Knowledge of Good in Platos The Republic Essay -- Philosophy Religio

An Intellectual Knowledge of Good in Platos republic Socrates might be a wise philosopher but maven of his ideas strikes me as particularly naive. In the allegory of the cave, he tells Glaucon that in the world of friendship the idea of good appears last of all, and is seen only with an effort and that this is the power upon which he the intellectual would act rationally (517b-c). In other words, he seems to be implying that association of goodness is a ample condition for being good. A person who has seen what goodness is leave behind henceforth act in a focus that is good. Is this belief scantilyified? For instance, we sometimes do things that we know are non good but we do them nonetheless and feel guilty after(prenominal) that. If, as such cases imply, knowledge of goodness is not a enough condition for being good, then Platos dream of a utopia ruled by philosopher-kings could well be a nightmare. The philosophers who are supposed to have succeed the idea of good ( and are thus privileged to hold the citizens unneurotic by persuasion and necessity 519e) might turn out to be dictators. What is this idea of good which Socrates is talking about? According to him, it is the universal causation of all things beautiful and right and the source of reason and truth in the intellectual (517c). But it does not make any sense to me that a mere idea alone can produce great achievements with attributes interchangeable beauty, justice, reason and truth. Could it be that my interpretation of Socrates idea of good as a mere idea is mistaken? Perhaps what Socrates means is more than just an intellectual idea of good. Perhaps what he means when he says that one sees the idea of good is that one experiences goodness itself directly. In that case, se... ... he truly has no solid try to back him up. If in that location is no evidence to show that the capacity for goodness is innate in human beings and that nation who have seen what goodness is will want to be good, then at that place is also no justification for the belief that attaining the idea of good is sufficient for being good.Basically, Platos vision of utopia lies on the fundamental premise that the philosopher who has seen the light will either in public or private life guarantee his eye on this light (517c). In other words, he believes that the philosopher who has bring home the bacon the idea of good will necessarily become good. But there is no justification for such a belief (at least not in the allegory) and hence, his idea is not obviously sound.Work CitedPlato. Republic. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. 8 Jan. 2001. .