Blog 6

1. Pick one of the quotes from Socrates ("The Words of Socrates") and agree or disagree: question Socrates!

"Wisdom begins with wonder." ~Socrates

I agree with Socrates's quote. Wisdom isn't just there at the start; you have to achieve it, which is where wondering comes in. When you come across something, you think about it. You question it and try to analyze it. Then comes the wisdom. After thinking and studying your inquiry, you gain knowledge about it.

2. Go to http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/PLATO.HTM. Read Plato's definition of the "Nature of Justice" and the "Ideal Republic." What is justice to Plato?

According to Plato, justice is what is best for the people. Thrasymachus defines justice as "whatever the strongest decide it is, and that the strong decide that whatever is in their best interest is just." But Plato dismissed his idea because he proves "that the strong rarely figure out what is in their best interest, and this can't be just since justice is a good thing." I think Plato sees justice as what is best for the people because in his ideal republic, he divides people into groups they are most suitable for.

3. What do you think of Plato's ideal republic? (What are positive elements? Negative?)?

I think Plato's ideal republic is logical, yet somewhat unfair. In Plato's ideal republic, the people are divided into groups of not very bright, strong, or brave, somewhat bright, strong, and courageous, and very intelligent, virtuous, and brave. I think it would be a good idea to have the highest level run the state (which is what Plato intended), but then you probably wouldn't hear from the common people very often, so you wouldn't hear what they have to say, they're ideas, problems, etc. The division of people into different groups based on their innate intelligence, strength, and courage is smart because it allows people to be able to do what they are best at and "be in their own element," but this also limits what people can and can't do.

4. What is your vision of an ideal state or republic?

My ideal state or republic would most likely relate to Plato's. His idea was smart because everyone in society has something to do and they're good at it. I think having the smartest people be in charge is a good idea because that group would have a lot of insight and wisdom on how to better the society, economy, etc., though I would want a system that was a little more democratic. In addition, I would want the voices of the common people to be heard, as well as the most intelligent ones.

5. The Allegory of the Cave argues that the only thing standing in the way of knowledge is our insistence that the visual universe is reality. What does this mean?

I think it means that we have a set image of things in our own minds of how we see things. We, as human beings, see things for what they are visually and take it as reality, not actually looking deeper to see what it really means. Then we form an idea in our heads about it and believe that it is true. We can't accept a new perspective of the concept, idea, etc. unless it is proved to us.

Athens vs. Sparta

If you were a young teenage girl of the citizen class, in which city-state would you rather live? Why?

If I were a young teenage girl of the citizen class, I would rather live in Sparta. In my opinion, Sparta is a better society for women to live in because, firstly, they were treated more as equals to men, unlike other cultures. Secondly, girls were educated in Sparta much more than they were in Athens. In Sparta, a girl's education would begin at the age of seven. They would be taught reading, writing, gymnastics, athletics, and survival skills. They were also permitted to participate in sports, instead of spinning, weaving, and other domestic art (which were left to the other classes). Furthermore, citizen women were free to move around and had a lot of freedom. They could also own and control property.

If you were a slave, in which would you rather live? Why?

If I were a slave, I would rather have lived in Sparta. In Sparta, Helots were the lowest class. They were treated like slaves, but didn't have the title. I would want to live in Sparta because in Athens slaves had no rights and could be killed by their owner, even though they sometimes held important roles, such as policemen. Spartan Helots did agricultural work, but they had to give one half of their produce to the land owner.

If you were a boy of the citizen class, in which would you rather live? Why?

If I was a boy of the citizen class, I would have wanted to live in Athens. Athenian boys were taught reading, writing, mathematics, music, poetry, sports, and gymnastics from the ages of five to fourteen or five to eighteen, depending on how wealthy their family was. Sometimes boys' education would continue into their mid-twenties in an academy where they would study philosophy, ethics, and rhetoric. Lastly, citizen boys also attended military camp for two years. Contrary to Athens, boys in Sparta were mainly focused on the art of warfare.

If you were a young soldier, in which would you rather live? Why?

If I were a young soldier, I would have rathered living in Sparta. Though Athens had a strong navy, Sparta had a strong army and were the best and most feared fighters on land. Spartan boys were trained from the young age of seven to become powerful soldiers, and continued in the military until age thirty, but were still dedicated to the military until the age of sixty. If I was a soldier, I would want to be trained well, have strong battle plans/skills, and be powerful.

If you were a very wealthy person of the citizen class, in which would you rather live? Why?

If I was a very wealthy person of the citizen class, I would rather have lived in Athens, considering that only men were considered citizens. Citizens were freemen. A wealthy person would be in the "top class," which were aristocrats. They owned large estates and made up the cavalry or captained triremes. Citizens could also take part in government. In addition, wealthy citizens got a longer education. Lastly, since Athenians were allowed gold, silver, luxuries, etc., they had a lot of money to buy those products.

Decide whether to represent Athens or Sparta and debate which is the better place to live:

If I had lived during the 400s B.C.E., I would rather have lived in Sparta, instead of Athens. Because females were not considered "equals" until more modern times, Sparta was unique for its equality view on women. They were treated more as equals to men, unlike like the Athenian society who kept its women at home. Spartan women were free to move around and had a lot of freedom, and were not considered "property of their husbands," like in Athens. They could also own their own property. They participated in sports and were able to exercise in order to stay in shape and give birth to healthy babies. Also, women were educated in many subjects, while in Athens, women were mainly taught weaving, spinning, and other domestic arts. Finally, Spartan women were respected.

New Ideas in Times of Economic Stress

New ideas in politics and philosophy tend to emerge in times of social, political, and/or economic stress. How can this be explained?

When economies are in a good state, there is no need for new ideas because everything in the society is working to its advantage. However, when economies start to crash, people start thinking up new ideas in order to help the failing system. Also, the leader of the economy is usually blamed for the instability.

An example of new ideas forming in times of social, political, and/or economic stress is the Vietnam war. During that time, society was very chaotic. The Vietnam war caused a social revolution, which resulted in anti-war parties, hippies, and other groups. People were angered by the army draft, because many of the people that were drafted were against the war. It also cost a lot money, which drained the economy. All of these aspects caused people to think and view things differently and develop new ideas.

Population Growth

Population growth was the biggest development in the Classical period. True or false?

I believe that population growth was the biggest development of the Classical period, because it lead to so many great things in civilization. Between 1000 B.C.E. and 1 C.E., the world’s population rose from about 120 to 250 million, which is approximately a 110% increase. Because there were so many people, they started living in denser populations, which became urbanization-cities. Having cities benefited the people, because, for example, with so many people living in an area together, they built up an immunization to certain diseases, which helped people live longer. Big cities also demanded organization. Having a bigger population also meant needing better crops. Crops that were better quality, produced more calories, etc. were farmed. Farming also became easier, because of iron and animals. The invention of iron revolutionized farming. Helpful farming tools, plows, and more were made from iron. People also started to domesticate animals to help the farming process. Animals, such as horses, camels, oxen, donkeys, etc., were much stronger than humans and worked much faster. Furthermore, having animals do farm work gave people more time to develop technology, which is why there were so many technological advances during the Classical period. Because of its size, the people started to network. Empires developed roads, routes, trails, etc. Though they were originally designed for military purposes, these roads were also used to trade. Empires traded goods with each other, along with their alphabets, religions, and art styles.

Change in the Classical Period

Though there were many changes during the Classical period, such as continuity, impacts on daily life, and trends and societies, I found that the biggest change that occured was the establishment of cultures, because they were developed, and they left durable legacies. Each major civilization promoted a commom cultural system for social and family customs, integrate elites, and provide bonds between leadership groups and the ordinary people. Civilizations also conquered other peoples and areas and created large empires, so they learned other cultures and combined them with their's. Trade helped expand knowledge, views, goods, etc. between civilizations like India, Asia, Rome, Africa, and more. Furthermore, people made great developements in philosophy, politics, and art. For example, Confucianism influenced societies other than China, people would build on achievements of Greek science, the competition between Buddhism and Hinduism in India, and the generation of powerful beliefs and their spread within each civilization.

Reflection on Yali's Question

The White Europeans were much more advanced than other cultures, such as the Americas, Africa, and Asia, which made it easier for them to come to control a large share of the modern world. Firstly, some parts of the world (such as Europe) developed literate industrial societies with metal tools, while other parts only developed nonliterate farming societies, or remained a hunter-gatherer society with stone tools. The Europeans had an advantage because it was easier to conquer other societies with metal tools, plus, they had guns, steel tools, and infectious disease. The Europeans also had many material goods, ranging from steal axes, matches, and medicines to clothing, soft drinks, and umbrellas. Aside from products, Europe had a centralized government. These two aspects made the White Europeans wealthy and powerful. They developed agriculture, herding, metallurgy, writing, and a complex political organization, as well. Europe differed greatly in technology, government, social environment, and educational opportunities.