Plato's Republic

6 Pages 1418 Words

There are three questions that must be answered when talking about the tyrant that is described in Plato’s “Republic”. First you must explain the character present in the tyrant. Second you must describe the kind of life that a tyrant can be expected to live. The third and final question is why is the philosopher’s life a better life than that of the tyrant.
What is the character of a tyrant? This is a question that Socrates answers very decisively. He says:
“namely, that he is inevitably envious, untrust- worthy, unjust, friendless, impious, host and nurse to every kind of vice, and that his ruling makes him even more so. And because of all these, he is extremely unfortunate and goes on to make those near him like himself.”(580a.)
Pretty much Socrates just describes the man that no one wants to be ruled by. A tyrant that rules is a man who scares the people he rules because he is a man with no conscious, and that is frightening when the person has so much power.
The next question that must be answered is: What kind of life can a tyrant be expected to live? A tyrannical man can be expected to live one of two lives at any point in time. He can be a tyrant who is one of ruled or he can be a tyrant who is a ruler. If he is a type of one that is ruled, he is a man who will probably live his life committing petty crimes and offenses. He will:

“steal, break into houses, snatch purses, steal
clothes, rob temples, and sell people into slavery¼”(575c)
In this type of man’s private life, he is one:
“who associates primarily with flatterers who are ready to obey him in everything. Or if he himself happens to need anything¼ isn’t he willing to fawn on them and make every gesture of friend-ship, as if he were dealing with his own family.”(576a)
So someone of a tyrannical nature is always: “a master to one manor a slave to another and never gets a taste of either freedom or true friendship.”(576...