Platos Myth of Er free essay sample

Fizza Raza Intro to Political Theory September 22, 2011 The purpose of the Myth of Er is to emphasize one of the points that Plato has been making throughout this whole book, that philosophy, or the quest for knowledge is essential in order to have a successful existence, either as a person or a group of people. One cannot work towards something until and unless he knows what that thing is and how to get there. It is only possible to study philosophy up to the point where one fully understands the Form of the Good, which is the ultimate form. Because of there being a limit to how much knowledge one can gain, it is not ridiculous to assume that one is able to reach that level of knowledge. Even though it’s almost impossible to perceive that there is an ultimate form of good, it is not unattainable because everything in existence is striving towards that. We will write a custom essay sample on Platos Myth of Er or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The catalyst that moves a soul to that goal is what philosophy is. Philosophy is the pathway to get to the ultimate kind of life: an untroubled and satisfying existence. This myth is meant for humankind in general. Humans have a tendency to act on self-destructive behavior such as succumbing to their wrongful pleasures (Plato 303). The wrongful pleasures are those that destroy a man’s character and make his soul unjust such as greed, gluttony, etc. In the group of people, or a city, the same characteristics are found so the same means- philosophy- must be used to exorcise those faults. The reason that any man would go towards these evils is because he is not aware of the harm that they are capable of causing, or what the consequences of these actions will do to his soul. Philosophy, therefore, is supposed to be the bridge between the physical world, and the realm of true knowledge. Without contemplation there is no way to achieve true knowledge about anything. The study of philosophy goes beyond the superficial elements of everything and therefore forces the student to see more than just what seems to be visible. The student has to realize that for the most part appearances and reality are completely different from each other (Plato 39). This pushes one to investigate further beyond what is clearly visible and what is not and how to differentiate between the two, thus finding the idea nearest to the truth. In politics the primary concern of politicians should be the well being of the citizens they have rule over, therefore this myth has everything to do with politics. The well being of any citizen cannot be achieved unless there is justice in the political system, and just as with everything else, true justice cannot be accomplished without the knowledge of what the just is. This knowledge is impossible to gain without philosophy. The leaders of a political system must be the most educated and informed of what true justice is because the system is flawed; all sections down to the citizens will also have the same flaws. This does not mean that there be a perfect and just system of governing because that would be unrealistic and lead to acts considered inhumane, such as tearing apart families or getting rid of everyone that is not up to the standards of the city. Justice is basically being able to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong, and if it so happens that the leaders of a particular regime cannot adequately do so then it is dangerous for them to rule over anyone, for the sake of all parties involved. This will not guarantee a perfect life, but definitely one that is less troubled than the rest (Plato 303). It is against human nature to choose such a life because there are no outstanding and obvious worldly rewards that come as a result of it; humans choose to rather live a life filled with fake promises and illusions of beautiful temporary things that will hurt their afterlife if their soul is in fact immortal. By minding one’s own business there is less stress and worrying involved in this life, and heavenly rewards in the next. This includes not causing harm to others as a result of jealousy, anger, fear, or any other emotion. Minding one’s own business leads to the most just life because by doing so you are able to investigate the ultimate form of your soul, which will inevitably lead to gaining knowledge about other things and in doing what is right in general. It wouldn’t be sensible if the ultimate form of a soul was unjust or wrong, so because someone strives for this form they are able to be more just than the rest. Although Plato demands that the perfect city do many ridiculous unrealistic things in order to make his point, his assertion about the philosopher being the leader of the city was very reasonable and would be beneficial to any situation. Just as this would apply to the city, giving power to the most knowledgeable and truthful of men, it would also apply to each individual in that it would be beneficial for the part of his existence that is the philosophizing part to rule above all the others. The Myth of Er is a noble lie because it fulfills the purpose of this kind of a lie which is to promote the well being of those who hear it, rather than causing them any harm. What is good or bad is not black and white, there is a lot of grey area where certain circumstances can change what was previously thought to be cruel and wrong to be good and necessary. Although a lie is considered to be a bad thing, this kind of lie is beneficial because the effects of it will ultimately benefit the people (Plato 93). In this myth there is a lesson to be learnt for everyone who hears it. It is told to promote the general well being of the population, pointing out what needs to be avoided and also what needs to be striven towards.