INTRODUCTION
Over
the ages, man wondered; now wonders and will always wonder on the nature of his
existence. It is evident in the nature of man to live socially. Aristotle
however affirms this position in his assertion "...the individual, when
isolated is not self-sufficing.... A social instinct is implanted in all men by
nature....”[1]
This assertion presupposes that man lives communally in a society. However, due
to man’s inherent tendency of strife, anarchy and disorderliness, the society
is not devoid of aberrations. Nonetheless, some philosophers and writers over
the ages have been conceiving plans for an ideal state that will be free from
these aberrations. Plato is no exception to these philosophers. They aim at
using their models of an ideal government to express ideas on contemporary
issues and political conditions. Plato in his Republic examines the concept ‘Justice’ as a necessity for the
ideal state. For him, an ideal state is more or less a just state. However,
this work aims at critical summary of Plato’s Republic, though prior to that, I will briefly highlight on the
life of Plato and the historical background of The Republic as it will help for proper understanding of what
informed Plato’s ideas in the text.
PLATO
(427 – 348 BC) AND THE REPUBLIC
Plato was born in 427Bc,
about four years after the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war. He came from a
family that played a prominent part in Athenian politics. However, he did not
join politics as he was disgusted by its violence and corruption. He is a pre-eminent
philosopher, a literary writer and educator. Plato founded the Academy in
Athens in the late fourth century. It was the first permanent institute devoted
to philosophical research and teaching. Plato’s Republic is the first great work of western political philosophy. The Republic is very much the product of
particular historical circumstance. It was written consequent upon the
political instability of the Greek world. Plato wrote the Republic to opine how the state should be run in other to attain
serene and tranquil society (Ideal state). Like Plato’s other works, The Republic is written in the form of a
dialogue and it has Socrates as its narrator. It is divided into ten books.
SUMMARY
OF PLATO’S REPUBLIC
In the Republic, Plato exposes his philosophical standpoint on politics,
epistemology and metaphysics among others. Central to The Republic is Plato’s ethical cum socio-political standpoint as
he describes the way to live a happy live- "...only the pleasures of the intelligence
are entirely true and unadulterated...."[2] In
book I and II, Socrates inquires about old age. He strives to know how pleasant
or pleasurable it can be, whether wealth increases the comfort of old age.
Furthermore, Socrates steers the conversation to a new topic; Justice. He seeks
for the meaning of the concept ‘Justice’ and examines the comparative
advantages of justice and injustice in other to ascertain who is happier between
the just man and the unjust man. In attempt to this quest, Socrates opines to
construct in imagination an ideal polis or city-state that would perfectly
embody the idea of justice. For him the state is made up of three groups; the
guardians, the auxiliaries and the artisans.
Book III emphasizes on the censorship of the classics;
Then
it seems that our first business is to supervise the production of stories, and
choose only those we think suitable, and reject the rest. We shall persuade
mothers and nurses to tell our chosen stories to their children and by means of
them to mould their minds and character which are more important than their
bodies.[3]
Their education will be
rich in poetry and music in order to instil a sense of rhythm and harmony deep
into their minds and souls. They won’t be taught menial occupations. Those are
unfit for the ruling class. There also will be intense physical training, on
the principle of a healthy mind in a healthy body.
Book IV discusses the
manner of life of the guardians. Socrates holds that they will have no private
property beyond the bare necessities. They won’t live in private homes, but in
a common barracks like soldiers. Furthermore, Socrates characterizes the
different groups of the state with the cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage,
temperance, and justice. For him, the guardians will have wisdom; the
auxiliaries, courage; the farmers and workers, temperance. Thus, the society,
well-organized in this way, will be just. This arrangement corresponds to the
three parts of the individual soul (rational, spirited and appetitive).
Book V emphasizes on the
idea of things being held in common, including women and children. The
institution of the family will be abolished. Children will be brought up in
common. During the childbearing period of adulthood, at regular intervals,
marriage festivals will occur and couples will be paired by lot. However, the
lots will be rigged by the rulers so that the best people of both sexes will be
united in marriage. The couples will live together for the period of the
festival for the sake of breeding. Additionally, women will be treated as
equals of men. In other words, men and women will compete equally in every
occupation.
Book VI discusses the
qualities that characterize a philosopher, together with all the temptations
that may corrupt him (or by implication, her) -
"One trait in the philosopher's character we can assume is his love
of any branch of learning....What are commonly called good things of life all
contribute to ruin and distract him."[4]
The process of selecting the philosophers will be rigorous because not many can
meet the high standards that are required for a guardian to become one of the
rulers. There cannot be any justice in states until philosophers become kings
and kings become philosophers. The philosopher will have to be very
well-rounded, excellent both in mind and in body. He must strive for the
highest object of knowledge, the knowledge of the Good. On the urging of the
others, Socrates agrees to sketch the nature of the Good. The Good in the realm
of ideas is analogous to the Sun in the physical world. Then comes the allegory
of the divided line, in which the various levels of reality and the
corresponding states of mind are outlined
In book VII, due to the
abstract nature of the allegory of the divided line, Socrates gives a concrete
version of it in the famous myth of the Cave, which corresponds exactly to its
divisions. However, Socrates maintains that the guardians ought to study
various sciences such as mathematics in order to train their minds and souls to
be rulers and to transcend the physical world, in other words, to escape from
the cave.
In book VIII and IX,
Socrates discusses the forms of government with special interest in the corrupt
forms. This way, he can also look at the individuals
inhabiting them, thus cutting away the grist so that only the meat, the just men,
may remain. However, in dealing with this, a question came up; does the unjust
man who is perceived as just in public live better or worse than the just man
perceived as unjust? Following this trend, the Ideal state seems difficult to
actualize. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Socrates puts it sharply that whether
or not the ideal state becomes a reality, the philosopher must always live as
though it were real inside him.
In book X, Socrates
continues his criticism of the Greek poets and tragedians, saying that he will
either ban them from his ideal state or only let them back in a very restricted
way. He concludes the Republic with
an argument or proof for the immortality of the soul, and the dialogue
concludes with another myth of the reincarnation of the soul; the myth of Er. It is a long description of an afterlife, in which all
those virtues that Socrates has worked so diligently to expose and defend are
given their proper place. Souls are shown in eternal recurrence, moving up and
down from the heavens to earth and back again (with the wicked spending thousand
year stints in hell).
CRITICAL EVALUATION
Plato’s Republic is based on finding the truth
in justice. It attempts to organise the state so that social production and
justice will find their maximal limits. However, even though Plato’s Republic is a classic one, it is not
devoid of lapses. The text lacks focus on the good life or happiness. In
addition to this deficiency, the idea
of giving the guardians a set of conduct appears to be absurd. They seem to be
objectified, in that they don’t exist authentically. Their freedom tends to be
limited. In other words, they don’t actualize their existential self because
their lives seem to be prescribed or given. However, man on a general note,
ought to live according to the dialectics of freedom and choice as the
existentialists proposed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, I won’t fail to affirm
Socrates’ idea on education as he rightly emphasizes that it is a channel for
knowledge and justice. However, idea of censorship in education seems
inadequate, because knowledge ought to be all encompassing. Simply put, sad
music, fearful prose, innovative art are all important forms of expression to
fundamentally learn.
Nevertheless, a
progressive thought I dim fit to commend is Socrates’ view on women. While
others in different times would have enslaved women, Socrates contrarily, gave
them a sense of freedom and equality. On
another note, the orderliness of this text conforms and coheres with one
leading to the other and the cogency of Socrates’ argument can clearly be seen.
This text is a master piece which indubitably is most needed in a society like
ours where societal mayhem is almost overriding.
CONCLUSION
Plato’s goal in the Republic is to fabricate a society from
scratch that will propagate justice and nullify injustice. The Republic is a master piece that serves as an eye opener and
mind opener which gets the young minds thinking about how to change the society
for better from an early age.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ARISTOTLE, The
Complete works of Aristotle, edited by Jonathan Barnes, Vol. 2 New Jersey: Princeton University Press,
1984.
COPLESTON, F., A History of Philosophy, vol 1, part 1. New York: Image Books,
1962.
EMILE, B., The History
of Philosophy: The Hellenic Age. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963.
PLATO, The Republic,
trans. B. Jowett. New York: Airmont Publishing Company Inc, 1968.
PLATO, The
Republic, trans. D. Lee. London: Penguin Classics Publishers, 1974.
RUSSELL, B., History
of Western Philosophy. London: George Allen & Unwin Publishers, 1976.
WALTER, B. et al. Philosophical Dictionary. Gonzaga
University Press, 1974.
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