Plato

2 Pages 399 Words

Class Divisions in Plato’s Ideal State
In his search for justice in The Republic, Plato describes three separate class divisions in the ideal state. The philosophers who possess knowledge, the warriors who possess courage, and the common man who lives to fulfill their wants make up the Plato’s class hierarchy and form the basis for Plato’s efficient city.
The three virtues that Plato describes are wisdom, courage, and moderation. Wisdom or “the love of knowledge” describes the rulers of the city. Since philosophers innately possess this love of knowledge, Plato believes the philosophers should be the ruling class. The other “guardians” that Plato describes possess courage achieved through an unconquerable spirit. Plato states that, “a man that is devoid of…spirit cannot possibly make a good guardian.” This constitutes a second class of warriors in Plato’s ideal state. The third class or the “common man” lives only to fulfill his desires. The virtue he’s in search of is moderation and he is in need of this because unlimited desire is evil in Plato’s ideal state.
Philosophers are the only ones that possess the knowledge necessary to be the rulers of the ideal state. Philosophers possess this so-called “love of knowledge” that makes them the best of the guardian class. The common man is not qualified to be in the ruling class because he is concerned only with satisfying his own desires thus incapable of fulfilling the citizens’ needs and serving the general welfare of the state. They are in need of moderation and this occurs only when desires are controlled by the rulers.
The problem with this scenario lies in the fact that this is not the way the world works which can be verified through empirical evidence. These characteristics cannot be separated into three different classes; all three characteristics exist in each man. In Plato’s ideal state the ruling class is required to give up thei...