Monday, January 28, 2019

"Getting down to the tough questions... are farmers happier then potters?!?" : Discussion Question (s) ; Plato, The Republic: BK IV


Greetings people of Earth and inhabitants of DR. M-B's "Utopia" class. I found book IV to be full of too many ideas interesting to just ask one discussion question, so I’m cheating and asking two, (which is a compromise because I have 3-4 at least). 

When I read the quote, "we aren't aiming to make any one group outstandingly happy, but to make the whole city so, as far as possible", my mind immediately thought of Bentham, and Utilitarianism. I thought that was the path book IV was leading me down, but Socrates and Adeimantus from my understanding were talking about something slightly different. From my understanding (which could definitely be off), decisions regarding the treatment of groups, - potters, farmers, ect., - should be based off of accordance to groups, rather than fairness among groups. I personally believe they were on to something, as they recognized that they simply cannot make all happy in the same way. I believe the goal of their logic was to provide each group with fulfillment. But my question is, are there different types of happiness among these groups, and are there more fulfilling types of happiness that create disparities in their society? In other words, when a farmer farms land does he or she feel more complete then when a potter molds clay, or is their sense of purpose and subsequent sense of fulfillment equal? (This highlights a problem I have with group identities in general, but I’m sure we’ll get to that another time).

My second question is much more simple. I found the idea that both poverty and wealth corrupt a craftsman to be a really interesting concept. I don’t quite have an opinion; I just want to know what you think? Do both poverty and wealth corrupt a craftsman??

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