PLATO’S CRITIQUE OF THE CONCEPT <br><em>LICENCE TO DO WHAT ONE PLEASES</em>

Abstract

Regardless of the fact that they conceived the notion of democracy, or perhaps precisely because of that, the ancient Greeks were the harshest critics of democracy. Plato was distinguished in this regard among the other ancient philosophers. He, as well as the other critics of democracy, particularly disliked the democratic ideas of freedom, which included the concept of licence to do what one pleases. This study analyzed the characteristics and importance of this concept on the basis of the example of his criticism in the dialogues Gorgias and the Republic. In this way, it was shown that the concept of licence to do what one pleases was important for Plato's critique of democracy, and that it was not unfounded and motivated exclusively on the basis of the political prejudice.