Philosophy - Plato Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy - Plato - Essay ExampleIts democracy was on its knees. There was rampant political selfishness in the great City and this greatly angered Plato. He saw justice as the exclusively true remedy to all of the citys and the entire countrys problems ego satisfaction was rampant owing to the popularity of the Sophistic teachings that dwelled on self satisfaction that turned the society into more often than not individualistic people. Most people were running for public offices to achieve their own selfish gains and this eventually dissever the city into two groups of the haves and the have nots. The culture of individualism became his main target for attacks in his works.Cephalus established the handed-down possibleness of justice. He viewed justice as speaking the truth and paying ones debt. He viewed justice as identifying with the right conduct. According to Polemarchus, justice consists in giving what is proper to him. He viewed it apparently as doing good to friends a nd harm to enemies.These two views were criticized to great lengths by Plato. He criticized Cephalus theory with the view that in that location may be cases in which his preferred formula may violate the spirit of right consequently it cannot be taken as a sound universal life principal. He poked holes in Polemarchus theory by asking hoe this could be applied in a case whereby the friend is scarce a friend in seeming but in reality was an enemy. He wondered what would happen in this scenario. He concluded that if justice is determined by the relations between two individuals it promoted individualistic principles and ignores the remnant of the society.In the allegory of the cave, Plato proposes a group of prisoners that have been bound in the cave all their lives only being able to see the cave walls. The only light is from a fire at the make pass of the cave. A path runs above and behind them separating them from the fire. People passing by the path have their shadows physica l body onto the wall viewed by the