Greek philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Greek philosophy - Essay Example Those performing exceedingly well receive ten years of mathematical education, the successful will move onto five years of training in dialectic and then a final fifteen year period of apprenticeship in managing the polis.† (Philosopher King). Plato developed the concept of â€Å"forms† which he said can be understood only by a well trained and knowledgeable person. The understanding of forms cannot be achieved through human senses and it is something beyond the normal existence of an individual which an average person will fail to understand. Plato also asserts that the mathematical knowledge is substantial for a philosopher king to know forms. It can be seen that, Plato give primary importance to education so that the philosopher is well groomed to be a king. Understanding the political climate of any state is important for its rulers. Plato gives a 15 year duration concentrating only on political concepts and ideas to make a philosopher fit to be king. Here, Polis not only includes the individuals in a state but the geographical peculiarities of the state are also taken into consideration. Plato does not support the idea of democracy as it does put the right person at the helm for making decisions in public, social or political affairs. He point out that such people will not be properly trained in knowledge and practical application of ideas. According to Plato, all individuals in a society are equal in a democratic setting which can lead to problems of great measure. Then he points out that every individual in a society cannot be equally trained to perform well with regard to matters of political concern and in a democratic setup of people with no capabilities contribute to political matters which can destabilize the peace of the society. In a democratic situation, people may select representatives who can be totally incapable of handling political