Blueprints for Cities

Paper Summary:

Plato's "Republic" consists mainly of an argument defining and defending what Socrates saw as the ideal city, which serves as a metaphor for the ideal arrangement of the soul. This paper discusses how there has been some critical argument as to whether this city should be actually be taken seriously as a blueprint for society, or whether it is not designed to be a true city but only as a metaphor for culture.

From the Paper:

"The city which Socrates describes is given with the specific purpose of showing the face of justice in a state, so that the face of justice in the individual case may be evident. Therefore, if the city is not just, the state of soul which one extrapolates from it will not be just. Within the context of the dialog, the imagined city does not function as a blueprint for a real city or for individual morality, but must be functional rather as both a blueprint for a city and an example for individual morality. This is not an either/or situation, but one in which the appropriate approach requires both/and. Thus, we must look at the dialog as displaying both political and moral examples. What then is one to make of the criticisms labeled at the city, that --just as it may seem-- it is frightening and inhuman?"

More papers on Blueprints for Cities:

• Analytical Essay # 141162 : "Plato's "City Of Words"
• Comparison Essay # 5259 : "The Port Cities of New York City & Dublin"
• Analytical Essay # 16227 : "Poetry of Lawrence Ferlinghetti"

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