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11. Socio-political teachings of Mo Tzu.
Mo Tzu (479-400 BC) came out of the Confucian school, whose sayings were collected by his students in the collection “Mo Tzu” (IV century BC).
For the first time in ancient Chinese philosophy, Mo Tzu appears with the idea of electing the first ruler. Mo Tzu has very strong ideas of social equality and criticism of social injustice. Mo Tzu put forward the concept of universal and equal love. Very similar to: "all men are brothers"
Mo-tzu's ideas of egalitarianism: rejection of the luxury and refined culture of the ancient Chinese aristocracy, the excesses of ceremonial, in general, he advocated “simplification” (in contrast to the refined and highly cultured Confucius). Mozi (unlike Confucius, and this makes him similar to Shang-Yang) advocates the need for the state to establish generally binding laws, which must be followed by subjects under fear of inexorable punishment.
Since the time of Mozi, law in Ancient China began to be associated, first of all, not with the ritual of “li” (as in Confucius), but with punishment (“xing”) and law (“fa”). In this sense, Mozi turned out to be the predecessor of ancient Chinese legalism.
12. Political and legal doctrine of Protagoras.
The ancient Greek thinker Protagoras lived in 481-411 BC. Protagoras belongs to the school of senior sophists, he is even considered the main sophist.
Protagoras considered man to be the measure of all things. A person, first of all, is an individual and a citizen of the polis (i.e., a piece of a larger whole). Everything measured by human standards is relative, Protagoras believes, because... our knowledge gained through sensations varies from person to person. Therefore, there is no single truth, Protagoras summarizes. There are always two conflicting opinions about any thing. Just and unjust, shameful and beautiful are the same thing, depending on how (and who) evaluates it, as the sophist Protagoras argued. Law is also very conditional and changeable. Protagoras creates the myth of Prometheus, explaining how the state was created.
Protagoras notes that different peoples have different rules of law, i.e. There are no common ideas about legality in the world. The measure of all values and justice is the polis itself, Protagoras answers. The state itself decides what is considered fair and beautiful, and what is the opposite. Therefore, Protagoras equates right and law, believing that every law is fair, i.e. is legal.
According to Protagoras, the natural law is the pre-state state of society, which is no better and no worse than the state one.
Protagoras asserts the equality of all people in relation to wisdom and government. According to Protagoras, political virtue must be the property of all citizens, otherwise the state will simply perish. For these purposes, Protagoras mentioned (one of the first) the need for state education of every citizen.
Despite the twists and ambiguities typical of sophists, Protagoras defends the principles of justice, legality, and public order.
13. Political and legal views of the sophists.
Sophists are literally sages. The sophists were paid teachers of wisdom; later they degenerated into ordinary unscrupulous debaters. Among the older sophists, Protagoras, Gorgias, Prodice, Hippias, and Antiphon are usually named. Among the younger sophists one can single out Thrasymachus, Callicles, and Lycophron. Very few works of the sophists have reached us; we mainly learn about their political and legal views from the works of Plato and Aristotle, who really did not like the sophists and treated their ideas accordingly.
For the political and legal doctrine of Protagoras, see No. 12.
Gorgias of Leontius (483-375 BC) separates unwritten justice (the essence of affairs, universal divine law) from positive law given by people. Gorgias actively spoke out against war and for peace, calling on the Hellenes to stop internecine wars and jointly fight against the barbarians. The most famous student of Gorgias is Isocrates. Gorgias became known from Plato's dialogue "Gorgias"
Hippias (460-400 BC) from Elis. Hippias especially sharply contrasted nature (phiusis) with legal law (nomos). The laws of nature are true, natural law. All people are equal by nature, and not by law, Hippias emphasized. Natural law is justice; the positive law given by the state contradicts it, because sets artificial requirements. The positive law is contrary to human nature; it is devoid of the property of necessity, because constantly changing. Unlike positive laws, natural laws, according to Hippias (which fundamentally contradicts Protagoras), are equally implemented in any country.
Antiphon (c. 400 BC) and Lycophron (who appears to have been a contemporary of Plato) shared Hippias's disdain for positive law, believing that such law was the product of ordinary human convention. Antiphon argued that the dictates of the law (as opposed to the dictates of nature) are conditional and even hostile to human nature.
However, even Antiphon and Lycophron recognized and supported the existence of slavery.
Antiphon and Lycophron emphasized that human laws can be violated with impunity (after all, the criminal may not be found), but a well-deserved punishment will always await a violator of the laws of nature. Antiphon's main work is called "Unanimity", it says that a person should live primarily in the state, while there should be unanimity among citizens in the understanding of the law. At the same time, law is a guarantee of personal human rights, which are secured and protected by the state, as Lycophron believed. He denied the inequality of people by nature.
Thrasymachus from Chalcedon lived and worked in Ancient Greece in the second half of the 5th century. BC. Thrasymachus was a brilliant sophist of the younger generation. Thrasymachus argued that there is a certain principle of power: the benefit of the strongest. Therefore, in every state, whoever is in power has power. Naturally, any government, having established its laws, declares them fair. Subjects always do what the ruler wants, because he has the power, Thrasymachus emphasizes. He began to develop an authoritarian concept of law.
The sophist Callicles was a supporter of the aristocracy, i.e. rule by the best, was against democracy. Callicles believed that laws are made not by the strong, but by the weak (demos), in order to limit and intimidate the strong (the aristocracy).
The Sophists were the first true theorists of law, state, and politics. The ideas of the sophists received a rebirth and began to be developed again in modern times.
14. Sophists on the relationship between “nature” and “law”: at the origins of the theory of natural law.
Hippias was the first to contrast nature (physis) and law (nomos). The laws of nature, according to Hippias, are true, natural law. It is by nature, and not by law, that people are equal to each other. Natural law is justice. Therefore, natural laws, according to Hippias, are always equally well and accurately implemented in any country. This happens because the dictates of nature always correspond to human nature, Antiphon emphasized. The laws of nature (unlike human ones) cannot be broken and avoid punishment. Antiphon denied the natural inequality of people (except for slaves), emphasizing that human law often perpetuates their inequality
Unlike nature, natural law, the law that is given by the state, according to the sophists, does not correspond (or does not fully correspond) to human nature. It establishes artificial requirements and restrictions, often contradicts human nature, it is unnecessary, because constantly changing. Hippias's disdain for natural law (as a product of ordinary human agreement) was shared by Antiphon and Lycophron. In addition, Antiphon argued that the prescriptions of legal law are conditional and often hostile to human nature. Human laws (unlike natural laws) can be broken with impunity.
15. Socrates on the rule of the “knowing”
Socrates (469-399 BC) believed that those who knew should rule. Socrates' ideal was an aristocracy of the wise. Real knowledge, according to Socrates, must be obtained not from a teacher, but through in-depth self-knowledge.
Socrates’ requirement that “those who know must rule” applies to all political forms: “Kings and rulers are not those who wear sceptres, not those who are elected by famous nobles, and not those who have achieved power by lot or by violence, deceit, but those who know how to rule"
Such a political ideal of rule by the knowledgeable was critically at odds with the principles of both democracy and tribal aristocracy, oligarchy and tyranny. Socrates especially sharply criticized tyranny.
In terms of practical politics, the Socratic ideal meant the rule of those who know, i.e. justification of the principle of competence of government, and in theoretical terms - an attempt to identify and formulate the moral and reasonable basis and essence of the state.
16. Socrates' views on forms of government.
Socrates' ideal was an aristocracy of knowledgeable people.
The characteristics of various forms of state were based on the principle of legality put forward by Socrates.
On the question of the form of government in the state, Socrates distinguishes between kingdom and tyranny, aristocracy and oligarchy, correct democracy and incorrect democracy. The first form of government in each pair is correct, and the second is incorrect. This classification subsequently (as revised by Aristotle) became classical.
Socrates regarded aristocratic Sparta and Crete, and moderate-oligarchic Thebes and Megara at that time as well-organized states governed by good laws.
Socrates had a negative attitude towards “extreme” democracy in his native polis, under whose dominance Athens was defeated by Sparta and lost its leading position throughout Hellas. Socrates did not believe in the effectiveness of democracy, the effectiveness of the activities of the people's assembly. If, Socrates said, it is impossible to fulfill the “institutions of the ancestors,” then at least one should imitate “those who are currently considered the first,” i.e. Sparta. Socrates saw the main deviations of the socio-political order that had developed in Athens from reasonable principles in the craving of his fellow citizens for money-grubbing and in the incompetence of democratic government.
17. Contract theory of Socrates.
Socrates was the first to put forward the principle of legality and he himself always adhered to it in principle throughout his life. Legality, according to Socrates, consists of obeying the laws of one’s state. Freedom, according to Socrates, is a wonderful and majestic asset for both man and the state. All laws are interdependent, because conditioned by a divine source. Both rulers and subjects must be equal before the law.
Many see in the teachings of Socrates the prerequisites for a contractual theory of the relationship between a citizen and the polis, but the parties to such an agreement are not equal, the state clearly prevails. The state and the laws it makes are the supreme parents, educators and rulers of its citizens.
18. Plato’s political utopia (based on the dialogue “The State”).
The real name of Plato (427-347 BC) is Aristocles, he came from a noble Athenian family, in one of the groves he set up his famous Academy. Socrates, Pythagoras, and the Pythagoreans had a huge influence on Plato.
In the dialogue "The Republic" Plato sets out his famous political utopia. The dispute in this dialogue is between Socrates (on whose behalf Plato speaks) and the Sophists over who should rule the state. Plato sharply criticizes the Athenian democracy of his time. The Sophists believe that everyone can govern the state; Socrates is only a philosopher (“knowing”). In Plato's ideal state, each person is a part of a single whole, everyone knows his job.
The entire population is divided into 3 classes, corresponding to the 3 principles of the human soul: the rational principle - philosophers, the violent principle - warriors, the lustful principle - producers. Philosopher-rulers are the advisory principle of the state, warriors are the protective principle of the state. Manufacturers are the business start of the state. Justice lies in the class division of labor and social responsibilities. In everything one must observe hierarchy and geometric equality (it was not for nothing that Plato studied with Pythagoras). Philosophers lead warriors and producers, warriors, in turn, lead only producers. It turns out to be a triangle, at the apex of which are philosophers.
The first two classes (philosophers and warriors) should not have private property or family. The state should be involved in raising their children.
Plato justifies the division into classes by natural, divine differences. Only rare transfers from the class of philosophers to the class of warriors and vice versa are possible. Women in Plato's ideal state have equal rights with men, but still they cannot be philosophers.
All household, family and other issues are regulated by the state. The main goal of Plato's ideal state is happiness for everyone, unity and like-mindedness of members of society. Plato opposes extreme forms of poverty and wealth, because they can cause social division.
Plato initially believed in the possibility of establishing an ideal state on earth, he believed that the same state existed in heaven. Then he realized that such an ideal was unattainable.
19. The second project of Plato’s ideal state (dialogue “Laws”).
“The Laws” is the only dialogue of Plato where Socrates is not one of the parties (the author in the “Laws” is the Elderly Athenian). This work puts forward the second project of Plato's ideal state. Such a state should have 5040 inhabitants. Each citizen, by the right of conditional inheritable ownership, receives a plot of land and a house. The limits of poverty and wealth are limited in order to prevent a social explosion. No private individual has the right to own gold or silver, engage in usury, and all luxury is excluded. Non-citizens and slaves do not enjoy political rights, but are engaged in crafts, agriculture, and trade. The state is obliged to provide each citizen with a sufficient number of slaves.
Compared to the first ideal state, state control over family and everyday life is weakened. However, raising children remains an exclusively state matter. All citizens have equal rights, but are divided into 4 classes (according to wealth level).
In such a state, 37 knowledgeable elders (aged from 50 to 70 years), elected through multi-stage voting, should rule; they can remain in power for no more than 20 years. However, only citizens who bear arms or have participated in the war enjoy the right to vote. Rulers make laws that are binding on everyone except the rulers themselves, because they (rulers) are their (laws) guardians. Citizens should not only simply obey the laws, but also love them.
The surplus population (over 5040 people) should be exiled to the colonies. Also, purges of negligent citizens are constantly carried out.
The representative body of power is the Supreme Council, consisting of 460 people. (90 people from each of the 4 classes), with little authority (since 37 knowledgeable elders generally rule). There is also a public assembly (attendance for members of grades 1 and 2 is required). The People's Assembly elects the civil and military leaders of the state. A Night Assembly must also be established to guard virtue, consisting of 10 wise guards.
If in the “State” (the first ideal state) Plato relies more on the wisdom of the rulers, then in the “Laws” (the second ideal state) laws come to the fore.
20. Plato on the cycle of state forms.
Aristocracy and Timocracy and Oligarchy and Democracy and Tyranny and Aristocracy
Plato's dialogue "Laws" describes the change (cycle) of forms of government in the state. Plato's best form of government is aristocracy. Over time, human nature degenerates, private property and slavery appear. The rational principle is replaced by a violent one, and timocracy is established (for example, Sparta). As wealth is concentrated in one hand, an oligarchy arises, the power of a few rich people. Society and the state are split into rich and poor. In the end, the poor (due to their numerical superiority) win, establishing democracy, i.e. People power. People choose a demagogue leader, who soon successfully establishes his tyranny. Under tyranny, universal slavery reigns. The worst form of government for Plato is slavery. But then good people appear (like Plato), who together establish the aristocracy again. Every form of government perishes due to internal contradictions.
Annotation.
The article examines the views of Plato, Aristotle and Socrates on the understanding of the “ideal state”. The classifications of forms of management proposed by these philosophers are presented.
Keywords:
Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, ideal state, forms of government, aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, tyranny, polity.
Plato is one of the greatest philosophers in human history. Student of Socrates.
Opened the world's first Academy in 387 BC. He is the author of numerous works. All of them are composed in the form of dialogues or letters. "The Republic" - one of his dialogues, was written in 360 BC. It presents the theory of the ideal state.
According to Plato, the state should be represented by three classes. The first estate is the philosophers. They are given unlimited power. Plato believes that only the wise can govern the state and take care of the well-being of everyone. The second estate is warriors, they must protect the state both outside and monitor security inside. For them, a community of property and life has been established. The third estate includes artisans, businessmen and peasants.
Their task is to provide the state with everything necessary.
Currently, such a classification does not fit into the framework of modern society. No one will be able to divide society according to such criteria as “reason”, “rage” and “lust”. One of his ideas is the presence of political power among warriors. Therefore, he is faced with the problem of the unity of the state, and he solves it by prohibiting this class from having a family in order to avoid individualism. This idea is contrary to moral standards.
Also included in the dialogue is a taxonomy of types of government. Plato distributes them in order of increasing a person's personal benefit.
Aristocracy is a form of government in which all power belongs to the nobility. Its distinctive feature is that power is concentrated in the hands of “higher” minds and a select few. It is she, according to Plato, who is the best.
Close to aristocracy is timocracy - the “unfair” rule of the minority. In such a state there is a desire for enrichment.
The next one is oligarchy - the power of the very rich. Under this form of government, there is a clear division between “rich” and “poor”. Plato draws attention to the fact that the development of oligarchy leads to democracy.
Democracy is the power of the people. Plato believed that such a system contributes to increased unrest in society and its differentiation. As a result, a worse form of government - tyranny - may emerge.
Tyranny is a form in which there is no freedom. It arises in contrast to democracy, as the unjust power of one person.
It is worth noting that in each of the forms proposed by Plato, both positive and negative features can be identified. It can be assumed that a certain form may be suitable for a certain stage of development of society. The Russian state in different periods of its formation can serve as such an example.
Plato's views were influenced by his teacher Socrates, who believed that the ideal of government was an aristocracy of the wise. His requirement that “those who know must rule” applies to all political forms. This political template is at odds with the principles of democracy, tribal aristocracy, oligarchy and tyranny. Socrates identified the principle of “legality” as the basis for characterizing the forms of the state. Legality, in his opinion, consists of obeying the laws of the state and everyone, both rulers and subjects, should be equal before them. He distinguishes between such forms of government as kingdom and tyranny, aristocracy and oligarchy, correct and incorrect democracies. The first of them in each pair, according to Socrates, is correct, and the second is incorrect. The classification he proposed was subsequently revised by Aristotle (a student of Plato) and became classical.
Aristotle criticizes Plato's ideas about the ideal state. He preferred to talk about a political system that would be suitable for most states. Aristotle sees the essence of the state in a political community of people who have united to achieve a certain good. He distinguishes between three correct and three incorrect forms of the state, the latter arising from the deformation of the good ones when there is a deviation from them. Aristotle calls correct forms of government in which the common good is pursued, regardless of who rules. He considers those forms in which the private interests of rulers are pursued to be incorrect. He classifies monarchy, aristocracy and polity as good.
(combines the best sides of oligarchy and democracy, but it is free from their shortcomings). He considers tyranny and oligarchy to be bad forms: they are characterized by lawlessness and non-compliance with common interests. Aristotle also includes democracy (the power of the people) in this group. According to the philosopher, the people are not literate or educated, and therefore cannot govern. However, it is this form that he calls the most preferable of the irregular ones.
Aristotle's ideas can be traced to the idea that the basis of the state should be the middle class, on which management should be based. This idea is very rational, since a society in which the middle class predominates can be called stable. Aristotle gives his characterization of the “ideal state” and calls the main thing for it to be ensuring the greatest possible measure of a happy life for the greatest number of slave owners.
Returning to Plato, it should be noted that for him the “ideal state” is a closed entity that must provide for itself and exclude interactions with other states. He also argues that development is damage, since the state is already perfect.
It is quite difficult to imagine a modern state that does not maintain relations with other countries. Various organizations, alliances and treaties are an integral part of foreign policy.
Plato's approach to understanding the “ideal state” is very interesting and original. He recognizes the inherent inequality of people and draws attention to the value interpretation of public administration. For Plato, the highest goal of management is to achieve the integrity of society through ensuring the consent of all classes based on the principle of justice. In Aristotle, public administration is interpreted analytically for the first time, based on generalizations and comparisons of the advantages and disadvantages of management practices in 158 city-policies.
By studying the ideas of philosophers, one can determine that the problems of the “ideal state” and improving the management system were a priority. With the solution of these problems, it was possible to prevent constant clashes of interests, conflicts, mitigate the inequality of people and ensure order and harmony in the policy.
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Socrates (470-399 BC) - ancient gr. philosopher. In the person of Socrates, philosophizing thought first turns to itself, exploring its own principles and techniques.
S. expressed his thoughts orally, in conversations with different people; We have received information about the content of these conversations in the writings of his students, Plato and Xenophon, and in the writings of Aristotle.
Socrates believed that those who know must rule. S.'s ideal was an aristocracy of the wise. Real knowledge, according to S., must be obtained not from a teacher, but through in-depth self-knowledge. The requirement “those who know must rule” applies to all genders. forms. Those. in respect of practical politics S. substantiated the principle of board competence, and in terms of theoretical- an attempt to identify and formulate the moral and reasonable basis and essence of Mr.
The characteristics of the various forms of Mr. were based on the one put forward by S. principle of legality. He always adhered to this principle. Legality, in his opinion, is to obey the laws of his Mr. All laws are interdependent, as they are determined by the divine source. Both rulers and subjects must be equal before the law.
In the question of form of government in Mr. S. distinguishes between kingdom and tyranny, aristocracy and oligarchy, correct democracy and incorrect democracy. The first form of government in each pair is correct, and the second is incorrect. This classification subsequently (as revised by Aristotle) became classical.
WITH. did not believe in the effectiveness of democracy, the effectiveness of the activities of the people's assembly as the highest governing state. organ. The main deviations prevailing in Athens are social and gender. S. saw orders from reasonable principles in the craving of his fellow citizens for money-grubbing and in the incompatibilities of democratic government.
Many see in S.’s teaching the prerequisites for the contractual theory of the mutual relationship between the city and the policy, but the parties to such an agreement are not equal; the city clearly prevails. The government and the laws it issues are the supreme parents, educators and rulers of its citizens.
Death S.. S. was sentenced to death on official charges for “introducing new deities and for corrupting youth in a new spirit,” that is, for what we now call dissent. About 600 judges took part in the trial of the philosopher. 300 people voted for the death penalty, 250 were against. S. had to drink the “state poison” - hemlock. Death occurs due to convulsions leading to suffocation.
For some reasons, S.'s execution was postponed for 30 days. When he was asked to impose a fine, he neither imposed it himself nor allowed his friends to do so, but, on the contrary, even said that imposing a fine on himself meant admitting guilt. Then, when his friends wanted to kidnap him from prison, he did not agree and, it seems, even laughed at them, asking if they knew a place outside of Attica where death would not have access.
6. Political and legal teachings of Plato. Dialogues “State” and “Laws”.
Plato(428 or 428- 348 or 347 BC) - ancient gr. philosopher, student of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle. P. (427-347 BC) came from a noble Athenian family. In one of the groves near Athens, he founded his famous Academy, which existed for several centuries and was closed only by the Byzantine emperor Justinian. Socrates, Pythagoras, and the Pythagoreans had a huge influence on P.
Main floors P.'s works are the treatises "G-vo", "Laws" and the dialogue "Politician".
Political ideas in "G-ve"
What happened is quite plausible: the division of labor leads to exchange between people, and exchange is convenient if you live together. The idea of division of labor lies at the heart of Plato's utopia.
P. likes to compare the individual organism and society. Just like there is something in the soul three beginnings, so it should be in the city three estates.
1. Reasonable the beginning of the soul in the ideal city corresponds to the rulers - philosophers;
2. furious at the beginning warriors;
3. lustful- farmers And artisans.
Justice is for each class to do its own thing.
P. put forward a bold plan for the abolition of private property among rulers and warriors, i.e. the first two estates. Rulers and warriors must devote their entire lives to serving the common good. Therefore, they need to be freed from the temptations of personal enrichment and private interests. The means to subsistence must be supplied by the third estate. There are no families in the first two classes. Sexual intercourse for the purpose of procreation is regulated by class boundaries. Wives and children are common. Children are raised by Mr., in the family, as well as in the property, otherwise Plato sees the origins of egoism.
Political ideas in “Laws”
Later P. in “Laws” will describe another state. system - aristocratic republic or aristocratic monarchy.
Aristocratic Mr. can become monarchical, if someone stands out among the rulers. one (royal power).
If there are several rulers, then there will be republican(aristocratic rule).
Plato distinguished between two types of state structure of aristocratic government:
1. Rulers stand above everyone.
2. everyone obeys the laws.
The main differences of the second city are as follows:
1. In the second most important rule, it is allowed that “citizens will be provided with a sufficient number of slaves to the best of their ability.” And in the first city there were no slaves as such (people of the third estate were free).
2. Differences in the system of government bodies. management.
3. In the draft of the second city, the main emphasis is on strict laws regulating the public and private lives of people.
In other matters, the first and second questions are similar. The similarities are that:
1. A negative attitude towards private property remains.
2. as in the first city, there should be no extremes of poverty and wealth.
3. The desire for collectivism and like-mindedness.
4. Instilling in citizens ideas about the divinity and inviolability of established orders and law
The justice system is the guardian of the laws. And without true justice, Mr. ceases to be Mr.
Conclusion: Both “G” and “Z” represent the genre of utopia, i.e. unrealistic projects. P. feels that Greek civilization is declining. He could not come to terms with this, and the only way out seemed to him to be a return to the past. His aristocratic rule of philosophers and guards is a memory of the tribal aristocracy, of heroic times, from there the ideas of unity and community of property.
It is known that, along with the sophists, he spoke in Athens and gained popularity with his activities Socrates(469–399 BC).
Socrates was born into a family of stonemasons. Received a diverse education. He took an active part in the public life of Athens. Participated in the Peloponnesian War. He was a teacher and senior friend of the Athenian politician and commander Alcibiades. In 399 BC. he was charged with the fact that “he does not honor the gods whom the city honors, but introduces new deities, and is guilty of corrupting youth.” As a free Athenian citizen, he was not executed, but took poison himself.
Like the Sophists, Socrates claimed to be a teacher of wisdom, instructing Greek youth. Like them, he adopted a critical attitude towards traditional ideas and assumptions taken for granted.
Socrates did not write anything; he limited himself to verbally expressing his views. About him and his teachings are known mainly from the works of his students - Xenophon and Plato. This creates significant difficulties in establishing the true content of the teaching that Socrates preached.
The starting point of Socrates' philosophy was the skeptical position: “I know that I know nothing.” This statement, filled with ironic self-deprecation, was directed primarily against the self-confident tone of the sophists, against their learning, which Socrates considered imaginary. At the same time, this initial position was an expression of his negative attitude towards materialism.
Socrates argued that sensory perception does not give true knowledge, that it gives rise not to knowledge, but to opinion. True knowledge, according to Socrates, is possible only through general concepts. It is not the knowledge of the particular and the individual, but the establishment of the universal, general concepts and definitions that should constitute the task of science. True knowledge can be achieved only through induction, revealing the characteristics common to individual phenomena, and moving from particular cases to general definitions.
Socrates applied this method mainly to issues of morality and partly to politics, state and law. It was in ethics that he sought the meaning of the general and was the first to direct his thought to general definitions. He declared this area more accessible to scientific knowledge than the area of nature. Being hostile to the study of nature, Socrates declared that the study of natural science should follow the study of social issues. Socrates recommends starting with self-knowledge. “Know thyself,” he declares. Knowing yourself means knowing what is useful and what is harmful, what is fair and what is unfair, what corresponds to a person’s strengths and what exceeds them. This is how Socrates tries to justify his negative attitude towards the scientific understanding of nature and determine the range of questions that he is trying to explore - these are questions about what justice, right, law, piety, state, etc. are.
State.
State form. Socrates criticized Athenian democracy. His ideal was aristocracy. He portrayed it as a state governed by a few, knowledgeable people, prepared for the work of public administration and familiar with genuine knowledge.
Trying to justify the rule of the minority, Socrates argued that ruling is a “royal art”, to which only those who have mastered true knowledge, wisdom, the “best” people, destined for this both by their birth and, especially, upbringing, should be allowed teaching: “Kings and rulers are not those who wear a scepter or are chosen by just anyone or received power by lot or by force or deceit, but those who know how to rule.” Therefore, Socrates condemned the filling of positions by lot, which was common in the Athenian democracy.
Socrates also spoke negatively about the composition of the people's assembly, the supreme body of the Athenian state. The People's Assembly, in his words, consists of artisans and traders, “... thinking only about buying something cheaper and selling it more expensive,” people who “... never thought about state affairs... ." These and similar statements by Socrates served as the basis for accusing him that his speeches aroused in young people contempt for the established political system and a tendency to violent actions.
Right. Socrates developed the doctrine of natural law. He said that there are unwritten, “divine” laws, established not by people, but by gods, and having force everywhere, regardless of the will of people. These laws are “brothers of human laws.” They form the moral basis of the law in force in the state. There are provisions that are universally accepted by people, regardless of whether they are expressed in written laws. These are, say, the duties of honoring the gods, respecting parents, being grateful to one’s benefactors, etc. Natural, unwritten laws also require obedience to written laws. Fair and legal are the same thing.
Socrates uses the idea of unwritten, natural laws not to criticize existing laws, but to justify the need to comply with them. Any laws, whatever their merits, are more salutary than lawlessness and arbitrariness.
Socrates feared an encroachment on the foundations of the state and therefore justified the need for strict adherence to the laws of democratic Athens, although he himself was an undoubted opponent of democracy and a supporter of a rigid political program.
Plato's teaching on state and law
Plato (Aristocles) ( 428-348 BC) came from a noble family. Named by Plato for his broad shoulders or wide forehead. He received an excellent education, practiced wrestling, painting, and composed tragedies. At the age of twenty he met Socrates and became his student. Plato's worldview was largely influenced by his views. After the execution of Socrates in 399, he left Athens and traveled, being in Egypt and southern Italy. He returned in 387, acquired a grove near Athens, named after the hero Academus, where he founded a school called the Academy, which existed until 529 AD, when it was closed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian. Twice during his life Plato left the Academy, accepting invitations from the Syracuse tyrant Dionysius the Younger, and even earlier he visited his father Dionysius the Elder. Plato hoped to realize his philosophical ideas in Syracuse, but to no avail. Plato devoted the rest of his life to working with students and literary creativity.
Main works:“Apology of Socrates”, “Phaedo”, “Symposium”, “Phaedrus” (the doctrine of ideas), “Theaetetus” (theory of knowledge), “Parmenides” and “Sophist” (dialectics of categories), “Timaeus” (natural philosophy), political - the dialogues “State”, “Politician”, “Laws” are devoted to legal issues. Plato is the only ancient philosopher whose works have reached us almost all.
State.
Origin of the state. According to Plato, the state arises according to the destiny of the gods as a result of needs that people can satisfy only collectively, cooperating with each other, based on the division of labor.
In the dialogue “The Republic,” Plato sets out his famous project for an ideal state. Justifying the position of classes, Plato resorts to an analogy between the human soul and the state. Just as there are three principles in the human soul: rational, protective and business (mind, will, emotions), so there should be three classes in the state. The first estate (rulers, philosophers) perform the function of caring for the interests of the whole as such; second (guardian warriors) - protecting the social union from external enemies and ensuring order in society; the third (producers, farmers and artisans) takes care of satisfying the private needs of the individual. Plato put forward a bold plan for the abolition of private property among rulers and warriors, whose lives were devoted to serving the common good. Therefore, they should be freed from the temptations of personal enrichment and their lives should be organized on the principles of community of property and collectivism. These restrictions do not apply to the third estate. Plato proposed regulating all aspects of human life: the political system, material conditions, the spiritual and intimate life of everyone, including childbirth, as well as education, travel abroad, etc. Such prohibitions are needed in order to introduce unanimity (and not only educational, but also coercive measures) of citizens and prevent possible changes in the political system. Attempts to amend laws are subject to the death penalty.
Plato's views change over time. In the later dialogue “Laws,” he develops a project for a “second most worthy” state, where he also depicted an “ideal” system that is closer to reality. In this state:
· all citizens, including philosophers and warriors, are allowed to have a family, land, and houses in private ownership. Land is the property of the state; and it is used as a property;
· the division of citizens into classes is replaced by their gradation according to the size of the property they own. Political rights are acquired depending on the size of the property;
· the production needs of agriculture are fully met by slave labor. Politically, slaves are completely powerless;
· Describing in detail the organization of state power, Plato pursues the idea of a mixed form of government: democracy and monarchy.
Form of state. Plato developed a detailed typology of state forms, basing the classification on the number of ruling persons and the degree of observance of laws. There are three of them: monarchy, the rule of the few and the rule of the many. But each type is presented in two versions - correct and incorrect, i.e. based on law or not:
· monarchy , built on laws and tyranny (in case of non-compliance with laws);
· aristocracy (legitimate power of the few) and oligarchy (illegal power);
· democracy (among legal forms it is the worst) and democracy based on lawlessness is the best form of government. This is explained by the fact that in a democracy, power is “divided among many, each of whom has an insignificant share of it,” and therefore cannot cause too much harm.
The very idea of a typology of state forms was borrowed by Plato from the historian Herodotus, then this typology with minor changes was used by Aristotle.
The dialogues “State”, “Politician”, “Laws” contain various options for forms of government. In the dialogue “State”, Plato identifies four types of negative type of state: timocracy , oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. In the dialogue “Laws,” for the first time in the history of political thought, the idea of a mixed form of state is outlined, which was then developed by Aristotle and Cicero. The ideal political system according to Plato is a mixture of elements of monarchy and democracy, which helps to avoid the extremes of autocracy and plurality.
Right. Plato pays great attention to the problem of laws. Law is the main supporting pillar on which the state rests. His highest goal is the good of the state. The best remedy against possible threats to statehood, no matter where they come from, is fair laws. Plato distinguishes between right laws (established for the common good) and incorrect laws (established in the interests of a person or group of persons who have seized power). According to Plato, law is a written act established by the sages, a set of religious and moral norms for the orientation of citizens.
Plato is one of the first in history to turn to the consideration of politics as a social phenomenon, introduces this concept into scientific and lexical circulation and gives it a description.
History of political and legal doctrines. Cheat sheets Knyazeva Svetlana Aleksandrovna
17. Socrates' views on law and state
Views Socrates (469–399 BC) we know from the writings of another philosopher - Plato. Socrates' ideal was an aristocracy of the knowledgeable, that is, a state in which power belongs to the wise. Considering the state forms known to him, Socrates put forward the principle of legality. Analyzing the forms of government in the state, Socrates distinguishes between kingdom and tyranny, aristocracy and oligarchy, correct democracy and incorrect democracy. He includes the kingdom, aristocracy, and correct democracy as the correct forms of government. To the wrong ones - tyranny, oligarchy, wrong democracy. Subsequently, in the processing of Aristotle, this classification became classical.
Considering his contemporary states as well-organized states governed by good laws, Socrates names aristocratic Sparta and Crete, moderate-oligarchic Thebes and Megara. He has a negative attitude towards “extreme” democracy in his native polis (Athens), pointing out that under the dominance of extreme democracy, Athens was defeated by Sparta and lost its leading position in all of Hellas. He did not believe in the effectiveness of democracy, the effectiveness of the activities of the national assembly, reasoning as follows: if it is impossible to fulfill the “institutions of the ancestors,” then one should imitate “those who are currently considered the first,” i.e., Sparta. In the Athenians' craving for acquisitiveness and the incompetence of democratic rule, Socrates saw a deviation of the socio-political order from reasonable principles.
Socrates believed that society must always respect the principle of legality. In his opinion, legality consists of obeying the laws of one’s state, and freedom is a wonderful and majestic asset for both man and the state. Laws must apply to everyone equally, without exception, all laws are interdependent, since they are determined by the divine source. Both rulers and subjects must be equal before the law. If this is not the case, then the state degenerates, the correct form of government turns into an incorrect one.
According to Socrates, there is a certain agreement between a citizen and the polis, enshrined in the laws of the polis, which its citizens are obliged to observe. The state and the laws it issues determine their lives for citizens.
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