Plato Republic

 

Plato is one of the most celebrated philosophers of all the philosophers of the western tradition. According to him the education of the guardians of the state was of much importance, and he considered it a priority. They talked about educating the mind and the character and included stories, but not just stories, suitable stories which they choose from those that are produced (Meretoja & Davis, 2017). To them, poets and storytellers made mistakes in telling people that the unjust people are happy and those who are unjust are wretched, that doing wrong things pays if they avoid being found and justice is for once own advantage and disadvantage of the other.

             Storytelling needs to be controlled because the children learn from them, the fact that a child can't differentiate what is wrong and right, it will be essential to control this stories to ensure those that teach them good character and give good education is told. Those individuals who are very good in making imitations are praised and respected and also considered as wonderful beings, and therefore it is good to find the health of our souls and recognize those who are imitating virtues.

             Plato was a great storyteller, and he saw the power stories had and he also noted that the effectiveness could not be derived from entirely rational means and therefore, storytellers with poets and other musicians had to be either banned from the Republic or be at least censored strictly. This means that Plato was perfectly protecting the young from this power of storytelling (Meretoja & Davis, 2017). It is therefore clear that Plato assumed that children learned from stories and what they are told will determine what they will think as for right or consider to be the actual thing.

            It is true to some extent that the young consider what they learn as the real thing, and children might not understand the different characters that the poets might imitate as fiction. And thus if t you tell a child this is what goes on in the society, that will be what the child will consider it as what usually goes on. Controlling what the children can be told and by choosing the only most suitable one is honestly a good step in giving the society what will be important in their minds and what can build their character.

            I agree with the Plato assumptions because they are correct, what the children see in movies or play in games and also get in stories will modify their character, culture, and behavior. That is what is happening in the world currently, what people and the children get from the internet and movies make a significant impact in their lives (Bolaños, 2017). Stories should set a good example to the children, and competent individuals are supposed not to depend on the loved one's property and therefore be self-sufficient.

            We should also recognize the positive destinations of stories, and I believe that stories is fundamental in the preparation of children in performing their roles in the ideal states, and therefore, stories should play there a key role in shaping cultures, promoting behaviors which are desirable and be an inspiration and remove this sense of our importance. What will benefit from writing stories that will not build the character of the founders, absolutely nothing, that why I agree with Plato.

References

Bolaños, K. A. (2017). Plato on the Responsible Use of Poetry and Fiction in The Republic and The Laws. Kritike: An Online Journal of Philosophy, 11(2), 241-256.

Meretoja, H., & Davis, C. (2017). Truth, Ethics, Fiction: Responding to Plato’s Challenge. In Storytelling and Ethics (pp. 21-36). Routledge.