Plato: Philosophy and Plato Essays

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Rhianna Ragsdale
9/17/13
English 102 Plato, was an aristocratic philosopher who was educated under the wing of the ever engaging Socrates. Today, his beliefs and writings litter the ideals of a vast number of governments and his writings fill libraries. Plato’s views were unlike earlier approaches in that they were not driven by wars or other external threats. His focus was on morality and politics. In describing the political status quo, Plato's fundamental premise was that it is human nature to be self-interested. Citizens can be divided into those who are strong and those who are weak. Leaders are the people who possess strength, cunning, and the ability to cultivate a believable facade that they are looking out for the interests of others. The public is forced into trusting the leader and believing that the leader is looking out for them, but ultimately the leader is only looking out for him. Plato’s ideal leader is one who is able to rise above these tendencies and act for the whole an example of this in the allegory of the cave where Socrates describes why the philosophers should be in control of the city. It says that if a group of people were only allowed to see shadows for their entire life that they will believe that the shadows are the real world. If one of the people are led up, out of the cave and allowed to see the world as it truly is they will have to choose between two assumptions. While Plato tended to see leadership

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