Athens
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Philosophy essay
The state of Athens during 427 Ð- 347 B.C. was loosely governed under the principle of democracy, allowing the individual (excluding women and slaves) freedom of choice and a right to be part of the political process. Plato, an Athenian philosopher, observed this scene as detrimental, claiming that people governed by democracy are free to indulge their appetitive nature, therefore rendering their souls impure. The Noble Lie was a product of Plato whom believed that each man must accept his place and status in a harmonious order, so as to render themselves Ðmore inclined to care for the state and one another (reference.) The idea of the lie however lacks the principles of Platos arguments for a state controlled by rationality, suggesting instead that not only were additional principles necessary, but that the ideas behind one grand unreasoned myth could prove beneficial. There may be modern parallels to the noble lie that have successfully come about, but it is evident that Platos lie is and will remain an inapplicable concept.
Upon introducing his ÐPhoenician Tale (reference.), Plato is unsure whether or not its suggestion has merit, as the lie is blatantly unachievable. Acknowledging to himself that the lie has credible ideals, he proceeds to tell the story of men who were not born conventionally, but were rather moulded below the earth as god instilled in them either gold, silver or iron/brass. The earth then delivered the men as if it were their mother. On occasions, a golden father may beget a brass son, or visa versa, in which case no pity or envy shall be administered, and the son will be assigned a position to which he is suited. This situation would supposedly instil in the men a desire to defend their mother and protect their brotherhood through an understanding of their own similar origins, as well as a satisfying recognition of their own potentialities, denying them the justification to express envy or competitive behaviour towards their fellow man. The basis of the noble lie is honourable, but the application is somewhat misguided. In such a state, whereby unquestionable social routine eliminates problems and the need for decision-making, rational judgement, or the need for judgement alone, would play no part. If problems were to arise, Plato would surely attribute them to Ðuntamed appetites, and not to his governing system.
The basis for the platonic argument that reason should rule all aspects of life derives from Platos belief that only those individuals whom have within their soul the Ðthree kinds, whereupon the reason, aided by the high spirit will rule over the appetitive, will have their souls in harmony, and should therefore be rulers of the state (reference). Plato Ðproves this scenario to be analogous to that of the state whereby three kinds also exist Ð- the rulers, the military and the proletariat, thereby concluding that the rulers, commanded by reason, will utilise that reason to build a rational state. This idea itself has fundamental flaws, and with consideration of the noble lie, it is evident that to enforce this reason-based theory, what is most needed is a universal Athenian acceptance that those whom entail reason should and must form the ruling class. It is also evident that on the one hand, Plato is seemingly suggesting that those men whom can achieve a harmonious soul through rejection of the bodily appetites may become rulers, whereas the noble lie describes the process of attaining leadership as one purely instilled at birth. Although the position of ruler is Ðopen to all who can qualify regardless of their parentage (reference), this contradiction between Platos ideas of who should constitute the ruling class weakens both arguments.
For Plato, Sparta was a prime example of his ideals put into effective practise. Its inhabitants were divided into Helots, who performed agricultural work, Perioeci, who were mainly tradesmen and merchants, and Spartiatai, the governing class of rulers and soldiers