Introduction to Philosophy

Achieve Test Prep: Philosophy

to an unjust society, and because society and its citizens have a close, reciprocal relationship with one another, such a wicked behavior would also threaten the happiness of its citizens.

For many people in the modern era who committed to egalitarian values which is characterized by a belief that all people are intrinsically equal, and democratic principles in which all people should have an equal voice in governing, may see Plato’s ideas as offensive, but it is important to remember that Plato’s hierarchy based on wisdom and enlightenment, at least for the ruling leaders. Plato believed that all people should strive to achieve a rationally based understanding of the essence of truth and goodness. The people who are best equipped to rule are those who have earned the right through the development of their rational intellects. In principle, this system of intellectual merit would not exclude anyone based on gender, race, or social class: The sole criterion would be one’s developed wisdom. Plato was clear in his belief that women were as qualified as men to be rulers and ought to share the same education as men to prepare them. Plato believed that for individuals to lead virtuous lives and attain happiness, they needed to conform to their intrinsic natures and fulfill their unique potentials and goals that could be achieved only within the context of a just, rationally ordered state. The natural order is for people of wisdom to lead society, people of courage to protect its interests, and people of temperance to provide the basic nurturing needs of the community. Plato’s ideal society is based on the concept of cooperation, a state in which all people fulfill their distinctive functions, fully committed to the general interests of society as a whole. Aristotle: Society is the Natural State of Humanity Aristotle believed that man is a political creature by nature and that existing in social communities in our natural state and that we can exist as fully formed individuals only through our social relationships with others. Our self-identity is at its core a social identity, shaped by the network of people who form our social community, and within which we are embedded. Aristotle’s work titled Politics is where he discusses that humans are naturally social creatures and political animals in the same way that many other species instinctively herds and packs, but humans have the ability to transcend those of other animals. Our ability to use language enables us to think and communicate in complex, symbolic, and abstract ways. All of these thinking and language abilities enable humans to reflect on their social communities and evaluate them in terms of concepts such as just and unjust meaning good and evil. For Aristotle, the fact that the state is prior to the individual means that humans can achieve their full potential only through their social existence. Aristotle believed that any individual who can exist independently of human community must either be a beast or a God. For humans to achieve their potential, they must work cooperatively with others to achieve virtue for themselves and for their community. Aristotle believes that different people have different potentials to fulfill however, he felt that slaves were fulfilling their distinct duty which many people today would find offensive and he does not accord women a status comparable to free men. Aristotle articulated the concept of distributive justice endorsing the notion that wealth and goods should be fairly distributed among the members of society. Aristotle also recognized that the poor and disadvantaged members of society required special

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