Plato’s Republic, Books III and IV

Here are some more questions for you to think about (again, these are all just meant as jumping-off points for a wide-ranging discussion).

How should we think about censorship, both in the Republic and in general? Are the principles Socrates employs for his censorship program acceptable to us? What kind of moral character would result from the censorship he describes, and is it desirable? Lastly: in light of these principles, does Socratic censorship allow for a book like the Republic itself (and if it does or does not, what is the significance of that)?

Think about the noble lie: what does it tell us about the human soul? What does it tell us about politics as such? Do human beings need noble lies?

What does the “discovery” of justice in the city tell us about the virtue of justice in the soul? Is the Socrates’ account of justice persuasive? Do you see any difficulties with his claims?

Let’s also revisit an earlier question: just how plausible does the city/soul analogy seem to us now?

ANSWER

Plato’s Republic, Books III and IV

In Book III, Socrates moves on from stories about heroes. Socrates gives more attention to the content that can be discussed with the guardians. Socrates argues that heroes should be represented as other entities rather than has lamenting famous men as if dying was a bad thing. Glaucon raises issues about mortal men to Socrates, but Socrates postpones and continues to discuss the allowed story styles.

In book IV, Socrates is interrupted by Adeimantus to point out that it sounds unpleasant to be a ruler (de los Ríos, 2018). This argument is because rulers were not allowed to own any private wealth, all the things that make them happy such as going for trips or keeping mistresses. Socrates mostly discusses the lifestyle of the guardians in book four.

The Principle of Specialization

Plato decides to state what Justice is before he proves that it is indeed a good thing. He defines injustice as a behavioral norm and states that justice has a structure. The two structures of the soul include political Justice, which resides in the city and individual Justice that resides in the soul.  Plato explains how the principle of specialization categorizes society into three major categories: producers, warriors, and rulers.

The Tripartite Soul

Just structural relations among classes of a society form the political Justice, Plato argues that the structural relations among parts of a soul contribute to the individual Justice. Plato further explains that there are three significant deserts in motivations that form an individual soul (de los Ríos, 2018). The three desires include the rational part that strives for knowledge and truth, the appetite part that lasts after food among other things, and the spirited part that mostly goes after honor.

References

de los Ríos, I. (2018). Politics of the Soul in Plato’s Republic. In Soul and Mind in Greek Thought. Psychological Issues in Plato and Aristotle (pp. 111-129). Springer, Cham.