Plato Book Review
The republic is a dialogue that was written by the Plato with the aim of ensuring justice to the people. The dialogue was published in 380 BC where the Socrates wanted to establish the true meaning and nature of justice with men and how a just polity would look like. Plato imagined how different cities would be like if they were underpinned by different forms of justice. From the title itself, it is clear that Plato wanted to establish a state where citizens could have the right to elect leaders who could represent them. This is why justice was the major issue The Republic wanted to ensure for all citizens. Plato’s dialogue has been the most influential works of philosophy globally where most countries have adopted the philosophy in their ruling. The dialogue tried to get the true significance of justice and whether a justice made men happier compare to injustices. Plato’s work was well presented since he used examples to bring out the idea of what justice is and whether justice contributed to human happiness.
The Republic based its argument on justice and political systems that were employed during the historic period. The dialogue starts when Plato asks students to define justice which brings out the idea that it is the interest of an individual to be either just or unjust. The dialogue set is in Greece where Plato uses an imaginary city to assist them to tackle the problem of injustice. It was during the Peloponnesian War that this dialogue was conducted. It captured all the events that led to injustice during that period hence it became the most famous philosophical dialogue globally. Plato wrote the dialogue during his middle period which was around 380BC.
The dialogue included discussion of justice for man and politics and it proved justice to be a human behavior and not a supposed behavior. The dialogue started with Socrates and several men who were discussing the nature of justice. From the dialogue, Plato concluded that justice was whatever interested the majority which could lead to disharmony and unhappiness as explained by the Socrates. Plato believed in the existence of three types of people who their relationship determined the justice of the society. The idea of Plato on the nature of justice and the value of justice has influenced the society in many ways. Leaders in most countries are elected by citizens through a fair and just process so that they can be representatives of the whole country. The dialogue assisted in understanding the relationship between justice and politics which is a concept applied in daily politics. Therefore, the dialogue not only assisted in promoting just politics during that period but instilled a sense in leaders on the importance of promoting justice during elections.
The important elements of the republic include the view of justice where it has to be looked at on an individual level as well as a city level. Plato said that it is hard to determine what is just for an individual or a city unless the two are looked together. This implied that individual and society need to go hand in hand and they both make life bearable for all individuals. Another element of the republic was that cities and humans could be divided into three notable parts which he identified as the reason, desire, and spirit. Although these features are common to all individuals, they are more distinct to some that to others. They all direct one to conduct a justified action. The other important element of the republic is that when one decides to be a philosopher of teaching people justice, he accepts to pull other people out of a cave.
The strong points made by the author of the republic include the significance of justice where individuals and cities should all work together for a comfortable life. The different persons mentioned by Plato in the dialogue signified the different populations that are expected to unite and work together embracing justice. Plato believed that perfect life is the one under which perfect conditions existed, and that could only be in a perfect society. Also, Plato justified that just life did not only lead to a fulfilling life but also provided innate spiritual happiness.
The weakness of Plato’s argument is that he despised democracy where he advocated for casual execution of people. Even though he despised democracy, he did not justify reasons as to why democracy was not the best for the society. Also, his argument was incompatible with what justice is.
Although the dialogue published by Plato advocated for justice, it presented some drawbacks where democracy was not used as expected. The argument was well presented, and the information from the dialogue can be used by scholars and philosophers to explain the origin of justice in history. With the dialogue, most countries have managed to involve citizens in a selection of most preferred leaders which is as a result of promoting justice. More to this, societies respect each other where freedom of speech is allowed for all individuals.