The forms of the state and the concept of the ideal state in the teachings of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle
This article examines the forms of government of the ideal state, and also characterizes the main concepts of the ideal state in the philosophical worldviews of the great thinkers of Antiquity Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The study is based on the philosophical works of Plato “State” and “Laws”, which he wrote in the form of a dialogue (360-354 BC) and socio-political treatise of Aristotle “Politics” (322 BC). The article examines in detail the types of states and types of government identified by philosophers from the standpoint of modern scientific interpretation. On the basis of their teachings, a comparative and systematic analysis of the philosophical thought of antiquity is carried out. The methodological basis in this study consists in the use of such methods as: historical and legal method, formal legal method, method of historicism, comparative and analysis and others. The novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive study of the concepts of the ideal state, forms of government in the philosophical works of the ancient Greek thinkers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, their classifications of forms of state, their common features and differences, including the problems of justice, family, and also private property, citizenship and slavery from the point of view of modern science.