Research Paper on "Audience of Ancient Writings Plato's Republic Intended"

Research Paper 5 pages (1571 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Audience of Ancient Writings

Plato's Republic

Intended Audience

When considering Plato's Republic, it is important to keep in mind the social stratification of the time. Reading and writing were not accessible to all sections of society, with education generally reserved for the higher classes. However, it is also true that literature was not the exclusive domain of the higher classes. Members of the public were for example allowed to gather and listen to readings of popular works.

This is then the audience to which Plato's Republic was addressed. It can therefore be assumed that the general public had access to the philosophical works of Plato and others like him, whether by listening or by reading the work themselves. The intended audience was therefore two-fold: the intellectual, educated upper-class person who could read, and by proxy those who were inclined to take the trouble to seek out public readings of the book.

In other words, it can be assumed that Plato's intended audience was the general public of the time.

2. Objective of the Writing

The objective of the writing appeared to be effecting a type of change in readers towards an impetus that would bring about a pious and what Plato called a "just" way of living. By means of his dialogues with Glaucon and Adeimantus, Plato's mouthpiece Socrates provided a philosophical argument for a just way of life. Furthermore, he attempts to show how the Republic is divided into three classes of people, and how the individual soul can also be understood by this analogy. Justice and piety, according to the philosophy, is at the heart of individual and state-wide rulership.

Plato defines political justice in Books II, III, and IV of his work. The ideal society, according to Plato, is the harmonious collective of the three main classes of people, which consist of producers, auxiliaries, and guardians, where the guardians are the rulers, the auxiliaries warriors, and the producers the rest of society

. The relationship among these classes need to be correct and harmonious in order for the society to be just. Social and political justice is achieved when each person fulfils his or her particular societal role.

In Book IV, Plato makes a claim for individual justice, which also occurs on three levels, as it does in society. The soul consists of the rational, the spirit, and the appetite. The first seeks the truth and is inclined towards philosophy; the second desires honor and can also lead to anger and indignation, while the last reflects the basest desires of humankind, of which money tends to be the most prominent. Again, in order to achieve individual justice, there must be a balanced relationship among these parts of the human individual. When an individual is just, the rational part leads, while the spirit supports the rulership, and the appetite follows the rational part

Plato also notes however that each class in society is dominated by a different part of the soul, where the producers are dominated by their appetites, warriors by their spirits and rulers by their rational faculties. It is also this analogy by which Plato claims philosophers as the most likely effective rulers of a society that is largely ruled by its appetites. This society is in need of limitation by the philosopher-king in order to maintain justice and order rather than degenerating into chaos and the pursuit of physical pleasure to the exclusion of all else.

3. Persuasion of Writing

I believe that, given the type of audience for which Plato was writing, his analogy could be seen as persuasive. The audience was very much structured in the manner that Plato suggested, and he makes persuasive arguments for the achievement of various forms of justice. Philosophers for examples were those who were educated and could read. Hence, they were the primary recipients of Plato's text and most likely the most receptive to his ideas regarding the philosopher-king. Furthermore, the general public would take their education from upper class philosophers, already putting in place the system that Plato suggests in terms of the social structure being regulated by the philosopher king. For the audience of the time, I would therefore say that the text is indeed persuasive.

Confessions by St. Augustine

1. Intended Audience

The intended audience of this writing appears to be primarily those of the Christian faith, and particularly church goers. The diction and premise of the entire work is a conversation with the God of the Christian faith. For the first ten of the thirteen books in the work, Augustine addresses his struggle with wickedness and sin, until his final conversion at the age of 32. The words the author uses provide an extreme sense of his spiritual struggle, suffering and search for spiritual excellence. Most noticeably, there is a clear dichotomy between sin and righteousness, in that the latter is completely incompatible with the former, and that the true Christian gives room only to the latter.

2. Objective of Writing

Augustine's writing appears to have as its purpose a documentation of the journey of the Christian from sin to righteousness. Throughout the first part of his writing, Augustine is fully aware of the wickedness of his ways and desires righteousness. Without being converted, however, he is unable to break away from his own sinfulness. An example of this is Book II, where the author concentrates on his 16th year. It is a time of great mischief, by means of which he both identifies with his intended audience and relates how the natural tendency of the unconverted person is sinful. In Chapter 1 for example he refers to his "past foulness" and "carnal corruptions"

A secondary objective can be said to promote the idea of conversion to his audience members as the primary desire of the Christian person. As such, he provides his own struggle and conversion as a type of protocol for the Christian life. The dichotomy of sin and righteousness is then echoed in the process of conversion, where the life before conversion was characterized by sin, while the life after conversion is its complete opposite, being characterized by righteousness. At the time, this was the main paradigm of Christianity, which remains so for the majority of the Christian audience today. In Book X, Augustine then turns to an analysis of the Christian path to God by means of symbology and imagery rather than self-analysis

Persuasion of Writing

The persuasiveness of Augustine's writing is evident even in the modern Christian world. Parts of his Confessions survive in many of today's Confessions of faith in the Christian church. As such, the author shows himself not only to be an extremely persuasive writer at the time, but also for today's church. The principles he elaborates have been those of Christianity for centuries.

The Koran as recounted by Muhammad

1. Intended Audience

The Koran is the religious scripture of Islam, and it might therefore be assumed that the adherents of Islam are indeed its intended audience. The book provides a number of instructions and philosophies that relate to the followers of Allah, the Islam name for God. Muslims believe the Koran to have been directly provided to Muhammad from Allah via the angel Gabriel over 23 years. It is regarded as Muhammad's main miracle, and also the basis of his prophethood. Although the Koran itself appears to consider humanity as a whole as its intended audience, it is generally those of the Muslim persuasion who consider it a valid and lasting message from God.

2. Objective of Writing

The objective of the Koran is to promote a message of peace with oneself and the world. When the message was received by the holy prophet some 1400 years ago, it was a time of great difficulty for him and his fellow believers. They… READ MORE

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