Plato: the Statesman and the Laws

Plato: theStatesmanand theLaws Adaney Escobedo María Fernanda Vélez

glosary BARMEDICE FEAST: A feast where there is nothing to eat; any illusion HINTS: Indirect ideas. BALLOT: A ballot is a device (originally a small ball—see blackball) used to record choices made by voters

INTRODUCTION • Plato´s political philosophy can be found in his works “Republic”, “Statesman” and in “Laws”. • Statesman and Laws were written years after the Republic. The former two contain a marked contrast with the latter, and together they present the final results of Plato´s reflection upon the problems of the city-state.

THE READMISSION OF LAW • In the Republic, Plato yielded a theory in which everything was subordinated to the ideal of the philosopher-king. This theory excluded law altogether from the ideal state. • This ran contrary to the deepest conviction of the Greeks about the moral value of freedom under the law and of the participation by the citizens in self-government

The Laws was written in an attempt to restore law to the place which it occupied in the moral estimation of the Greeks. • The fundamental difference between these two works is the core of the ideal state: by specially chosen and trained men in the first; and by a government in which law is supreme in the second one.

THE GOLDEN CORD OF THE LAW In the Statesman, Plato includes a classification of states more elaborate than in the Republic

Classification of States in the Republic Classification of States in the Stateman

“ […]these inward affections of ours, like sinews or cords, drag us along and, being opposed to each other, pull one against the other to opposite actions; and herein lies the dividing line between goodness and badness. For […] there ir one of these pulling forces which every man should always follow and nohow leave hold of, counteracting thereby the pull of the other sinews: it is the leading string, golden and holy, of `calculation´, entitled the public law of the State and whereas the other cords are hard and steely and of every possible shape and semblance, this one is flexible and uniform, since ìt is of gold […] “

THE MIXED STATE • Plato “discovered” theprinciple of `mixedstate´, whichisdesignedtoachieveharmonyby a balance of forces, orby a combination of diverseprinciples of differenttendency in a waythattheyshall offset eachother. Stabilityis a resultant of oppositepoliticalstrains. • In theLaws, themixedstateisthecombination of themonarchicprinciple of wisdomwiththedemocraticprinciple of freedom.

Social and Political Institutions -The most significant institutions in the Plato`s view is the ownership and use of property, and the education in the first place, equal education for women and sharing in military and other civic duties.-In the Laws, communism is the ideal arragement but too good for human nature. -Property in land is therefore equalized, the cultivation of the land is to be done by slaves, or possibly a more descriptive word would be serfs, who pay a rental in the form of a share of the produce. -Plato would prohibit to any citizen the ownership of personal property in excess of four times the value of a lot of land, to esclude differences between rich and poor The state is to have only a token-currency, the citizen`s “ownership” of his property is made by every restriction that Plato can think of strictly a Barmecide feast.

-There was a division of labor in the Laws, but in the Republic where: agriculture is set down as the special function of the slaves, trade and industry of a class of freemen who are not citizens, but the problem was of participation like Pericles mentioned at the Funeral Oration, that mass of men can attend to private affairs and find the way to have a hand too in public business. -Plato stated that the citizenship was for privileged persons and the job of earning a living to slaves and foreigners, and he prefers the kind of privilege of security rather than wealth.

MAIN KINDS OF INSTITUTIONS: Town-meeting, council, and magistrates. In the mixed constitution the magistrates “guardians of the law” are by election. It`s a group of 37 chosen bya threefod election, nomination a ballow where 300 are selected, a second ballot where a 100 are selected from the 300 and a final ballot where 37 are selected. At this electoral machiney the council of 360 is chosen. -the citizens are divided in four classes from the Athenian constitution by Solon. the lowest classes where composed of those whose personal property does not exceed the value of their land, the next above this amount byt not exceeding twice the value of their land. And so on.

There was a chamber of deputies to three groups each of which paid one-third of the taxes., and there was a penalty for non-voting but not apply to the lowest property classes. There was one concession to democracy: the number of persons elected is double the number of places to be filled and the final choice is made by lot. -Plato: property of classes: a combination of monarchy and democracy, and the concession to democracy was “on account of the discontent of the masses” -Aristotle: in the Laws, “it is nothing but oligarchy and democracy, leaning rather to oligarchy”he suggested the middle-class state.

Educational and Religious Institutions. Plato in the Republic: plan of education, poets, literature and art, the education of women equally with men remains an important part of the plan. Publicly regulated schools with paid teachers to provide a fully course, elementary and secondary grades. Magistrate in charge of the schools was the chief of all the magistrates. -Religion: Plato forbits any kind of private religious exercises, and rites only in public temples and by authorized priests, the religious belief is closely related to moral behavior.

-3 kinds of atheism: denial of the existence of the gods, denial that they concern themselves with human conduct, and belief that they are easily placated for a sin commited., imprisonment and death are the penalties attached to atheism. -Nocturnal Council; body composed of the en eldest of the 37 guardians, the director of education, and certain priests chosen specially for their virtue., quite outside the law and is given power to contro and have the knowledge

The Republic and the Laws. Republic: analysis of the most general principles underlying society, its nature as mutual exchange of services in which human capacity developed equally to the end of personal satisfaction and of achieving the highest tpe of social life. Knowledge was conceived upon the analogy of the exact, deductive procedure of mathematics, and the relation between rulers and subjects as the learned and the ingnorant, eliminating law form the state. Laws: suggested the principle of balance, of a mutual adjustment of claims and interest. Aristotle, sought to provide a consistent body of ogical principles to explain and justify the procedure which he followed.

QUESTIONS 1.- what was the Plato`s reflection about these phyloshophies? 2. In the Republic everything was subordinated to… 3. What is the fundamental difference between the two works? 4. Describe the clasification of states. 5. What was the mixed state? 6. Which are the property classes? 7. How the magistrates where elected? 8. What are the 3 kinds of atheism? 9. What is the Nocturnal Council? 10. What was the analysis of the Republic?

Plato: the Statesman and the Laws