Plato allegory of the cave

Introduction

Born in 427/428 BCE Plato was the foremost prehistoric Greek philosopher of politics and certainly the initial philosopher who left a systematic and large body of literature investigating the link between epistemology, metaphysics, politics and ethics. Plato's significance is of such a degree that Whitehead prominently explained the whole European philosophy, as a chain of “footnotes to Plato” (Pp. 39); the initial model of Academy (known as modern university) was also founded by him, in which Aristotle learned under Plato. Plato is frequently viewed as the originator of utopianism, although the 16th century Platonist and humanist Thomas More invented the word. This paper discusses the works of Plato and focuses on allegory of the cave in a holistic context.

Discussion

Within classical Athens Plato was one of the three great philosophers along with his pupil, Aristotle (384-322 BCE), and his teacher, Socrates (470-199 BCE). Plato was a metaphysician, a political visionary and an aristocrat; for the Western political tradition Plato's work on politics has been crucial, and with the passage of time they have become a focus for the extremes of puzzlement, praise and criticism. Certainly, he was quite hostile towards democracy (that he alleged for Socrates' death) and got entitled as the father of totalitarianism. Although, Plato's work even incorporate the initial great work of utopian political conjecture within Western tradition and rebel any plain synopsis. His most significant approaches towards leadership are found in the Statesmen, the Republic and to some degree in the Laws. Plato's Letter VII is essential for comprehending the way Plato's personal know-how with leaders formed his notions regarding leadership.

While a number of volumes are seen to have been written regarding the politics of Plato, diminutive studies have concentrated on Plato's views regarding the education of leaders and leadership. Nevertheless, the work by Plato is crucial to the studies of leadership due to his observation of leaders providing intellectuals with various questions and timeless themes, which in today's era inform the field of leadership like: What is the best kind of leadership? What is the best method to develop moral and competent leaders? And what are the qualities of a good leader? Furthermore, while writing on leadership, Plato drew on his personal incidents with leaders, and his letters and dialogues depict that experience with leaders (Gentzler, Pp. 469-496).

The concept of the type of good, referred to as the good in itself, coupled with ...