Exotic Journeys: A Tourist's Guide to Philosophy

brought to you by Ron Yezzi

Emeritus Professor of Philosophy

Minnesota State University, Mankato

© Copyright 1986, 2015, 2020 by Ron Yezzi

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Author's Note: This account is adapted from Ron Yezzi, Directing Human Actions: Perspectives on Basic Ethical Issues (Lanham: University Press of America, 1986) pp.170 - 189.

Topics

Plato

Classes Within the Ideal State

Types of States

Democracy

Why Justice Is Better than Injustice

Aristotle

Justice

Differences with Plato

Justice as Fairness and Lawfulness

Types of Justice

Rejection of An Eye for An Eye, A Tooth for A Tooth

Justice and Equality

The State

Nature of the State

The State and The Individual

Forms of Government

Revolutions

Moderation, Compromise, and Accommodation

Plato and Aristotle: A Comparison

Controversies: Some Objections and Possible Replies

Thought Excursions

Plato, Aristotle, and The Family

Individuals and Society:

Plato and Aristotle

In dealing with Plato and Aristotle on the relation of the individual to society, we will concentrate, in particular, on three issues―namely, justice, types of government, and causes of social breakdown.

Plato

The overall plan of Plato’s masterpiece the Republic, taking up Books II-IX, focuses upon two basic problems associated with justice: (1) what justice is; and (2) why justice is better than injustice. Dealing with these two problems though involves an elaborate, interconnected treatment of more specific issues such as knowledge and education, human nature, and the organization of states. More particularly, for our purposes here, Plato’s analysis of human nature has a direct bearing on the organization of states, both in the form of an analogy and in the character of different states.

Just as Plato attributes three agencies of action to an individual's psyche that are then associated with four virtues, he attributes three classes to an ideal state, also associated with four virtues. (Indeed, in the Republic, this association of classes with virtues forms the model for determining the psychic agencies and virtues of the individual person.)

Classes Within the Ideal State

The three classes of persons within the ideal state are the productive workers, the auxiliaries, and the rulers. The productive workers, constituting the greater mass of the populace, include farmers, skilled and unskilled laborers, businesspeople, artists, performers, providers of personal services, and professional persons. The auxiliaries include military and law enforcement personnel. The rulers, a relatively small class, consists of those persons best qualified to rule by reason of their knowledge, dedication, and integrity in serving and protecting the best interests of the state.