Political Justice: Plato and Aristotle Essay

Plato and Aristotle had different ideas of political relation and political judge. In The Republic, Plato gains the example urban center, which is indispens adequate to guarantee uprightice. He aims to create a peaceful united urban center that go forth lead to the greater good of the comm whiz and individuals. Unlike Plato who imagines the exemplar metropolis, Aristotle looks at actual cities in The Politics. He doesnt want to create the idol city he aims to improve the existing city. While their ideas hearty-nigh government and justice were different, they both strived to find a better instruction of bread and butter for family and hoped to pass on political justice.In battle array to make justice, Socrates attempts to create an pattern city, hotshot that is muscular and just. Socrates begins by investigating what justice looks like in the cities in order to go on to evictvas it in individuals (Plato, 45). He believes that it is by tongue that unrivalled go out show the way in which both justice and injustice come into being. Socrates surrounds that pot come unneurotic as p dodgeners and form cities based on uncouth reads because each person isnt self-sufficient but is in bring of much food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities (Plato, 46). It is in the need that the workforce discombobulate of angiotensin converting enzyme another in a healthy city that justice can be found (Plato, 49). In the Republic, Plato argues that justice is social, structural, and peaceful. He also believes that plurality function exceed doing single thing well.According to Socrates, sight by nature differ in nature different workforce be apt(p) for the accomplish ment of different jobs (Plato, 46). Socrates argues for specialization by verbalism, one firearm, one art (Plato, 47). He argues that this concept of specialization is the precisely way to make received that each job is done well. Socrates goes on to divide the city in to triple distinct crystallizees producers, warriors, and rulers. Socrates believes a just city requires a division of turn over in order to guarantee the stability of the city and provide the prevalent good for the citizens. He invokes that, each thing becomes more plentiful, finer, and easier, when one troopshood, unloose from other tasks, does one thing according to nature (Plato, 47). A unrelenting division of labor is the only way to construct a just city, in which few laws are required. Socrates uses the analogy of the healthy city to run how justice and injustice naturally grow in cities (Plato, 49).A healthy city becomes an unhealthy, feverish city when people become driven by desire and want more than the mere necessities of a healthy city. roughly people will not be satisfied with the mere necessities thus, relishes will be added. When people desire more and more luxuries, the city moldiness be made bigger again and again because the healthy one is no time-cons uming adequate (Plato, 50). As the city grows, more landed e body politic is required in order to be sufficient. At both(prenominal) point, one essential cut off a piece of their neighbors land (Plato, 50). Socrates argues that intrusion will ultimately lead to war. He goes on to state that because of this required war, the city will require guardians.According to Socrates, the guardians 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 neer turn against the city and must know whom to do violence to. on that pointfore, the Guardians must be gentle to their own and cruel to enemies (Plato, 52). To ensure that they will never turn against the city, Socrates believes that they must be educated morally in mother tongue through the stories of the Gods and heroes (Plato, 54). Socrates argues that the tales should be supervised and modified if need be, in order to instill the idea that Gods can do no wrong. Only the stories that vaunting bravery and dispel the fear of death should be taught to the Guardians. As a citizen, a Guardian must defend their city, make war unitedly against any enemy of the city, and fight vigilantly for one another.While Plato believed that cities and state came into being because of mutual needs and social contracts, Aristotle thought otherwise. Aristotle views the polis, or city, as a political association or partnership. Aristotle opens The Politics by saying, all(prenominal) city is some sort of partnership, which is constituted for the sake of some good. According to Aristotle, the city must seek to achieve the most autocratic good of all (Aristotle, 35). He set aparts villages as collections of families. These different villages come together to create a good combination of both public and esoteric life. This is a sharp criticism of the argument Plato makes in The Republi c. Aristotle goes on to argue that a city naturally come nears 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 purpose of living well and directs itself toward the common good.One of Aristotles specify arguments is that man is by nature a political animal (Aristotle, 37). What Aristotle is literary argument is that apart from the city in that respect is no possible way for man to achieve the good life. Aristotle claims that what makes man different from other animals are that man alone has speech (Aristotle, 37). It is speech that makes possible the deliberation of politics and allows man to come up with the highest authoritative good. According to Aristotle, speech serves to reveal the preferential and the harmful, and hence also the just and the unjust (Aristotle, 37). In Aristotles city, it is speech and deliberation that justice 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 first argues things that do not need citizenship honorary citizenship, inhabiting a place, sharing 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 participate (Aristotle, 87).To him, the most important aspect of citizenship is that they are the insane asylum 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 parents who are both citizens (Aristotle, 88). Aristotle believes that as constitutions change, citizenship changes as well. Thus, there is different criterion for b eing 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 know and have the capacity both to be command and to rule (Aristotle, 92).In the Republic, Socrates gives three waves that he believes are needful to achieve 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 same way as men and educated in the same things. Even though it may seem shameful and miserable, women are to be trained in gymnastics together with men (Plato, 130). After chip ining the need for equality among men and women, Socrates moves on to the bite wave.The second wave, Socrates argues , is that women and children need to be held in common. He believes that women are to belong to men in common and that no woman can blend in in sequestered with any man (Plato, 136). Socrates is trying to rid the unhealthy city of surreptitious life because he believes that justice is social. The Guardians must live as one single 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 unity among the Guardian class. Because the Guardians share everything in common, there will no longer be any concept of private ownership. Thus, there will be harmon y and unity 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. After making this argument, Glaucon demands that Socrates defines what he center 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 rooter of wisdom and total knowledge. Because of this, Socrates argues that philosophers are the only people capable of having knowledge of everything all together they are open-minded and constantly curious. To further his argument about the philosopher, Socrates states that the philosopher is a lover of the truth he has knowledge of what is real instead of simply accept in appearances.The first proposal that Socrates makes in The Republic makes sense to me. There should be equality amon g 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 sense 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 ordinate a similar system in todays society. It is not logical to think that children would be better people and that society would be a better place if children were taken from their mothers at birth and raise by wet nurses.People 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 passing 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 perfect and ironic. Plato is trying to push his readers in absurd directions in order to esta blish that justice will never be found.The healthy city in Platos The Republic gives the best translation of justice. The whole 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 show 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 nonequivalent things to unequal people can be confusing. While the healthy city may give the best definition of justice, it does not provide the best model for politics. Though it may not be ideal, Aristotles ideal city provides the best model for politics.In Aristotles view politics is only a means to an end that end being the maximal happiness of its citizens. Unlike Plato, who pl aces the burden of ruling solely in the Guardian class, Aristotle believes that everyone should take turn ruling and being ruled (Aristotle, 219). Aristotle argues that the purpose of politics and that city is to promote 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 wise to(p) 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. except as Aristotle argues, written law should have greater authority than the rulers. Thus, principal to justice.Both Plato and Aristotle make good arguments about political justice compensate though the two do not completely agree. By creating an ideal city, Plato clearly 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 find a better way of life for society and hoped to achieve political justice.BibliographyAristotle, The Politics. Translated with an introduction 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).