Plato’s Metaphor of the “Ship”, political philosophy assignment help

User Generated

nynwyna

Humanities

Description

i just uploaded everything so basically it's 6 pages paper, you need to choose only one topic for the 

attachment so everything is in the attachment if you don't understand anything just let me know

Unformatted Attachment Preview

V) Do you agree? Discuss with reference to Plato's arguments in the Republic as well as contemporary political leaders and states. 6) According to Plato, justice is simply “minding one's own business” (Republic, BK. IV). How is this understanding helpful in coming to terms with how one should or should not live their life? 7) Your question here. However if you choose this option, I must be informed of your question by Monday, September 30. Monday October 7. email: mredhead@fullerton.edu phone: (657) 278-7660 Mark Redhead Tues & Thurs 7:00-9:00 PM Office Hours: Monday from 5:00-7:00 My Office is located in UH 537 POSC 340 (1): Introduction to Political Philosophy Paper #1: Plato's Republic. Please answer one of the following questions. Responses should be approximately 3 to 7 type written, double spaced pages. Responses should draw primarily on the texts read in class. Papers are due Papers are Due Monday, October 7 at 7:00 PM 1) In book I of The Republic, Plato's Socrates encounters several views of justice from Cephalus, Polymarchus and Thrasymachus and, according to Plato, convincingly refute all of them. Yet has Socrates in fact done this or has Plato merely given us an unduly limited defense of all or one of these conceptions of justice. Discuss with reference to Socrates and his encounter with Cephalus, Polymarchus, or Thrasymachus. 2) For Plato democracy, as a form of government of both the city and the soul, is one step removed from tyranny. Is this a fair indictment of democracy? If not what insights, if any, can contemporary political scientists take from Plato's polemics against democracy and his valorization of kingship? 3) What insights, if any, can we take from Plato's metaphors of the Ship, the Line and the Cave? Construct an essay defending or attacking the virtues of one of these allegories. 4) What, if anything, can contemporary of a virtuous republic? state can only be realized in practice 5) According to Plato, a truly just or healthy s if "the philosophers rule as kings or those now called kings and chiefs genuinely and philosophy coincide." (Republic, BK adequately philosophize, and political power and citizens take from Plato's understanding
Purchase answer to see full attachment
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Running head: PLATO’S METAPHOR OF THE “SHIP”

Plato’s Metaphor of the “Ship”
Name
Institution

1

PLATO’S METAPHOR OF THE “SHIP”

2

Plato’s Metaphor of the “Ship”
The “Ship of State” is one of the numerous metaphors employed by Plato in his book
“The Republic.” To offer support to the various explosive claims and statements he makes in
his book, Plato endeavors to use allegories, which enable him to compare two or more things,
hence attaining enlighten. In response to Socrates’ question about the philosopher’s ability to
rule, Plato feels the need to use the images of a ship and its crewmembers to elaborate his
stance on the matter. Using the ship metaphor, Plato argues that civilians as well as
democratically elected leaders are unfit to rule and that philosophers, who are often
admonished and ridiculed, are the most deserving and skilled leaders.
One of the most important revelations of the ship metaphor is civilians are illequipped to rule. Before telling the story of the ship, Plato concludes that a majority of people
in the society lacks any real knowledge of what it considered just and true. However,
philosophers demonstrated a higher level of understanding. This is because they strive to seek
the truth and uphold it above everything else. In fact, Plato argues that philosophers are more
likely to become effective rulers because they hate falsehood, are unafraid of death, have
great minds and choose to live in harmony with other members of the society. The larger
public lacks these qualities, making them incapable of leading (Plato, 2002; Bramann, 2009).
To further support his stance, Plato goes on to employ the metaphor of the “ship” to
assert his position on the matter. To begin with, he admonishes democracy, the type of
government based on the rule of the majority. While Athens at the time was a democracy,
Plato was largely opposed to this kind of rule. He uses the ship to illustrate his displeasure.
The captain of the ship is a man who appears to possess all the preferred qualities of a leader.
According to the metaphor, he is a man that is both taller and stronger than all the other
members of the crew. However, he has problems with his sight and listening abilities. In fact,
he is found to possess little navigation skills (Plato, 2002).

PLATO’S METAPHOR OF THE “SHIP”

3

At the same time, Plato also offers important insigh...


Anonymous
Nice! Really impressed with the quality.

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Related Tags