Monday, November 3, 2008

Democracy, Democracy, where for art thou: in the words of the politician or in the hearts of the people?

Plato - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Socrates says in the Republic that people who take the sun-lit world of the senses to be good and real are living pitifully in a den of evil and ignorance. Socrates admits that few climb out of the den, or cave of ignorance, and those who do, not only have a terrible struggle to attain the heights, but when they go back down for a visit or to help other people up, they find themselves objects of scorn and ridicule."

According to this model, the principles of Athenian democracy (as it existed in his day) are rejected as only a few are fit to rule. Instead of rhetoric and persuasion, Plato says reason and wisdom should govern. As Plato puts it:

"Until philosophers rule as kings or those who are now called kings and leading men genuinely and adequately philosophise, that is, until political power and philosophy entirely coincide, while the many natures who at present pursue either one exclusively are forcibly prevented from doing so, cities will have no rest from evils,... nor, I think, will the human race." (Republic 473c-d)
Plato in his academy, drawing after a painting by Swedish painter Carl Johan Wahlbom

Plato describes these "philosopher kings" as "those who love the sight of truth" (Republic 475c) and supports the idea with the analogy of a captain and his ship or a doctor and his medicine. Sailing and health are not things that everyone is qualified to practice by nature. A large part of the Republic then addresses how the educational system should be set up to produce these philosopher kings.



Is this what happens when "reformers" come to the masses to try to help. It seems no good deed goes unpunished!!

Plato was pretty cool in that he seemed to develop most of the philosophy on which Europe and the USA was later founded upon. He felt that one should know numbers so that the military could array the troops. So that is the reason we all had to study math; I never did really know until now. But, NOW, is the ony time we really have...isn't that correct? Unless you read Michael Chricton, M.D. and his books on multi-realities.
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Wherein it concerns states and rulers, Plato has made interesting arguments. For instance he asks which is better - a bad democracy or a country reigned by a tyrant. He argues that it is better to be ruled by a bad tyrant (since then there is only one person committing bad deeds) than be a bad democracy (since here all the people are now responsible for such actions.)

According to Plato, a state which is made up of different kinds of souls, will overall decline from an aristocracy (rule by the best) to a timocracy (rule by the honorable), then to an oligarchy (rule by the few), then to a democracy (rule by the people), and finally to tyranny (rule by one person, rule by a tyrant).

Or would you rather have a "benevolent dictator" suggested by Machiavelli? Great thinkers ask a lot of questions, like Zen masters. The brilliance is not in the answer, but in the thought (think" meaning remember), or the process we go through to get the answer. "the medium is the message" Marshal McLuan.


So then is Obama smarter than all of us or is Harvard.edu an egalitarian training center for the "creative".
Mr. McCain is a smart experienced guy but is his military background a help or hinderence? We shall find out sooner then we would want.

Socrates floats the idea that Knowledge is a matter of recollection, and not of learning, observation, or study.

So, at the end of the day, Tuesday, when the election ballots have been counted, and the newscasters and the pundits are dreaming of sugar plum faries, economic bailouts and revival of regulation and a reopening of private banks...what is gained.

Only time will tell.

This is where the 411 on my Greek buddies, the inventors of democracy, citizenship and civil rule began, at least as far as we can tell.
**Note: I have interpersed my own cognition and epi-analysis here for your thought, not necessairly approval. Its not so didactic but rather heuristic in nature. This means its not really teachable, but experimental...that is how we grow and learn.

It does seem that the Neanthandrals would not change; therefore they died out, although they may have interbred with the Cromagnan people and they were a creative bunch. Read about them in National Geographic Magazine. That is anthropology and cultures. This is philosophy..a seeking of truth and knowledge.§§

Bibliography and source




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