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Single Idea 262

[filed under theme 25. Social Practice / B. Equalities / 1. Grounds of equality ]

Full Idea

Men and women who have shown conspicuous merit should qualify for all honours without distinction of sex.

Gist of Idea

Men and women should qualify equally for honours on merit

Source

Plato (The Laws [c.348 BCE], 802a)

Book Ref

Plato: 'The Laws', ed/tr. Saunders,Trevor J [Penguin 1970], p.289


The 45 ideas from 'The Laws'

In 'The Laws', to obey the law is to be obey god [Plato, by MacIntyre]
Virtue is the aim of all laws [Plato]
Sound laws achieve the happiness of those who observe them [Plato]
Children's games should channel their pleasures into adult activity [Plato]
Education in virtue produces citizens who are active but obedient [Plato]
Education is channelling a child's feelings into the right course before it understands why [Plato]
Virtue is a concord of reason and emotion, with pleasure and pain trained to correct ends [Plato]
It would be strange if the gods rewarded those who experienced the most pleasure in life [Plato]
We ought to follow where the argument leads us [Plato]
We shouldn't always follow where the argument leads! [Lewis on Plato]
The best people are produced where there is no excess of wealth or poverty [Plato]
It is foolish to quarrel with the mind's own reasoning processes [Plato]
Totalitarian states destroy friendships and community spirit [Plato]
A serious desire for moral excellence is very rare indeed [Plato]
People who value beauty above virtue insult the soul by placing the body above it [Plato]
The best way to educate the young is not to rebuke them, but to set a good example [Plato]
Truth has the supreme value, for both gods and men [Plato]
Every crime is the result of excessive self-love [Plato]
Excessive laughter and tears must be avoided [Plato]
Virtue and great wealth are incompatible [Plato]
Mathematics has the widest application of any subject on the curriculum [Plato]
Friendship is impossible between master and slave, even if they are made equal [Plato]
Justice is granting the equality which unequals deserve [Plato]
Control of education is the key office of state, and should go to the best citizen [Plato]
Men and women should qualify equally for honours on merit [Plato]
The only worthwhile life is one devoted to physical and moral perfection [Plato]
The conquest of pleasure is the noblest victory of all [Plato]
An action is only just if it is performed by someone with a just character and outlook [Plato]
Injustice is the mastery of the soul by bad feelings, even if they do not lead to harm [Plato]
Attempted murder is like real murder, but we should respect the luck which avoided total ruin [Plato]
Self-generating motion is clearly superior to all other kinds of motion [Plato]
The only possible beginning for the endless motions of reality is something self-generated [Plato]
Movement is transmitted through everything, and it must have started with self-generated motion [Plato]
To grasp a thing we need its name, its definition, and what it really is [Plato]
Soul is what is defined by 'self-generating motion' [Plato]
Self-moving soul has to be the oldest thing there is [Plato]
Soul must be the cause of all the opposites, such as good and evil or beauty and ugliness [Plato]
There must be at least two souls controlling the cosmos, one doing good, the other the opposite [Plato]
If all the motions of nature reflect calculations of reason, then the best kind of soul must direct it [Plato]
Mortals are incapable of being fully rational [Plato]
The heavens must be full of gods, controlling nature either externally or from within [Plato]
Creation is not for you; you exist for the sake of creation [Plato]
My individuality is my soul, which carries my body around [Plato]
The Guardians must aim to discover the common element in the four cardinal virtues [Plato]
If astronomical movements are seen as necessary instead of by divine will, this leads to atheism [Plato]