Plato Search for The Good Life

Plato’s the ancient classical Greek philosopher, whose ideas are still taught and debated over today, has much to say about the good life and how to obtain it in his eyes. In the Republic, Plato’s best-known work, he lists the four virtues of human life through his dialect as being wisdom, self-discipline, courage, and Justice, saying they reflect the nature of the soul. These virtues bring one closer to an ideal soul.

An ideal is something that is perfect, we want ideas, and we seak it without even realizing it. They are goals that do not exist in the real world but something all humans strive for, they motivate us and keep us going. All these virtues work hand in hand in building a just soul. Plato believes that his broad explanation of justice is the key to a good life. Plato believes that the good life is obtained by living a life based on justice. As we think of Justice we think of a political statement, but Plato’s idea is differnt. He bases it as motivation to achieve greatness.

We have rules in society because justice stems from the idea that there is a greater evil that humans need to be protected from, that is weakness and vulnerability. With that, there are just guidelines to our lives in order to keep away from the injustice. In book two Plato and Socrates introduce the idea of specialization, The result, then, is that more plentiful and better-quality goods are more easily produced if each person does one thing for which he is naturally suited, does it at the right time, and is released from having to do any of the others.

Plato and Socrates explain the importance of specialization within society and how it creates a just community. An individual must become a master of his own self, meaning his specialty in life, which is one’s own passion and to be the best. In this case, one must do all that they can within there specialty and stick to it. They should not care about what others are doing because what they are good at is what they personally were meant to be. To be happy in one’s own perfection is the goal. With doing this one will be able to have the courage to share these talents with the community in order to create a stable just community.

Plato explains how everything has consequences in life there for there must be boundaries like this one. When people try and be someone they are no it strains them from their own greatness causing chaos and does an injustice on one’s soul. Therefore it could not be worthwhile to be in just, it pays to follow the rules of society to be just. Plato writes dielectic so we as humans learn from his knowledge. Socrates and Plato have an understanding that the form of good is obtaining ultimate knowledge, but an individual being intelligent alone without sharing the wisdom to the society is unjust.

The good of a community is created by the sharing of the wealth of knowledge. It is the utmost important characteristic one can provide in creating a just soul. This creates loyalty and the honor to do well by the city and to fulfill the community of its needs. These individuals who share their talents are being trained as auxiliaries or the guardians of the people. In book 4 Sacrotes says, “ The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life”. When an individual shares one’s knowledge they will be rewarded.

Socrates and Plato believed that as we engage in a convo or debate with someone who disagrees with banter back forth we will make progress and gain knowledge closer to an agreement of both ends. The reward is reaching a greater degree of enlightenment and knowledge. By conversing w someone who has the same ideas we won’t learn anything, and we don’t gain something from it. We don’t live in a just world but we live in a more just world than our ancestors.

This tells us that we as a human race make progress by talking and learning from history and each other, which makes sharing the knowledge within a community so important. Humans constantly strive to a perfect ideal and we accomplish this justice and virtue by sharing and enlightening each other with the knowledge to become better individuals and as a whole. In conclusion, Plato’s view on the good life is living adjust striven life for himself. In order to obtain these virtues last strengthen their self-discipline courage and wisdom to promote and create the conditions that make Living Well Community creating the idealistic soul. Plato believes by fulfilling these virtues and aiming for ideals one will live The Good Life.

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