... situations that he is not considering, like the ones that were mentioned above which include selfless help or connections and interests. How does Plato set the fine line between minding one's own business, and working for a common good, a lack of self? He classifies the latter as the main trait and virtue of ... his Ideal, Just City: a non-individualist attitude, where everyone thinks only of the mass and has one specific job or function which, if performed correctly and with no other outside influences, is most beneficial to society as a whole. He stresses a lack of selfishness; there ...

• Word Count: 4188
• Approx Pages: 17
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... is lies and may be an imitation, but it is not an imitation of any truth and therefore must be condemned. Imitation proper appears in the Republic in Book III, where Plato begins to consider the more complicated case of poetry concerning men. He begins with imitation as it is incorporated within ... little knowledge of what he imitates so can thus have little conception of the inherent goodness or badness of his work. Rather it is their function to deceive: "the imitator seems all-wise because he himself is unable to distinguish between knowledge and ignorance and imitation" (Republic,...

• Word Count: 5585
• Approx Pages: 22
• Grade Level: Undergraduate