Question

If we sum up the description of the ideal city in Republic, what are five features of the ideal city? What is Plato’s definition of political justice, and how does he

Answer 1

For Plato, the ideal city was one which mirrored the kosmos, on the one hand, and the individual on the other. As he described in The Republic, the ideal city, or polis, was one based on justice and human virtue. It was a form of social and political organization that allowed individuals to maximize their potentialities, serve their fellow citizens, and live in accordance with universal laws and truths. Plato set forth a five-fold classification to describe how the city ought to be governed. The best form of government, he argued, was an aristocratic model based on the rulership of philosopher kings. A second form of government he called timocracy, or rule by a privileged elite of guardians, or strong men. Oligarchy, the third type, consisted of rule “by the few.” The remaining two — democracy and tyranny — represented rule by the many.

Essentially Plato tried to show in his own ways that individual justice mirrors political justice. He expllained a three part structure analogous to the three strata of the society per se. One was the appetite part of the soul, the second being the spirited part of the soul and the final was the rational part of the soul. The first therefore consisted of the producers such as the craftsmen, farmers, artisans, etc. the second comprised of the warriors and the last comprised of the guardians or the rulers. This meant that the rational (logical) decision makers were the ones in power and had ruling agencies.