The Dialogues of Plato Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Dialogues of Plato - Essay Example Plato has made immense contributions in the field of philosophy where he wrote about the ideas regarding knowledge, metaphysics, forms and other similar ideas. More importantly, Plato wrote about the state where he gave ideal forms of governance. Though a few of his ideas were derived from Socrates, yet he was often found being deviated from that of Socrates. Out of all the works, the most intriguing one is in the state, where he identified three classes or castes in society (Plato & Benjamin 88-89); Furthermore, he gives the idea of the philosopher king who should be the central figure governing the state, and proper training of those eligible for this office must go through a rigorous education system. Thus, his work on the state and republic is one of the most applauded efforts and is appreciated till time. The positive side of the idea is the classification which clearly identifies and divides individuals based on their inherent capabilities. This ideal is pragmatic to date since it is now an accepted notion that individuals must be assigned careers according to their capabilities. This concept is clear and distinct and is thus one of the most celebrated works associated to Plato. On the negative side, his inclination towards an aristocratic state is deemed to be the most negative side to this theory. According to Plato, aristocracy is the kind of governance where a philosopher king is the central figure of the state, and thus, he is the one who must rule the republic based on reason and wisdom. Also, he further stated that the aristocracy would decline to a timocracy over time, which would further deteriorate first into an oligarchy and then to a democracy and finally to tyranny (Plato & Benjamin 66-68).