and read in art will eventually
become subconsciously embedded in our minds and cause us to act in a certain
way, almost as if we switched places with fictional characters and became
performers ourselves. Plato recognizes the strong negative influence of
poetry on the irrational soul and human behavior; he bans art in order to
maintain control of his city.
Plato demonstrates
how a poet corrupts this "good" part of the soul, distracting people
from reality and directing their thoughts and actions to idealism. Plato
compares a poet who destroys a rational soul by increasing the strength of an
irrational soul to someone who can take over and destroy a city by making evil
people strong ( Republic 605b). He goes on to say that
every person has a tainted soul because imitative poets create images that are
not realistic and isolated from the truth (Republic, 605b). Thus, Plato
equates the soul and the city, arguing that the destruction of the soul will be
followed by the death of the ideal city because of art. If poets succeed
in persuading people to embrace and observe their irrational, emotional, and
impulsive side, the ideal city is bound to collapse.
The aforementioned
irrational feelings that all of humanity will experience at a certain point in
time, are raised to the surface by art and threaten the survival of the ideal
city. Plato attributes these desires to the “soul of appetite,” which
prioritizes instant gratification. When Plato refers to the appetite of
the human race, he says: “He nourishes and irrigates them when they should dry
up and sets them in us as rulers when - if we want to become better and
happier, not worse and more unhappy - they should manage "( Republic606d). Here
Plato conveys the idea that art manipulates people into having sexual desire,
anger, pain and pleasure. Plato argues that we are all internally driven
by these feelings because of the immensely influential power of poetic
imitation. He suggests that instead of striving for these deep inner
desires, we must conquer them in order to live a better life. This passage
is of paramount importance because it clearly expresses how deep the influence
of art is. Plato must ban poetry in his ideal city because human appetite
is too weak to overcome the temptations of personal desires. If art is
controlled by the individual, bringing to the fore the irrational soul that
separates us from reason, the city of Plato will undeniably fail.
Plato' theory of
guardian training is interesting given the fact that he recognizes the need to
study art as well as physical education to complement his city. While
earlier in Book III Plato emphasized the importance of music in teaching
guardians, he also expresses his deep concern for the powerful influence that
music will have. Plato' recognition of the need for music can be seen when
he says that "it is in musical training that the sentry of our guardians
must be built" ( Republic 424d). Here Plato
recognizes how much art is necessary for an ideal city, and seems to run
counter to his own suggestion that poetry is dangerous.
Contrary to his own
declaration, Plato argues that “there should be no innovations in musical or
physical training that run counter to the established order” ( Republic 424b). In
this statement, Plato attempts to describe the importance of prohibiting
musical training from exceeding the laws he so skillfully adopted to create the
ideal city. Adeimant then discusses the concept of music infiltrating
society through the routines of people and daily practices that can ultimately
lead to law, leading to the complete destruction of the city ( Republic 424d). The
harsh censorship of the arts that Plato proposes is necessary to protect the
ideal city from potential overthrow.
Plato' expulsion
of poetry from the ideal city at the beginning of Book X may come as a shock to
some readers. In 21st century America, we live in a world where freedom is
most valuable and censorship is frowned upon. However, a careful analysis
of Plato' reasoning shows that he wants to ban poetry in the city because it is
created and governed by images, not rational ideas. Images are three times
removed from truth, leaving poetry at the lowest level of selfhood; the
imitative part, which, according to Plato, will spoil the soul and the ideal
city.
Interestingly, Plato
does not prohibit all forms of poetry in the city; it allows you to praise
good people and sing to the gods. In fact, Plato claims to be well versed
in art and appreciates it, and encourages any lover of poetry to speak on his
behalf ( Republic607e). Despite Plato' apparent condescension
in this regard, he firmly believes that poetry should be prohibited. To
understand Plato' criticism of poetry, it helps to consider modern media:
television and advertising shape our lives, determine what we wear, how we feel
about ourselves, what we eat, where we shop and, in essence , our outlook on
life. Whether we know it or not, for many people what they see on TV is
the most “real” thing in their life, which is what Plato feared: people deviate
from the truth, relying on images, not rational ideas. Plato' decision to
ban poetry may seem like a harsh and tyrannical act, but it is the only way to
maintain control and support the survival of the ideal city.