Installment 2
Section 8
Section 8
Now that we have established Plato’s
distaste for the principles of democracy, let us take a look at his ideal
government. In “The Republic,” Plato’s
goal is to lay out his beliefs on what a “just” city should look like. But what is just? Even Plato’s depiction of Socrates struggled
with this question. Reading this work,
you will notice him giving several different definitions of the ideal. I am sure if you asked 10 of your friends
today that same question you would have 10 slightly different answers. The character of Socrates’ clearest
definition comes from looking at his just man’s soul. Plato breaks the soul down into three separate
parts. This is known as the tripartite
soul http://www.scandalon.co.uk/philosophy/plato_tripartite_soul.htm. The three parts are as follows; the rational
(love for truth), the spirited (love for honor), and the appetitive (love for
pleasure). For one to be just, the soul
must have its parts in proper arrangement.
A just soul is completely directed toward filling whatever
knowledge-loving desires that reason produces.
Therefore, his just man is ruled by a love of wisdom and truth. Theoretically, he will not be controlled by
desire, greed, or lust for honor.
In Book
I, Thrasymachus argues that justice
is in the interest of the rulers. In
every government, the rulers make the laws and enforce justice. Without a method to delve into one’s soul how
are we to know one’s desires? Since
Plato’s just man is a lover of knowledge and seeks to only further that knowledge
would that make him the most qualified to rule?
Plato would say yes. He proposes
a rule by the Philosopher King. One man
to control all. He makes some very
disturbing propositions under the rule of his Philosopher King. https://www.britannica.com/topic/philosopher-king
One of the proposals that stands
out the most is his idea on population control.
The guardians are the best of the best in his society. One could call them his nobles. He elects a time period of every year
(festivals) where guardians can have sex with as many women as they choose in
hopes of increasing the noble population.
Children born outside of these festivals are subject to death. His preference though, is to abort the
children before they see “the light of day.”
Another
notable proposition is the censorship of poetry. Poetry’s aim should be to control the
guardians. Poetry should not spark
uncontrollable laughter, should not present the underworld as bad (so that the
guardians are not afraid to die), should promote a sense of truth-telling but
an ability to lie when needed, should promote discipline…etc. To add to his censorship, he proposes a myth
to be told to the citizens. The myth
states that people are born with different metal within them. Rulers are the only ones born with gold, thus
the only fit to rule. Therefore, no one
should question those picked to rule.
Is this
all starting to sound familiar to you?
Totalitarianism, censorship, noble race…
Think back to a time in history where much of this idea actually took place. My thought while reading “The Republic” was
Hitler. Hitler (lover of knowledge) the
King, Nazis the guardians, mass censorship, and the cleansing of the population…is
there not a resemblance? I will let you
decide. http://darwinianconservatism.blogspot.com/2010/01/nazi-philosophers-plato-fichte.html
Audiobook for anyone interested
My comments;
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