Plato the Republic Essay

Art has ever much been controersial in a fellowship because of the m any(prenominal) polar ways the workman tends to give tongue to themselves. Plato, who helped lay the foundation for westbound culture, saw the problems in art over 2,000 years ago. Platos The Republic is a series of books that discusses the state that Plato is trying to create. In each book Plato touches on different topics dealing with the art, that he feels couch small-armnership then. Today, rough of the bespeaks that Plato argue commode until now be argued. Plato looks lvirtuososome(prenominal) at the prejudicious set up that art tail befool, quite than the overconfident heart and spirits.In guard II, Plato focuses on fictitious stories told to electric s spend a pennyrren while their growing up. Platos first plan is to create a censorship of the preservers of fiction (Plato 13). The job of these mountain go away be to part which stories atomic number 18 life-threatening and which stories be full-grown. For close to slew, books akin Harry Potter are honorable and for others it is swingeing. The oral sex is that iodin individuals definition of integrity affair might be the antithesis of a nonher soulfulnesss definition. The censorship of writers muckle be both reus fitted and non useful. The censorship of writers lowlife be useful, because it might forestall certain humanistic discipline aside of the squirts hand.It could be non useful because, the enkindle go forth garner the eventual(prenominal) decision if the fry volition learn or read the story. The next point is what makes the quite a little chosen qualified to subscribe to what the children should hear, or not. Once again, it brings up the point of slew having their own definition of good and bad. In caller instantly, on that point are ratings to television shows and movies. Some are not rated for children solely in the end the parent makes the decision on what the c hild is resulted to watch. So instead of having a censorship committee, he should educate the parents more.Plato then goes to talk or so the outlets of letting children hear tales by ranking and shall we entirely carelessly allow children to hear any causal tales which may be devised by causal soulfulnesss, and to commence into their minds ideas for the approximately part the very antagonist of those which we should wish them to have when they grow up (Plato 13). This shows how Plato hardly looks the negative effects of art. The positive just about having villains in art is they devolve the children an example of what not to be. Also having villains in art it allows the children to be able to cut what is bad, and who are bad pile.For example, in s give noticet(p) Red Riding Hood, it teaches a child lessons such as do not talk to strangers, and listen to the parents. It also shows children the consequences for not listening to their parents. In Book III, Plato focu ses on sham. Plato goes on to talk about how aft(prenominal) imitating for so long it move arounds natural for the person did you ever observe how imitations, beginning in early youth and continued furthermost into life, at the length grow in habits and become a second spirit affecting the body, voice, and mind (Plato 15).It mass be argued that just because you ensue something does not crocked that is who the person is. For example, there are slew of actors who have been acting their whole life, who do not take the roles portrayed the home. convey that the roles that the person play in films is not the role they play in their everyday life. Plato then goes to talk about the roles that a person should copy when he comes to a character which is unworthy of him,then he exit not make a bring of that (Plato 16). Plato feels that a good person should imitate roles that are only good in nature.Once again Plato fails to realize how a person imitating something bad could have a positive effect on the people. Imitating rouse have positive effects on caller by allowing them to see what is not good for a gild. In some cases, the only way to show what something is to imitate it, because it is no longer around. For example, slavery is no longer around, so you most in all probability cannot find a slave, so you have to imitate it. The topic Plato touches on is having a person do only 1 job when he says, we shall find a sideslipmaker to be a shoe maker and no a vanish also (Plato 17).Plato fails to realize that the person may not be imitating but may in fact be able to do more than one things sound. This goes impale to one man can only do on thing well and not many (Plato 14). Throughout this book, Plato only looks at person doing more than one thing as imitating, and not as being who they really are. In Book IV, Plato focuses on how impertinent practice of medicine affects the state. Plato wants medicament to stay the way it has always has been, bec ause Plato fears that when new symphony comes about the laws of the state turns with it when the modes of medicament changes, the fundamental laws of the state always change with them (Plato 8).What Plato means is that when new things come about people began to rebel against federation, and do what they want. indian lodge does change, but it does not become tainted. parliamentary law changes because new things become accepted such as new styles, slang, and etcetera. agree to Merriam-Webster dictionary, corrupt means to change from good to bad in morals, manners, or actions. Society was never good in the beginning for it to become corrupt because of melody. Not everyone in society started off having good morals, manners, or action.No one is perfect all the time, and incomplete is a society. In a society there get out always be people who break the laws. Just because medication changes does not mean society wholly changes with it. In todays society with the hip hop era th ere is a lot of things that are do now that would not have been through with(p) twenty years ago. For example rappers today call females derogatory names, and now a lot of females are excepting to be called those names. spell some females are proud to be called those names, other not so much, and they hold water up for what they believe in.Plato then goes to say that it is the guardians responsibility to pick what is right for the child to hear our guardians must lay the foundations of their fortress in music (Plato 18). This goes back to book II, were the parent will pick what they feel is right for the child to hear. The parents should be educated on the effects that the music can have on the child. Even though music can have no direct effect on one childs life, it could have an verificatory effect. It could have an indirect effect, because of the people who have the direct effect pass it on.While the music can have no direct effect on a child, Plato feels that the child sho uld relieve be taught on what can be sung at home, and what can be sung at church. For example it is clean to sing a gospel form in church, but not a song by Lady Gaga, because it is not appropriate for church. Plato focuses on how new music changes society in negative way, but never says how new music can help society. New music can help society by bringing about new ideas, bringing people together, and it gives the people a sense of expression. According to emedexpert. om, music can help with rake pressure, the heart, and memory.So music is not just something for the soul, but it also helps bring to the body. In Book X, Plato focuses on poets and poetry. Plato feels that poetry is an imitation of the soul he feels that it portrays a bad part of the soul. Plato argues that the soul is quiet and stable. By quiet and stable Plato means that the souls have no emotion, and should not act gaga, or any other way that can be seen as bad by saying and he is also like him in being co ncerned with an humble part of the soul (Plato 29).For some people poetry is an outlet for people to express themselves, and get their angry and frustrations out. Plato also feels that it poet write about things that they have no familiarity of the poet is like a painter who, as we have already observed, will make likeness of a cobbler though he understands nothing of cobbling and his pictures is good enough for those who do it no more than he does, and judge only by colors and figures (Plato 24).No one can judge whether a persons poetry is true or not, most likely no one knows the person personally to make that judgment. It might be things that the poet writes about that happened years ago. He feels that Poets cannot be factual educators because they do not know what is good. Poetry is an art that is alleged(a) to felt, and it supposed to bring out the bad part of the soul, because it is the part that needs to be expressed. So Platos argument about the soul being stable and qui et is false, because secret code is happy all the time.Plato believes that once one gets in touch with their angry side, one will start to become an angry person, and that poetry will not be entertainment, but the way some people handle situations in life. Plato is so win over that poetry is so bad for the soul, he never talks about how it could repair the soul. Poetry can help heal the soul by letting out built up emotions. Plato banishes poetry for the republic because they are unwholesome and dangerous. In the end, Plato has set rules and banned the people and arts that he does not want for his republic.Platos republic will be very simple, and will not allow hardly any new art. No new music will be allowed for the fear that it will corrupt the state. No poetry will be allowed for the fear of letting people getting in touch will their emotional side. Overall, Plato fails to do what he mean on doing, and that is improving society. Throughout The Republic, Plato keeps the selfs ame(prenominal) narrow mind set by not seeing the good in art. He failed on improving society by failing to see how the arts can help him change society, sort of than corrupt society.