Justice in Platos Republic :: Papers Justice Plato Republic Essays

Justice in Plato's Republic Justice. What is justice? In this world where many people look out only for themselves, justice can be considered the happiness of oneself. But because selfish men do not always decide our standards in society, to find a definition, society should look at the opinions of many. Just as in the modern society to which we live, where everyone feels justice has a different meaning, the society of Plato also struggled with the same problem. In this paper, I will look into the Republic, one of the books of Plato that resides heavily on defining an answer to the meaning of Justice, and try to find an absolute definition. I will also give my opinion on what I personally think justice is. During the time Socrates and his fellow citizens spent looking for a definition, they came across many different examples. Well-known Athenians, such as Polemarchus, bring out their own definitions of what justice is, with examples like Justice is "Doing the right thing, or "Giving everyone his due." But soon after these definitions on justice were given, they were shot down by the quick wits of Socrates. Throughout the books of The Republic, I enjoyed reading the many ways that Plato picked apart the flaws in examples by others. It seems that Plato could find flaws without spending much time actually examining the definition. Friends and men of Athens had to restate and restructure their definitions time in and time out during the search for the meaning of Justice. Without the skill that Plato possessed in examining faults in definitions, one can quickly assume that a faulty definition works to be true. I did this many times while reading through different definitions. For example, the definition Polemarchus gives in section two of book one, saying that justice is giving everyone what is "appropriate" to him. To me, an example like this would fit as a definition, because without much examination, it works well for most situations. For example, if a man is good, then an appropriate return for his goodness is to be good back to him. But if a man acts in a bad or troublesome way, an equally bad punishment is needed to counter his actions. I see this fitting, but Socrates of course easily found a flaw, finding this definition useless if followed, because of there not being a person best at benefiting friends and harming enemies.

Gandhi’s Campaign Methods Essay

It’s clear that Gandhi’s campaigns of non-cooperation and attending political meetings with high ranked British officials during the early 1930s, were hugely significant as they mounted pressure on the Raj, leaving the British with no other alternative than to make concessions towards the nationalists. However, Purna Swaraj wasn’t achieved by Gandhi’s campaigns in the 1930s, due to the limitations of his methods as he was unable to cooperate and negotiate with the British. Conversely, demands for nationalism increased across India and the British began to lose any moral authority they had over the Indians. Gandhi’s methods of non-violent, civil disobedience were hugely effective in turning many Indians against British rule, increasing demands for Purna Swaraj and attacking the revenue that the British relied on to survive within India. Source 1 is a declaration written by Gandhi, a speech in which was broadcasted on Independence Day. The symbolism of broadcasting this speech across the whole of India on the 26th January 1930, shows Gandhi’s purpose of targeting the masses to enthuse them on a day of huge importance, to rise up against the ‘inhuman rule’ they’re being controlled under. ‘Inhuman rule’ emphasises how the British were keeping the Indians in subordination within no care or consideration for the wellbeing of its subjects. This is witnessed with the tax that the British put on salt. Salt is a necessity for every Indians health and survival due to living in such hot climates, so consequently, the British revenue increased as they knew every Indian had to purchase it in order to survive. However, Gandhi wanted to ‘stop the payment of taxes without violence’ and thus, publicised the boycott of salt tax with his salt march on 12th March 1930. Initially, the British disregarded it and treat it as a joke, until it caught the attention of the worlds press as a result of Gandhi connecting with the supportive masses, and drawing in tens of thousands at prayer meetings and gatherings before the actual march. This contradicts the view of Lawrence James in source 3, who believes the Indians had ‘never come close to toppling the Raj’, as source 1 makes it explicit that the increasing animosity and non-payment of taxes, generated by Gandhi, concerned the British a great deal. Gandhi directly attacked the Raj as he declared it a ‘crime’ to submit to its rule in hope he could connect with the Indians and encourage them to follow his lead. He successfully did this as a result of the Salt March. Although only 78 of his supporters followed him on the entire march, many other Indians got involved. On route of the march, many Indian officials resigned from their posts. Elsewhere, another march was organised in South India were protests in Bombay, the North West Frontier Province and 2000 non-violent demonstrators at a salt production plant in Dharasana were attacked to the ground by police. This again is evidence of the ‘inhuman rule’ Gandhi speaks about in hi s declaration, and consequently shows why the British lost a lot of moral authority over the Indians. Source 2 explicitly shows that Gandhi’s non-violent campaign methods were effective at challenging the Raj and allowing them no other option that to begin making political concessions towards the activists. It adds a lot of weight to source 1 as it shows the effectiveness of Gandhi’s campaigns in relation to the British response. Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of India at the time, recognised that ‘political dialogue’ was the only way forward from the current position in 1931, due to the increasing hostility in India that was becoming a huge threat to the Empire. Consequently the Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed on the 5th March 1931 which was an agreement between both Gandhi and Irwin. The most significant aspect of this wasn’t the agreements themselves, which saw many political prisoners released, Indian officials reassigned and future political changes to be in the interest of India, but more so the fact that Gandhi was seen as an equal to a leading British official. This in itself unleashed hope that the British would start showing respect and help the Indians advance politically. It’s clear from source 2 that Irwin showed some respect for Indians as he states that the ultimate purpose for India is not to be under ‘perpetual subordination’ in the British Empire. This too conflicts with source 3 as it suggests the British have come to the realisation that they cannot hold on and control India forever, due to the increase in non-cooperation amongst the masses as a result of Gandhi’s campaigns and in the aftermath of the second round table conference. This conference was held in Britain on 7th September 1931, which aimed to start negotiations towards Indians progression to self rule. However, it achieved nothing due to Gandhi demanding nothing less than Purna Swaraj and thus blocked any further negotiations and progress for India. In addition to this, his arrogant approach in being the only representative to speak for eve ry Indian angered many groups within the population, in particular the untouchables. Source 2 therefore shows that Gandhi’s campaigning methods were limited, and only effective to a certain extent. As this modern source was written by Tim Leadbitter, a writer for academic studies, we can trust that his view is objective. However, he does express his own opinion when stating that Irwin ‘rightly’ recognised the dangers of mass movements. This is unusual in textbooks which are used for academic purposes and could cause the reader to believe his opinion is actually fact. Nevertheless, put in context its clear that the mass movements were a threat to the Raj and so followed awaited Government of India Act of 1935. The provisions of the act were too little too late and although it provided Indians with provincial control, it achieved no advancement in central or higher administration, and the electorate was still less than 10% of the overall population. Congress did benefit hugely from the 1937 election and in effect became the leading party in India wh ich in turn caused resentment and anger from the Muslim League. By this time, Gandhi lost his campaigning momentum after his arrest in 1931 however that is not to say the small but significant successes of the 1935 Government of India Act wasn’t a result of Gandhi’s campaigning efforts. Source 3 contradicts the evidence in sources 1 and 2 and completely disregards any lack of progress being made by Gandhi and the Indian nationalists in the 1930s, with the non-violent campagns. It takes facts at face value as James takes a broad sweep over the British Empire. As a result, his account ignores the underlying pressures and Gandhi’s non-violent methods that challenged the British rule in India. James undermines Gandhi’s efforts by stating they ‘never came close’ to toppling the Raj, therefore believing that the civil disobedience and non-cooperation as a result of Gandhi’s campaigns, were too weak to put even the slightest dent in the British hold on India. However source 2 explicitly opposes this as the British Viceroy Lord Irwin recognises the need to show that the British are willing to help India progress politically, to prevent further unrest and mass movements witnessed after the Salt March. The resulting 1935 Government of India Act and 1937 elections weren’t direct results of Gandhi’s campaigning, however the small changes witnessed in Indians advancing in politics and having more say at provincial level, wouldn’t have happened at all if it wasn’t for the pressure Gandhi put on the Raj. Without his non-cooperation campaigns, the British wouldn’t have felt the need to make any concessions at all towards Indians, but the fact remains that by 1939 Gandhi’s agenda of 1930 demanding Purna Swaraj hadn’t been achieved. However, James is not completely oblivious to the pressure the Raj is under, as he states they can ‘hold on’ in an unconvincing tone. It’s therefore apparent that if the Raj had to make the effort to hold on to their control, Gandhi’s campaigning efforts and mass movements are obviously causing them some concerns and mounting pressure, and so much have been effective to a certain extent . Lawrence James does actually give evidence to suggest that some Indians were actually content with British rule as he mentions the ‘backing of an army’ of ‘loyal’ sepoys, which the British utilised for general administration and control. However this alone doesn’t hold any weight when confronted with conflicting evidence from sources 1 and 2. It’s therefore undisputable that Gandhi’s non-violent campaign methods as mentioned in source 1 were hugely effective in amplifying the nationalism within India and thus rallying the masses in order to put strenuous pressure on the Raj as witnessed in source 2. It is apparent however that Gandhi became less influential after his arrest in 1931. His campaigns lost momentum and Congress became machine that followed up the progress Gandhi had made prior to the 1935 Government of India Act. Source 2 therefore bares the most weight as it makes it explicit that Gandhi’s campaigning left the British with no other option than to proceed to make concessions towards the Indians, who where now actively pushing for future self governing. The British were then obliged to relinquish some power, and accept that there would be no going back to having complete perpetual control over the Indians.

Branches of Philosophy Essay

There are five types of branches in philosophy. These branches can be categories as Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Politics, and Estetics. The first branch of philosophy is Metaphysics, also known as the study of existence. Metaphysics act as a foundation in philosophy as well as the foundation of the view of our world. Metaphysics is very important to all of us as it help us to deal with reality by explaining and interpreting the world and nature around us. As you can see, without Metaphysics in our life, we will be unable to preserve our life as well as being ambiguous toward the information and knowledge around us, if this happen, we will have difficulty to live and comprehend the world. Therefore, Metaphysics is very important in our life. There are also some key elements of a rational metaphysics, one of the most important element would be reality. From a metaphysical side of view, reality must be understood perfectly and correctly because reality can be said as absolute and consistent. It has a specific nature independent of our thoughts or feelings. Besides reality, causality also play an important role in metaphysics. This is because everything happens for a reason and also an effect. Every entity has a specific nature and act according to that specific nature. Therefore, we can define that causality is means by which changes occurs, but the changes occurs depending on a specific nature. The next branch of philosophy is Epistemology, which is also known as the study of knowledge. This branch of philosophy is used to address the question â€Å"How do I know about it† as Epistemology is the study of our method or ways to acquired knowledge. It also relates our minds to reality by concerning how are they related to each other before determine whether these relationships are valid or invalid. Epistemology also encompasses the nature and construction of concepts. All mental things such as idea and emotion are also compasses by Epistemology. We need to have Epistemology in order to identify the true and false in our daily life and also the method or ways of evaluating certain things to acquired knowledge and experience toward the world around us. Epistemology is important because we will not be able to identify right from wrong as we are unable to think properly without Epistemology. On the other hand, we will be able to achieve our goal as well as acquired more understanding toward reality if we got enough degree of Epistemology. Flaws in epistemology will make it harder to accomplish anything. One of the key elements of a proper Epistemology is our own senses. Our five senses are valid and also are the only way we can gain information about the world around us. Besides that, logic help us to maintain consistency within our knowledge. Validity is determined by objectivity while concepts are abstraction of a certain details of reality. These are all the key elements for a rational Epistemology. Ethics, also known as the study of how a person acts in his daily life, is dependent on Epistemology because it is impossible to make choices without knowledge. From a fundamental point of view, ethics is a method or way to categorized and pursue our own values. Human needs Ethics to live. This is because without ethics, the whole world will become chaotic as all our action will be aimless and random as all of us are unable to decide a course of action. Ethics will not be able to completely help us to pursue our goal if rationality is ignored. We must all have a rational ethical standard at a certain degree which we are able to identify our goal clearly in order to accomplish our most important values. Every branches of philosophy have their own key element to achieve certain level of value. For ethics, it requires a standard of value to which all goals and actions can be compared to. The ultimate standard of value is none other but the value of our own lives. If a person is able to recognize his importance not only to his physical survival, but to his well-being and happiness, that certain person can be said to have a very good and proper ethics in his life. One of the subset of ethics will be the next branches of philosophy known as Politics. Politics can be defined as the study of how men should interact in a proper society and what constitute proper in life, in other words, it is the study of Force which answer the question ‘What action are permissible’. Politics can be applied to every single person or a group of people. A society is set up by Politics as politics tell how a person should act or behave within a certain society. Politics is very important in a society and even a country itself, this is because a political system in a society or country will greatly affect the individuals within that specific area. The people within that system are allowed to function or act according to the nature of the politics that is applied there. If the system is unable to work out, it will either collapse such as the Communist Russia or it will cause rebel such as in Czarist Russia. The main goal of Politics must be the faculty of reason. This is because reason is the main means of survival for a man as ones cannot survive in an ineffective environment. In a moral political system, coercion must be banned because reason does not function under it as man cannot be forced to think about what is right or wrong. Society cannot be forced to think, but, government plays an important role here as governments can objective laws and also monopoly retaliatory force to prevent one person from doing illegal things that might harm the society. The last branch of philosophy is also known as the study of arts and the sense of life which is called Esthetics. Esthetics also studies the methods of evaluating arts and also the judgment of arts itself. This branch of philosophy depends on the previous branches of philosophy which is Metaphysics, Epistemology, and ethics. It is important to study art because art existed through all of recorded human history. Human’s unique ways of thinking and evaluating makes art unique as well. A person ability to abstract the concept of art can determined the standard of one’s life as well as satisfying his personal intellectual needs. This is why Esthetics is very important as it delves into the reason why does art existed. The main key element of a proper Esthetics is none other than a person’s value judgment of the creator. With the field of ethics, these value judgments can be evaluated as well as observed because art is a selective recreation of reality.

Romanticism v. Realism essays

Romanticism v. Realism essays Romanticism vs. Realism Artistic movements in the 19th century were direct reactions towards (or against) political and social situations during the time. Romanticism was a movement against the ideas of the Enlightenment that had been ingrained into European people since the early 1700s. The Enlightenment emphasized reason and uniform ideals in the arts. Romanticism can be seen as a direct revolt against the Enlightenment. Romantic artists constantly strived for unique and different ideas, whereas the thinkers of the Enlightenment valued uniformity. (Art Periods: Romanticism) Realism, in contrast to Romanticism, showed an objective, unemotional view of the world. The goal of Realist artists was to record an impartial view of the ideas of French society in the 19th century. The major contributor to the development of Realism was the social and political unrest in Europe in 1848. The French painters reacted to the three-day revolution in February of that year. At the end of the revolution, Louis-Philippe resigned, which led to several consecutive disorganized governments that attempted to lessen the severe unemployment problems. Realism began to depict ordinary workers and farming communities in scenes of everyday life. The paintings from this period are very true to life without any flourishes. (Rosenblum, pg.218) An exceptional example of a Romantic painting is The Hay Wain by John Constable. (Rosenblum, pg. 157-158) It is a picture that conveys the Romantic idea that nature is the embodiment of all possible feelings. (class notes) The Hay Wain won a gold medal at the Salon of 1824 and was innovative because of Constables use of a palette knife to apply paint. A major contributing factor in the genius of Constables work is that he painted his works outside, as a part of nature, rather than in a studio. (Rosenblum, pg.158) In this particular painting, as well as ...

Manifest Destinies role in the breakdown of Indian Culture essays

Manifest Destinies role in the breakdown of Indian Culture essays Native American culture in the western United States suffered greatly during the mid-1800s. Intrusions by white settlers believing in Manifest Destiny, or the obvious belief that Americans were meant to expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific, caused the Natives to be driven from their homelands. Their culture was continually broken apart by relocations and severed treaties. Many tribes refused the forced relocations to reservations. Thousands of Natives were killed during the following confrontations. Manifest Destiny played a key role in the demise of Native American culture during the 1800s. The Native Americans living in the western region of the United States had very well-developed cultures. The nearly 150,000 Native Americans living in the west were divided amongst many different nations. Most Indians followed large herds of buffalo that roamed about the plains. Indians lived in tipis, which can be compared to modern day tents. They carried these tents around with them on travois and hunted Buffalo. The buffalo was extremely important to the Indians. It could be made into food, leather and clothing. The bones were used to make tools and the sinews to make thread. Nothing was wasted in Native American living. The Native Americans were at peace with nature and they shared the land that they lived on. Their unique culture was doomed when settlers began eyeing the vast western regions. They saw the lands as a big empty space to start over on. This region was not empty; however, people had been living there for hundreds of years. Conflicts quickly arose between the settlers and the Native Americans living on the western lands. Most settlers believed in Manifest Destiny and thought little of the Indians. They believed that they were superior to the Indians and that they needed to be brought into white mens civilization. As expansion drew westward more and more Native Americans were forced...

Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Education - Research Paper Example This essay will in detail include the QAR technique and also expound on this technique as a method of a pre-reading strategy. In this essay, the strategies discussed include the QAR strategy, an excerpt strategy and a visual graphic, organization strategy. QAR Strategy Taffy Raphael was an educationist who came up with the QAR tool. QAR is an abbreviation of the words Question Answer Relationship. This is a tool used in clarification of how the students are able to read texts and also provide appropriate answers from them. This strategy relieves the learners from engaging in other tiresome background information. Therefore, it enables the learner to discover what they are reading and its structure. This article is based on a content area reading field at large. According to this methodology, questions are presented to ensure that the learner can be able to give the correct responses of the questions. In addition, the QAR strategy presented below is linked with the book in discussion. QAR #1: Give a brief history concerning the foundation of the context area reading? QAR #2: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages that are involved in the content area reading process? QAR #3: Describe the content area reading field in regard to the book? QAR #4: Go through a brief significance of the content area reading field? Also, explain the main factors that are related to the QAR strategy? QAR #5: Is the CAR movement of any help to the general public? QAR #6: What is entailed in the content area reading sector? The questions presented above can help the learner cover an extensive field of study. This entails the learner’s research on the questions given and possibly coming up with the required results. For instance, if a learner is serious enough, he/ she can scan through the questions and try to come up with the correct responses to aid in his knowledge. 505 page excerpt for reading strategy Chapter 1, Section 1 Foundations of content area reading Questions are th e answers The field of context reading has significantly grown basing on its response from teaches in the middle section and secondary school. This concept was inaugurated in the 1930s. From a current perspective, this concept enables students to read the content areas and come up with skills from expert information. When instructors face a class, they open a book and elaborate in order to explain and clarify conceived questions. However, most students do not recognize the nature of the questions developed. Much of the content entailed comprises of well developed content that responds to pivotal questions. In reality, most of the questions are from the instructors who have recently launched a field known as content area reading (CAR). Firstly, those going through the text should take a significant approach to the CAR field. Secondly, after the learner fully understands the pivotal questions, then it is easier for them to come up with their own possible solutions. Finally, making new areas of study is undoubtedly vital to any student. This is the overall basis for a long and improved long-term memory, application of new knowledge in other forms of learning processes and sound concept formation (Anthony, Manzo & Matthew, 2009). In general, the CAR movement has enormously improved the school improvement. This shows that their aim of enabling students to read environment is quite a success. Lastly, the content area reading book is of significant representation to each and every learner. Graphical organization

Consumer Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Consumer Analysis - Term Paper Example Research indicates that young consumers strongly believe in fashion consumption as a tool by which to improve their social status and social relevancy. To identify whether this was true, a primary study was constructed that surveyed 14 youth consumers to determine whether they believed the Gap should or could provide for these needs. Findings indicated that conspicuous consumption is not a primary concern for younger markets, leading to formulate a set of recommendations that The Gap should focus more on product in the marketing mix and select certain lifestyle-relevant celebrities to gain more interest from youth consumers. The Problem of Rival Promotions in the Apparel Industry: Gap Inc. 1.0 Background Gap Inc., based in San Francisco, was founded in 1969 as a small retail store selling record albums and blue jeans. By 1970, the Gap had achieved $2 million in revenues allowing the company to expand to 25 different stores by 1973. It was not until 1974, however, that the Gap began o ffering consumers private-label apparel and accessories, a tradition that has positioned the business as a stand-alone innovator able to maintain strong sales volumes without reliance on various established apparel brands. 1.1 The Marketing Strategy Problem Gap Inc. has diversified its merchandise offerings from its original foundations of providing blue jeans and record albums to a variety of merchandise that maintains mass market appeal. Gap not only provides apparel and accessory merchandise in the United States, but in Europe as well, competing with major clothing retailers Zara (the fast-fashion company owned by Inditex) and H&M, two retailers offering clothing that is generally targeted to the younger, trend-centric consumer markets. It is the European market that provides the majority of sales revenues to this business that is in a growth stage in Europe and in decline in the United States. The main problem with Gap Inc. is the firm’s lack of focus on creating effectiv e promotional strategies in order to position the business properly with its desired target markets. When sales began to decline significantly in 2007, Gap executives attempted to modify its long-standing logo to make it fresher and more contemporary to a changing consumer audience. (See Figure 1). However, the business received such a significant outpouring of consumer discontent about the modified logo that the business scrapped its 2010 modification to return to its iconic blue box logo (Fredrix, 2010). In fact, the Chief Executive who authorized the change swiftly resigned from the company allegedly due to the failed repositioning effort (Wahba & Sage, 2011). Gap learned a significant lesson that its legitimate marketing problem was not associated with its corporate image, as consumers had built attachments and loyalties to the blue box logo. The problem was inefficient promotional strategy that could not outperform rival companies in the U.S. and Europe. From the consumer persp ective, repurchase intentions are based on stereotypes and physical appearances when interpreting marketing communications from a retailer (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2010). Internally, Gap had determined that it would need to seek out new markets in order to boost profitability, but did not take into consideration the cognition patterns of dedicated customers that already