6. Unit 3 : Greece

1."There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance." How is this so? If that is then the case, then why do we see in color, yet not in black and white? It is impossible for there to be only god and only evil, all humans are both good and evil. With some, the balance between the two may be more good than evil, and more evil than good. Nevertheless one can not be simply good nor simply evil. Example, an elderly woman while walking home gets mugged and knocked over by a man. YOU might say that this was an act of pure evil and thus the man WAS pure evil; but i say something different. Do the intentions of a man not count for anything? Say the robber needed money because his son was in terrible condition and his family needed the money for medical purposes... Yes what he did was most certainly wrong, but his motivation was to help someone in need, a loved one; or vice versa. If you do the wrong thong for the right reason are you evil? What about if you do the right thing for the wrong reason, does that make that person any better?

2. Plato believes that justice is determined by the four greta virtues; courage, wisdom, temperance and justice. He uses these characteristics to identify what justice in a state is. He gives examples how certain professions attract certain types of people. One example would be that brave, strong and courageous people are fit for defensive and political professions.

3. Plato believed that the perfect government would be run by the best, acsentially an aristocracy; "run by the best". I would agree to the aspect of being run by the best, but i would ask him, does higher rankings and more money mean you are the more superior in the race? Does Plato believe in self made man? I feel that government simply controlled by aristocrats, the most educated (we must keep in mind the types of intelligence, innate wisdom vs. educated stupidity) and richest would eventually become a monarchy. This is because eventually the richest family(ies) would be able to afford the best education and it would then be quite possible that they could then declare themselves the best of the race and (according to Plato's ideal) they then would have the right to rule the utopia.

4. My ideal republic/ lifestyle would be a democracy where the people were overseen by an elected few, and that there was no paper money, but instead each person with a trade would help each other. I believe this is a simpler approach. THis is how it would work, some people would be lawyers, others shoe makers, clothing sellers, farmers, ranchers, in short, each person would have something to bring to the the table and something to take back with them. "A pair of shoes for a week's meal" things like that. Without the complication of money. THis system (as long as people aren't corrupted with their own greed) would last for a long time, you take what you need and give what you don't. This would not only encourage the population to interact and get to know each other, but also encourage and stress the importance of education, discovering yourself, and being able to share your love of... (profession) with everyone else.

5. "The only thing standing in the way of knowledge is our insistence that the visual universe is reality." This follows up on the line that everything is not as it seems. If one only believed in things they could see then there would be no such thing as love, physics, imagination, history and more. To only believe in what you see means that first of all, your knowledge is very very limited and second, that you have no trust. To have faith and believe you'd nee physical evidence and some things just existence that can't be seen. Feelings can't be seen (though emotions can)but you can feel them and they are most certainly in existence. Important things like that would then not exist to that person.

5. Sparta vs. Athens

1. if i was a teenage girl i would rather live in a Spartan society because not only do women play a more important role in the Spartan daily life than they do in that of a but they also has the opportunity to learn more. Though in both societies women are to have no part in the government; the difference is in Sparta, because the men are busy training and fighting in the military, the "normal" professions that a man of that time was expected to perform was left to the women. Of course to be able to successfully fulfill those positions, the woman began her education at the age of seven and learned how to read, write as well as gymnastics, athletics and survival skills. In Athen's women were given no access to an education. Though in Sparta women's primary use was to produce healthy boys for the military, to do so, it was necessary for them to stay in shape, aka they were healthy and intelligent. The life of a Spartan women compared to that of an Athenian women seems much wealthier. 

2. If i were to be a slave i would rather live in Athen's because in both Athen's and Sparta slaves/serfs were the lowest of all the classes, in Athen's they were treated less harsh then most other city-states in Greece. Some could even take part in important roles such as policemen. Though this probably doesn't apply to every slave, i would have a greater chance of being given that opportunity.

3. If i was a boy in the citizen class i would prefer to be live with the Athen's. In Sparta, all boys were sent at the age of seven to prepare for military and fight for Sparta until the age of thirty, in which they were allowed to marry but had to be "on call" until the age of sixty. Though the boys/men of Sparta were also educated, the men on Athen's i feel led a far richer life. As a citizen class i would attend school from the age of seven to fifteen, when i would learn how to read, write, poetry, math, gymnastics, and music. Then each would serve in the army for two years. This life style put's more emphasis on education, skills and success in life as an individual versa [in Sparta] the success of the city-state as a whole; while still staying healthy and spending some time serving in the military. (instead of one's whole life)

4. If i was a young solider i would want to live with the Spartan's simply because i would have a stronger chance of surviving. When a Spartan boy was born, if he did not look tough, or capable of serving his life in the military, standing through the harsh preparation, then he was killed at birth (which contributed to their smaller population). As a young solider i would have to be strong having been able to pass that assessment. The Sparta military was the most feared in all of Greece, fighting with them would not only insure strong comrades, but meant i myself was a good fighter. Also, because the training for a Spartan boy was much more intense, as a young solider i would be physically very healthy and on my way to being a skilled fighter. Instead of the Athen's who trained their men for a mere two years.

5. If i was a very wealthy person of the citizen class i would rather live in Athen's becuase i would want to use the benefits of wealth to exceed in my education as the wealthy had the opportunity to do in that time. For wealthy Spartans though the life was the same as that of a regular citizen class; training for the military. I would use my wealth for extra education which could then lead me to a high government position. Such as a Council of 500 whom were responsible for administering decisions made by the Assembly, or taking part in the Assembly, which all citizens were eligible for.

6. Though Sparta's lifestyle focuses mainly around preparing for war and breeding fierce soldier's while Athen's spent more time focusing on education and government instead; the life for a woman/girl in Sparta was much better then in Athen's. I think Sparta's lifestyle was very advanced for their time because the women w1ere treated almost as equal as men, which was not universal as it seems in present day US. The life and role of a women strongly dictates which lifestyle i would prefer. (though in both city-states women did not have a right to vote or take part in the government.) As i pointed out in the first question; women in Sparta needed to be able to do the jobs that "normally" men would preform (due to military focus they did not). This then required them to have a fair education, something that Athen's does not offer. Furthermore, because women were needed to give birth to strong and healthy sons, they too had to be healthy and strong, insuring that women were treated right.In terms of government i would say that Athen's had a more advanced form of government ie Democracy while Sparta had a twisted form of monarchy, two kings to check each other. (a more traditional approach). Still, the aspect of "equality" between he genders stands out, and i feel is one of the most important.) I think Sparta i s the better to place to live.