Political Justice: Plato and Aristotle Essay

Plato and Aristotle had various ideas of political relation and political merelyice. In The Re common, Plato desexualises the r atomic number 18fied metropolis, which is necessitate to guarantee fittingice. He aims to create a peaceful united urban center that bequeath run away to the great beneficial of the conjunction and individuals. Unlike Plato who imagines the ideal metropolis, Aristotle looks at factual cities in The political sympathies. He doesnt exigency to create the ideal city he aims to improve the existing city. While their ideas some(prenominal) politics and judge were polar, they twain strived to stupefy a crack focussing of sustenance for society and hoped to achieve political nicety.In distinguish to situate evaluator, Socrates attempts to create an ideal city, matchless that is sun-loving and just. Socrates begins by put forwardvas what justice looks like in the cities in company to go on to deal out it in individuals (Plato, 45). He believes that it is through diction that maven will see the personal valet de chambrener in which both justice and iniquity come into world. Socrates argues that sight come together as partners and form cities based on mutual wad ons because each person isnt self-sufficient but is in motivating of much food, shelter, clo amour, and other necessities (Plato, 46). It is in the c exclusively for that the custody charter of mavin other in a healthy city that justice can be found (Plato, 49). In the Republic, Plato argues that justice is kind, structural, and peaceful. He alike believes that commonplacewealth function ruff doing star thing well. fit in to Socrates, straightforward deal by nature differ in nature different men argon apt for the operation of different jobs (Plato, 46). Socrates argues for specialization by state, mavenness man, one art (Plato, 47). He argues that this excogitation of specialization is the only way to train certain that each job is through with(p) well. Socrates goes on to divide the city into collar distinct disunitees producers, warfareriors, and regainrs. Socrates believes a just city requires a division of labor in order to guarantee the stability of the city and provide the common good for the citizens. He pass ons that, each thing becomes more plentiful, finer, and easier, when one man, exempt from other tasks, does one thing according to nature (Plato, 47). A stern division of labor is the only way to construct a just city, in which few laws are requisite. Socrates uses the analogy of the healthy city to describe how justice and blemish of course grow in cities (Plato, 49).A healthy city becomes an unhealthy, feverish city when tribe become driven by desire and want more than the unadulterated necessities of a healthy city. Some mass will non be conform to with the mere necessities thus, relishes will be added. When people desire more and more luxuries, the city mustine ss be made big again and again because the healthy one is no longer adequate (Plato, 50). As the city grows, more impart is required in order to be sufficient. At some point, one must racetrack off a piece of their neighbors land (Plato, 50). Socrates argues that encroachment will ultimately lead to war. He goes on to state that because of this inevitable war, the city will require guardians.According to Socrates, the defenders of the state must have a very spirited soul be very well trained (Plato, 52). He goes on to argue that a good Guardian must be a philosopher in nature, spirited, swift, and strong (Plato, 53). They must never turn against the city and must get it on whom to do violence to. Therefore, the Guardians must be gentle to their own and cruel to enemies (Plato, 52). To experience that they will never turn against the city, Socrates believes that they must be let out mor completelyy in diction through the stories of the Gods and heroes (Plato, 54). Socrates argues that the tales should be supervise and modified if need be, in order to instill the idea that Gods can do no wrong. Only the stories that display bravery and dispel the fear of death should be taught to the Guardians. As a citizen, a Guardian must defend their city, make war together against any enemy of the city, and exhort vigilantly for one a nonher.While Plato believed that cities and state came into be because of mutual needs and social contracts, Aristotle thought otherwise. Aristotle panoramas the polis, or city, as a political association or partnership. Aristotle opens The Politics by saying, every city is some sort of partnership, which is constituted for the involvement of some good. According to Aristotle, the city must seek to achieve the most despotic good of all (Aristotle, 35). He defines villages as collections of families. These different villages come together to create a good combination of both public and occult breeding. This is a snappy critic ism of the argument Plato makes in The Republic.Aristotle goes on to argue that a city naturally tog outs from the union of several villages (Aristotle, 36). In saying this, he argues that a city exists by nature (Aristotle, 37). A city forms for the usance of living well and directs itself toward the common good. superstar of Aristotles defining arguments is that man is by nature a political fauna (Aristotle, 37). What Aristotle is arguing is that apart from the city in that respect is no possible way for man to achieve the good demeanor. Aristotle claims that what makes man different from other animals are that man but has speech (Aristotle, 37). It is speech that makes possible the mental retardation of politics and allows man to come up with the highest authoritative good. According to Aristotle, speech serves to hear the advantageous and the harmful, and hence similarly the just and the unjust (Aristotle, 37). In Aristotles city, it is speech and clumsiness that ju stice can be found. Aristotle believes that the law developed through deliberation is a guarantor of just things (Aristotle, 98).In order to define what he believes to be a citizen, Aristotle introductory argues things that do not imply citizenship honorary citizenship, inhabiting a place, sacramental manduction in matters of justice, children, and the elderly (Aristotle, 86). He defines citizenship as sharing in decision and in office (Aristotle, 87). According to Aristotle, a citizen is one who takes part in the decisions that are being made. In Aristotles city, the citizen is whoever is entitled to move into (Aristotle, 87).To him, the most important aspect of citizenship is that they are the foundation upon which the city is built. He believes that citizens have a share in the politics and should take part in administrating justice. In general, a citizen is defined as a person from lifts who are both citizens (Aristotle, 88). Aristotle believes that as constitutions change, citizenship changes as well. Thus, thither is different mensuration for being a good citizen and being a good man. According to Aristotle, a good citizen upholds and respects the constitution. He claims, a good citizen should pick out and have the capacitor both to be orderd and to rule (Aristotle, 92).In the Republic, Socrates curbs three waves that he believes are requisite toachieve justice in an unhealthy city. The first wave states that there should be equality among men and women of the Guardian class. He writes that men and women of the Guardian class are to share everything in common (Plato, 130). This wave not only deals with equality, it also deals with merit. Despite the fact that men are typically stronger than women, women should be nurtured in the kindred way as men and educated in the same things. Even though it may seem shameful and pie-eyed, women are to be trained in gymnastics together with men (Plato, 130). later realiseing the need for equality among men and women, Socrates moves on to the second wave.The second wave, Socrates argues, is that women and children need to be held in common. He believes that women are to break to men in common and that no woman can red-hot in camera with any man (Plato, 136). Socrates is trying to dislodge the unhealthy city of hugger-mugger liveness because he believes that justice is social. The Guardians must live as one iodine family in order to reduce factional conflict. In order for the Guardians to live as one single family, Socrates argues that not only are men and women to be held in common, their children are to be held in common as well.A parent will neither know his own offspring, nor a child his parent (Plato, 136). The goal of this is to, again, rid them of the jealousies and rivalries that accompany private families. Socrates believes that this will make certain greater social equality and increase the concord among the Guardian class. Because the Guardians share everything i n common, there will no longer be any concept of private ownership. Thus, there will be harmony and champion within the city. The third, and final, wave Socrates discuses details who it is that he believes should rule in a just city.The third and final wave that Socrates believes is necessary for justice is that philosophers must be the rulers. by and by making this argument, Glaucon demands that Socrates defines what he actor as a philosopher. Socrates believes that the philosopher is a desirer of wisdom, not of one part and not another, but of all of it (Plato, 155). The philosopher is a lover of wisdom and constitutional knowledge. Because of this, Socrates argues that philosophers are the only people up to(p) of having knowledge of everything all together they are open-minded and constantly curious. To further hisargument just about the philosopher, Socrates states that the philosopher is a lover of the law he has knowledge of what is real kinda of simply believing in ap pearances.The first final cause that Socrates makes in The Republic makes sensation to me. There should be equality among men and women, but they do not need to share everything is common. There needs to be a balance of both public and private life. It would not make feel to rid society of private life entirely. The second proposal that Socrates makes does not make much sense at all it would not work if we wanted to consecrate a similar system in todays society. It is not analytic to think that children would be better people and that society would be a better place if children were taken from their mothers at line of descent and raised by wet nurses. heap need the bond of a private family, it is from family that children learn to love and be loved. The philosophers-as-rulers proposal that Socrates discusses makes sense but it seems extremely unrealistic. A philosopher is the last person that would want to rule a city. Overall, these proposals would every facet of a city. The proposals that he makes are intended to be extreme and ironic. Plato is trying to push his readers in absurd directions in order to establish that justice will never be found.The healthy city in Platos The Republic gives the best explanation of justice. The unhurt intention of creating this ideal city is to define what justice is. Essentially, in his ideal city, there is no injustice. Because Plato uses his ideal state to designate how justice and injustice naturally arise in cities, it is much easier to grasp what justice is and how it comes into being. Because Plato creates the perfect government, he is able to give a clear definition of what justice is. Aristotles definition of distributive justice giving equal things to equal people and unequal things to unequal people can be confusing. While the healthy city may give the best definition of justice, it does not provide the best modeling for politics. Though it may not be ideal, Aristotles ideal city provides the best model f or politics.In Aristotles view politics is only a means to an end that end being the maximum happiness of its citizens. Unlike Plato, who places the burden of thought solely in the Guardian class, Aristotle believes that everyone should take turn ruling and being rule (Aristotle, 219). Aristotle argues that the purpose of politics and that city is to pass on the good life for its people. He believes that the citizens of a state should agree about what is right and wrong, just and unjust. Plato believes that philosophers are the only people capable of knowing the truth. Aristotle gives a better argument that everyone is capable of knowing the truth. He believes that politics is responsible for educating men in what is right and wrong. Just as Aristotle argues, written law should have greater permission than the rulers. Thus, leading to justice.Both Plato and Aristotle make good arguments about political justice eventide though the two do not completely agree. By creating an ide al city, Plato all the way defines what justice is. On the other hand, by looking at existing cities, Aristotle gives a good model for politics. While their ideas about politics and justice were different, they both strived to hold a better way of life for society and hoped to achieve political justice.BibliographyAristotle, The Politics. Translated with an cornerstone by Carnes Lord. (Chicago, 1984).Plato (380 B.C.). Republic, translated by G. M. A. Grube, 2 nd ed., revised by C. D. C. Reeve, Indianapolis Hackett (1992).