What did Plato say about tyranny?

The tyrannical man is the son of the democratic man. He is the worst form of man due to his being the most unjust and thus the furthest removed from any joy of the true kind. He is consumed by lawless desires which cause him to do many terrible things such as murdering and plundering.

What did Plato say about the future?

The un- foreseeability of the future, that which men longingly and anxiously live forward to, drives them to an end they really do not know, but which they live out. It is thus an organic necessity of life itself.

Where did the word tyrant come from?

The word derives from Latin tyrannus, meaning “illegitimate ruler”, and this in turn from the Greek τύραννος tyrannos “monarch, ruler of a polis”; tyrannos in its turn has a Pre-Greek origin, perhaps from Lydian.

What did Plato say about democracy and tyranny?

What Plato said. Tyranny springs from democracy in the same manner democracy springs from oligarchy. Just as the blind pursuit of wealth occasions a thirst for equality, so “the insatiable desire for freedom occasions a demand for tyranny.” There’s a logic to this dynamic, a kind of political physics.

What is a tyrant According to Plato?

A tyrant, for Plato, wasn’t just someone who ruled over others; a tyrant is someone who can’t rule over himself. He’s Eros incarnate — pure impulse. He’s always in the thrall of his own lusts and passions.

How does the tyrant come into power in the Republic?

The democratic city becomes disordered and chaotic, and the citizens look for a leader who can restore order. And so, with the support of the mob, the tyrant comes into power. The following reading is from section 555b – 569c of The Republic by Plato, translation by Benjamin Jowett.

What does Plato say about the degeneration of the state?

Plato provides a detailed account of the degeneration of the state from aristocracy to tyranny via timocracy, oligarchy, and democracy. Democracy in particular arises from the revolt of the disenfranchised in an oligarchy. The state is ‘full of freedom and frankness’ and every citizen is able to live as he pleases.