Oligarchy- A Historical Look from Plato's Dialogues

Backreaction: A little less conversation, a little more science please

An Oligarchy (Greek Ὀλιγαρχία, Oligarkhía) is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royal, wealth, intellectual, family, military or religious hegemony. The word oligarchy is from the Greek words for "few" (ὀλίγος olígos) and "rule" (ἀρχή arkhē). Such states are often controlled by politically powerful families whose children are heavily conditioned and mentored to be heirs of the power of the oligarchy.[citation needed] Oligarchies have been tyrannical throughout history, being completely reliant on public servitude to exist. Although Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as a synonym for rule by the rich, for which the exact term is plutocracy, oligarchy is not always a rule by wealth, as oligarchs can simply be a privileged group. Some city-states from Ancient Greece were oligarchies.( bold added by me for emphasis)

Change "public servitude" to "consumerism" and this exemplifies for many what democracies have become?


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Not only from a historical perspective do I introduce this material, but to indicate, that I along with many, have become disillusioned with the current politicization structures.

A desire then, for a more "introspective look" would then be accorded in a search for the political ideal. It was done for an "economic ideal," so it must be mustered in the same vain as the Economic Manhattan project where scientists had gathered for perspective. A desire then for a "21st Century View" toward a "just society."

See: Search function for concept here.


A search function listed by percentage of importance was then done in respect of Plato's commentary to be revealed in the Dialogues to offer perspective.

Plato : LAWS

Persons of the dialogue: An Athenian stranger - Cleinias, a Cretan
- Megillus, a Lacedaemonian
Translated by Benjamin Jowett - 60 Pages (Part 2)

Laws-Part 2 Page 23

Ath. I will do as you suggest. There is a tradition of the happy life of mankind in days when all things were spontaneous and abundant. And of this the reason is said to have been as follows: - Cronos knew what we ourselves were declaring, that no human nature invested with supreme power is able to order human affairs and not overflow with insolence and wrong. Which reflection led him to appoint not men but demigods, who are of a higher and more divine race, to be the kings and rulers of our cities; he did as we do with flocks of sheep and other tame animals. For we do not appoint oxen to be the lords of oxen, or goats of goats; but we ourselves are a superior race, and rule over them. In like manner God, in his love of mankind, placed over us the demons, who are a superior race, and they with great case and pleasure to themselves, and no less to us, taking care us and giving us peace and reverence and order and justice never failing, made the tribes of men happy and united. And this tradition, which is true, declares that cities of which some mortal man and not God is the ruler, have no escape from evils and toils. Still we must do all that we can to imitate the life which is said to have existed in the days of Cronos, and, as far as the principle of immortality dwells in us, to that we must hearken, both in private and public life, and regulate our cities and houses according to law, meaning by the very term "law," the distribution of mind. But if either a single person or an oligarchy or a democracy has a soul eager after pleasures and desires - wanting to be filled with them, yet retaining none of them, and perpetually afflicted with an endless and insatiable disorder; and this evil spirit, having first trampled the laws under foot, becomes the master either of a state or of an individual - then, as I was saying, salvation is hopeless. And now, Cleinias, we have to consider whether you will or will not accept this tale of mine.
Cle. Certainly we will.
Ath. You are aware - are you not? - that there are of said to be as many forms of laws as there are of governments, and of the latter we have already mentioned all those which are commonly recognized. Now you must regard this as a matter of first - rate importance. For what is to be the standard of just and unjust, is once more the point at issue. Men say that the law ought not to regard either military virtue, or virtue in general, but only the interests and power and preservation of the established form of government; this is thought by them to be the best way of expressing the natural definition of justice.
Cle. How?
Ath. Justice is said by them to be the interest of the stronger.
Cle. Speak plainer.

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Plato:POLITEIA

Persons of the dialogue: Socrates - Glaucon - Polemarchus
- Adeimantus - Cephalus - Thrasymachus - Cleitophon
Translated by Benjamin Jowett - 71 Pages (Part 4) - Greek fonts

The ruin of oligarchy is the ruin of democracy; the same disease magnified and intensified by liberty overmasters democracy —the truth being that the excessive increase of anything often causes a reaction in the opposite direction; and this is the case not only in the seasons and in vegetable and animal life, but above all in forms of government.

True.

The excess of liberty, whether in states or individuals, seems only to pass into excess of slavery.

Yes, the natural order.

And so tyranny naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme form of liberty?

How Do You Stop a Oligarchy?

Was introduced from a "consumerism point of view." It was directed toward the idea of governments who "gather money" to operate "their ideal structures of government" while depleting the resources of the "private citizen for that government operation."

Tax grabs to support that positions?

I am trying to orientate myself amidst these political terrain and would like nothing better then to be set straight to remove wrong thinking directed toward finding a "just government?" How do you define a "just government?"

Searching for the "Ideal Government for the 21st Century?"


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Then is Now?

The ruin of oligarchy is the ruin of democracy; the same disease magnified and intensified by liberty overmasters democracy-Plato:POLITEIA

Can we recognize the decay in the processes of democratization?

It is when we are left with this "feeling of the electorate" to see that they have lost control of the government, that one senses this alienation from the process of democracy. Recognizes "agendas that are being played out," that were not part of the party stance with which they promised to govern before an election.

So what recourse then to see that the processes of legitimacy are recognized and drawn out, that it will become part of the rule of law and implemented, that there was really nothing that could have been done, citing petitions and initiatives toward recall.

Not so much now is there, as to what party and their allegiance, but to the recognition of democracy in decay that we all can now recognize.

The incapacitated people

The people feel disenfranchised. And it is disenfranchised. But the parliament) is directly legitimized by the electorate (at country level, the provincial assemblies. All other constitutional bodies, President and Chancellor (in progress), derive their legitimacy from it. Shift the political choices but from the circles of power in parliament and coalition rounds, who knows the Constitution does not, therefore, is sidelined by the Bundestag and abused only later to formally rubber-stamp, is a de facto policy demokratiefrei.

Sure I may point to "another country" to demonstrate the social construct of the democracy in question, but it is "not far" from what we can identify within our own, that we see the signs of the time?

Latex rendering update

Using equation on this blog asks that you put $ sign at the beginning and $sign at the end to substitute in bracket [ ]-tex and / tex

Here is the site language that will help blog developers with their latex language and give them an alternative from having to shift over to word press.

Test

$\odot$ $\oplus$ $\pi$ $\omega$

$\LARGE U=\frac{-GMm}r=\frac{-GMh}{rc^2}{vo}$


$\large hv=hv_o[{1-}\frac{GM}{rc^2}] \hspace9 v=v_o[{1-}\frac{GM}{rc^2}] \hspace9 \frac{\bigtriangledown v} {v_o}={-}\frac{GM}{rc^2}$

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See:Help:Latex Symbols-Mathematics

What's in a Name?

The aim of dialogue in the academy is not merely to just state or assert one's opinion. Simply asserting one's opinion to one another has more in common with two dogs barking at each another than two people engaging in dialogue. The aim of dialogue is rather to defend or argue for one’s opinion against any and all objections. The ideal here is the type of dialogues fictionalized in the early writings of Plato. An opinion that cannot be defended against objections has no place in the contemporary academy, just as it had no place in the ancient Greek academy.See: Against Anonymity(bold added for emphasis by me)

from discussion at Backreaction: Anonymity in Science

Jeffery did not understand the quality being exposed through the Dialogue to be accurate in his description used by identifying Plato's(what's in a name) Academy to critic against. For the names used were to coordinate perspective exchange to reveal the conclusion Plato wanted set forth?

Clearly, things that are raised in discussion highlight further response and the extensions of ideas as they are presented will become manifest. I was historically touched by the the subject of Being and Names to have this discussion highlighted by my own opinion as it is expressed in terms of what Anonymity means to me and what the subject of the story presents of itself. What then shall we always remember? Awards of distinction according to others by name, or by what we take into ourselves?

One can gain a sense of anonymity not by name but by the quality of truth in the words chosen. These reflect the essence of, and do become recognizable, not by name again, but by that quality of character. Is this quality of character that one sees, destined to come into this world by that some trait to recognizable by a name "only solidifies the world experience," but doe sit really reveal the essence of the person?

What ways can one imagine that such essence is descriptive again to have it mentioned as something that appears distinct from another person, who currently stands beside and reacts to a situation, unique and rightfully different then another does. To reveal, that essence is by quality hidden as essence in this nature of character, was designed by it's entrance into the world.

Plato:CRATYLUS Persons of the dialogue: Socrates - Hermogenes - Cratylus

SOC. But if this is a battle of names, some of them asserting that they are like the truth, others contending that they are, how or by what criterion are we to decide between them? For there are no other names to which appeal can be made, but obviously recourse must be had to another standard which, without employing names, will make clear which of the two are right; and this must be a standard which shows the truth of things.
Crat. I agree.
Soc. But if that is true, Cratylus, then I suppose that things may be known without names?
Crat. Clearly.
Soc. But how would you expect to know them? What other way can there be of knowing them, except the true and natural way, through their affinities, when they are akin to each other, and through themselves? For that which is other and different from them must signify something other and different from them.
Crat. What you are saying is, I think, true.
Soc. Well, but reflect; have we not several times acknowledged that names rightly given are the likenesses and images of the things which they name?
Crat. Yes.
Soc. Let us suppose that to any extent you please you can learn things through the medium of names, and suppose also that you can learn them from the things themselves- which is likely to be the nobler and clearer way to learn of the image, whether the image and the truth of which the image is the expression have been rightly conceived, or to learn of the truth whether the truth and the image of it have been duly executed?
Crat. I should say that we must learn of the truth.
Soc. How real existence is to be studied or discovered is, I suspect, beyond you and me. But we may admit so much, that the knowledge of things is not to be derived from names. No; they must be studied and investigated in themselves.
Crat. Clearly, Socrates.

Raphael's Dissertation on Age and Youth?

School of Athens by Raphael

In center, while Plato - with the philosophy of the ideas and theoretical models, he indicates the sky, Aristotle - considered the father of Science, with the philosophy of the forms and the observation of the nature indicates the Earth. Many historians of the Art in the face correspondence of Plato with Leonardo, Heraclitus with Miguel Angel, and Euclides with Twine agree.

In a reflective occasion drawn to the center of the picture of Raphael, I am struck by the distinction of "age and youth" as I look at Plato and Aristotle. Of what has yet to descend into the minds of innovative and genuine science thinkers to know that the old man/woman works in concert with the science of youth, and this is something yet has still to unfold.

This drawing in red chalk is widely (though not universally) accepted as an original self-portrait. The main reason for hesitation in accepting it as a portrait of Leonardo is that the subject is apparently of a greater age than Leonardo ever achieved. But it is possible that he drew this picture of himself deliberately aged, specifically for Raphael's portrait of him in The School of Athens.See:Leonardo da Vinci

Why, when it is understood that Leonardo Da Vinci's face is emblazoned on the likes of Plato by Raphael? It's to call attention to Leonardo's inventiveness that one might speculate as to what "descends into any mind" that has been prep by and stands in concert, side by side with Aristotle of science?


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PLato saids,"Look to the perfection of the heavens for truth," while Aristotle saids "look around you at what is, if you would know the truth" To Remember: Eskesthai

The ole wo/man represent all the possibilities of ingenuity as one moves to place their question. When it sinks deep into the vast reservoir of quantum descriptive world" it will then make sense that all things follow what has been put before the mind.

Probability of Information Becoming?

I extend this blog posting from a comment here as a means to further understand what it is that geometers can do in my mind, as well, point toward the evolution of General Relativity with the aid of the geometer in mind. It was only by Einstein opening up, that such a success was accomplished? See also: Backreaction: This and That.

A map of how blogs are linked; but will blogging ever be seen as a genuine way to contribute to science? (Credit: Matthew Hurst/Science Photo Library)Doing Science in the Open

What about the second task, achieving cultural change? As any revolutionary can attest, that is a tall order. Let me describe two strategies that have been successful in the past, and that offer a template for future success. The first is a top-down strategy that has been successfully used by the open-access (OA) movement. The goal of the OA movement is to make scientific research freely available online to everyone in the world. It is an inspiring goal, and the OA movement has achieved some amazing successes. Perhaps most notably, in April 2008 the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) mandated that every paper written with the support of their grants must eventually be made open access. The NIH is the world’s largest grant agency; this decision is the scientific equivalent of successfully storming the Bastille. See: Doing science in the open

While this picture above may seem complex, imagine the information behind it?

If you are going to be secretive or unsure of yourself as a scientist then what happens psychologically to scientists who work in the world so caution? I am not talking about being careful in what you might consider to present but of this stance could do to the mind if it had not wanted to share, but to put prestige ahead of being open to the public. What about it's own perception about failure? Not doing it just right and being perceived as? This is counterproductive to what boldness you might wanted to engender no matter the basis of, that it might seek new ways to bring about change and revolution in our thinking by providing new opportunities for growth.

Wikipedia contains numerous entries about science; the links between which are shown here; but scientists still seem reluctant to contribute to the site. (Credit-Chris Harrison, Carnegie Mellon University)Doing Science in the Open

There is something truly honorable in my eyes about "service to humanity" when such an opportunity is set forth to provide information not just to the public, but of the willingness to provide succession of experimental possibility, by creating the opportunity for insight and experimental testing methods of abstract notion toward working out the "probability of outcome" for new science to emerge?

A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.

It is an image-centered diagram that represents semantic or other connections between portions of information. By presenting these connections in a radial, non-linear graphical manner, it encourages a brainstorming approach to any given organizational task, eliminating the hurdle of initially establishing an intrinsically appropriate or relevant conceptual framework to work within.

A mind map is similar to a semantic network or cognitive map but there are no formal restrictions on the kinds of links used.

The elements are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts and they are organized into groupings, branches, or areas. The uniform graphic formulation of the semantic structure of information on the method of gathering knowledge, may aid recall of existing memories. See: Mind Map

The fish is "soul food." The water the unconscious, all possible facets of the sensorium. The hook and worm, aspects of the "focus held" while you are fishing.

....versus....



Think about this for a moment. You have a vast library of information. This imaginary figure of mind moves into it and along with it, the possibilities of many pathways merging neurologically together. It can only do this of course once the framework had already been establish in mind( a soul in choosing to accept this responsibility), that a position is adopted. It is like fishing. You drop this bait/line into a vast reservoir for some knowledge (soul food) to emerge, as the next step in your own evolution. A becoming, as in the emergence of thought forming apparatus,exposed too, that which was not previously viewed before, yet, had always existed here in that possibility.

This type of growth is unprecedented in this way by supplying information toward such service for humanity, is, as if for every life on earth there is this opportunity for it to succeed in what it had chosen to come forward with in mind. To learn this time around. Only by "increasing the probability of outcome" can one achieve in my mind the possibility of any new science to emerge. Successful attempts toward growth and meaning to accomplish, what any soul had set out to do.

Concept Map

A concept map is a diagram showing the relationships among concepts. They are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge.

Concepts, usually represented as boxes or circles, are connected with labeled arrows in a downward-branching hierarchical structure. The relationship between concepts can be articulated in linking phrases such as "gives rise to", "results in", "is required by," or "contributes to". [1]

The technique for visualizing these relationships among different concepts is called "Concept mapping".

Pushing Back Time

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park & D.Burrows.; Optical: NASA/STScI/CfA/P.Challis

February 24, 2007 marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most spectacular events observed by astronomers in modern times, Supernova 1987A. The destruction of a massive star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy, spawned detailed observations by many different telescopes, including NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope. The outburst was visible to the naked eye, and is the brightest known supernova in almost 400 years.

This composite image shows the effects of a powerful shock wave moving away from the explosion. Bright spots of X-ray and optical emission arise where the shock collides with structures in the surrounding gas. These structures were carved out by the wind from the destroyed star. Hot-spots in the Hubble image (pink-white) now encircle Supernova 1987A like a necklace of incandescent diamonds. The Chandra data (blue-purple) reveals multimillion-degree gas at the location of the optical hot-spots. These data give valuable insight into the behavior of the doomed star in the years before it exploded.See:Supernova 1987A:
Twenty Years Since a Spectacular Explosion

(Bold added by me for emphasis)


Supernova Starting Gun: Neutrinos

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Next they independently estimated how the hypothetical neutrinos would be picked up in a detector as massive as Super-Kamiokande in Japan, which contains 50,000 tons of water. The detector would only see a small fraction of the neutrinos. So the team outlined a method for matching the observed neutrinos to the supernova's expected luminosity curve to figure out the moment in time--to within about 10 milliseconds--when the sputtering star would have begun emitting neutrinos. In their supernova model, the bounce, the time of the first gravitational waves, occurs about 5 milliseconds before neutrino emission. So looking back at their data, gravitational wave hunters should focus on that point in time.

(again bold added for emphasis)

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See Also:SciDAC Computational Astrophysics Consortium