Importance Of Unity And Harmony To Plato

Importance Of Unity And Harmony To PlatoPlato who lived amongst 427-347 B.C is kn feature for his development of many distinct beas in philosophy much(prenominal) as metaphysical, epistemology, aesthetics and ethics. Plato was a prototypical philosopher whose philosophical ideas had great imp forge on the subsequent semipolitical theories and concepts. Platos philosophy is implied in the ingestion of dialectic method acting in discussion which involves reflective insights into the genius. Also by way of cognitive optimism this method involves a belief in humans mind capacity to r to each iodine for truth and then development it for virtuous and rational ordering of human affairs (p.96). Plato holds that any appointmenting interests between the opposite part of humanity brush off be patch upd. Plato proposes a righteous and rational political system which directs to a pure uni plaster castity in a society and that gives chance to each of its parts to develop but non a t the disadvantage of others. According to Plato, the practical implementation and theoretical design of such systems is however non possible without virtue in a society (p.69). This paper studies the importance of unmatchedness and amity to Plato in his philosophical concepts and how these concepts illustrate themselves at the level of man-to-man brain as well as in the political society. This paper will also evaluate Platos understanding of these concepts and how he uses them to unjustify democratic form of giving medication.In the Platos philosophical theories, rightness is iodine of the most important concepts in ethics and politics. Justice may reference to individual virtue, society order or even individual rights in contrast to the general kind order claims. According to Plato justice is simply speaking the truth and giving back or repaying what one has borrowed (p.5). so far this definition is grounded on the traditional moral customs and may not be nice to hold to todays challenge and the power of critical thinking. If rightfully understood, justice does not act as a special advantage to any of the factions of a city but justice represents the common good of the wide political community which is to every(prenominal)ones advantage. Justice provides unity in a society which is fundamental for societys health. A political order that promotes social peace in the environment of friendship and cooperation among different social groups whereby each benefits and each contributes to the common good of the society, is the best according to Plato.Unity and harmony plays a very important billet in the republics politics and ethics since both the good soul and the good state are express to be harmonious (p. 99). Plato constantly argues that harmony in a society is achieved when everyone plays his or her role. From this it seems that good is principally achieved when each thing exhibits its essence harmony. However according to Plato good is not ju st a quality that the forms have but its a force from which reality comes from. He argues that if the good is unity and harmony, it is also the premier(prenominal) principle of everything, the standard by which everything is what it is, that has as existence and power of all its own (p.100)The courage, wisdom and temperance developed by the guardians, rulers and workers ideally give forth the justice in society which those virtues generate in the individual soul when they are nurtured by the three elements of that soul. Only when the three elements work in harmony and with intelligence under control does the individual or society attain the happiness and realization of which it is capable. In the republic he argues that the good use of a human being and his soul is to live in a just manner as well as to attain a state of unity and harmony (p.110). According to Plato every human being consist of many parts whereby each is different from the other and each has unique goals, aims an d appetites. The three parts of the soul are intellect physical desires and courage. However its fundamental to conceptualize the soul as encompassing the many conflicting parts although this state of conflict is unwelcome and meaning that man must attempt to harmonize his soul. According to Plato man gutter harmonize his soul by training each part to matter as dictated by nature without hampering other parts business.In this context each part of a mans soul should not notwithstanding perform its function but also perform it well. So in the case of physical desires one should not look for luxurious pleasures but should look for survival and good health. When the parts of the soul are satisfying their ordinary functions well and under the direction of reason, they are then in harmony and equipoise with each other and at that instant the soul id unified, just, good and happy (p.99). In this context Plato implies that a mans soul cannot be in harmony when performing functions of ai med at bringing luxurious pleasures to him alone and not caring for the goodness of others.In the republic Plato states that the purpose of man is to use his mind and reason to inquisition knowledge, truth and eventual reality. In this search man should understand that the body is a hindrance and hence the soul should endlessly struggle against it so as to achieve satisfaction in the individual soul as well as develop a good political society (p.296). The body always confuses the mind with all founts of appetites and desires thus giving the mind time to think. According to Plato the man should and so murder himself entirely from his body and only use it to survive. This way man will be able to conquer the impediments to in pursuing his true function to the best of his ability, for his good and the good of the entire society. This search for mans function and reaching his good life is dependent on justice and harmonization of the soul..In todays politics its universally believ ed that state which is a government of the people for the people is the most justifiable form of political system. This form of government has two features i.e. liberty and equality which are usually conspicuous in its operations. Democracy can be expressed as the rule of people governing themselves directly or by their elect representative. However Plato does not consider democracy to be the best form of government. Plato criticizes the unchecked and direct type of democracy of that time because of its leading styles. According to Plato democracy is largely characterised by presence of freedom, but although freedom is a true value it can also be dangerous when its in excess (p.288). When everyone is abandoned the freedom of doing as he or she wishes then this can results to anarchy.On the other hand, in democracy there is equality which means that everyone in these systems has the right and equal capacity to rule (p.288). The right for every one to rule implies therefore that ma ny individuals will seek power in politics not necessarily to help or lead the society but because of their personal gains. These power seeking individuals can therefore make a democratic form of government to be highly corruptible first step ways for potential dictators, demagogues and can thus lead to tyranny. For instance Hitler was democratically elected claiming that he would act on behalf of the people but then he turned to be a tyranny and worked for his own personal interests (.p.296) Plato holds that democratic political systems are and may lead from anarchy to tyranny. This system also lacks meet committed leaders with skills and morals. Though it may not happen in todays givingized democracies the above reasons are Platos chief(prenominal) problems with democracy.According to Plato democracy is a political system that depends on chance and thus without able and virtuous leaders it becomes a dangerous form of government. According to Plato therefore democracy is not po ssible without unity and harmony between the human soul and body. Harmonization of the soul helps human beings to avoid the temptations of the body such as selfishness and greed and pursue his true function which is also the way to good life in the society (p.268). Harmonization also helps man to fight all sort of bodily desires and appetites which is important for leaders in democratic forms of government. For a society to enjoy the goodness of a democratic form of government it should therefore have leaders with harmony and unity between their soul and body. Thus they will be able to guide the society for the interest and benefits of everybody and not for their own self needs.ConclusionAccording to Plato for one to be truly happy he or she must participate in the good and to take a shit part in the good one must be just. However not every individual soul that is just and therefore one wonders how the unjust can be happy (p.267). Just or right means nothing thats in the interest o f the more powerful. According to Plato injustice is not truly ones true self justice. Therefore it should be in one interest to understand happiness. True justice and happiness is concurrently webbed together with self-justice. In the republic Socrates agrees that he also doesnt know simply what good is but then he says we should endeavour for its knowledge since its what brings happiness. Unity and harmony are therefore important in achieving individual satisfaction and also in developing an appropriately organized political society. Platos unjustifying of democracy may however not be applicable in todays liberal democracy systems. Todays liberal democracies are not only based on freedom and equality but also on other factors like multi party systems and rule of law.