Plato: Moral Priest of Athens

Abstract

There are few men in history who have more perturbed the minds of mankind than Plato; fewer still have had more influence on the thinkers and philosophers, idealists and realists, musicians and amateurs. His works deal with all such themes, they try to discern the nature of soul and the beauty of the cosmos, the meaning of justice and the reason to be good. Plato towered above his age as Voltaire had done in the eighteenth century, Tolstoy in the nineteenth, and Russell in the twentieth. His masterpiece, The Republic, is considered to be one of the greatest pieces of literature and philosophy ever composed. On the whole, this paper would agree with the statement that Plato was more of a social critic and The Republic is a fiercely moral book, which conveys a pitiless assessment of democracy. It will, however, contend that he did not set out to create a utopian society; instead, it will conclude with an argument that his ideas paved a way for a sort of kallipolis where few, if any, would like to live.