One of the most influential minds in western philosophy is that of Plato. Plato lived from 422-347 B.C, was born into an aristocratic family in the city of Athens. He was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle. Plato followed the basic ideas of Socrates, in which no laws are to be broken despite their relevance. He makes clear why laws should be followed and why disobedience to the law is rarely justified.
             Plato wrote a book called The Republic. It contains ideas about a society and citizens who lived within that society would act. He believed in an ideal state. According to Plato it was divided into three classes. They were rulers, auxiliaries, and the laborers. He believed that the rulers should be philosophers because they were the most wise and intelligent thinkers, while the auxiliaries had to be courageous and strong willed. Laborers had the virtue of temperance and they were considered to be the middle management. In Plato's perfect world, slaves didn't exist and women were considered an equal. Within Plato's ideal state, sets of laws for the inhabitants were made in order to allow the society to function to its greatest ability. Plato would have viewed civil disobedience as unnecessary in his ideal state because he believed that laws should be followed, disobedience to the law is rarely justified. Nevertheless, if Plato had felt that there was an imperfect state in which laws may have been unjust, he would have viewed civil disobedience as claiming justice.
             Plato would feel that justice is based on the idea of good, which is the harmony of the world. Justice is the order of the state, and the state is the visible embodiment of justice under the conditions of human society. Although 'freedom is the basis for the good life' , civil disobedience is unnecessary because people should follow laws regardless of their importance, just as Socrates believed. Without set laws, p...