IB Philosophy Revision Guide: THE REPUBLIC by Plato

THE REPUBLIC

Table of Contents
DYEING OF THE WOOL ANALOGY.......................................................................................1
THE FOUR VIRTUES.............................................................................................................2
JUSTICE..............................................................................................................................2
MICRO/MACRO ANALOGY.................................................................................................3
TRIPARTITE SOUL...............................................................................................................3
WOMEN.............................................................................................................................3
MATING FESTIVALS............................................................................................................4
FAMILY..............................................................................................................................4
BODY ANALOGY.................................................................................................................4
ENEMIES AND JUSTICE.......................................................................................................5
QUALITIES OF A RULER.......................................................................................................5
REAL STATE VS IDEALISTIC STATE.......................................................................................6
SIGHT-LOVERS....................................................................................................................6
SHIP ANALOGY...................................................................................................................7
CRITICISM OF SOPHISTRY...................................................................................................7
THE GOOD & THE SUN........................................................................................................7
THE CAVE...........................................................................................................................7
MYTH OF THE METALS.......................................................................................................8
THE GOOD..........................................................................................................................8
METAPHYSICS....................................................................................................................9
THE DIVIDED LINE..............................................................................................................9
THE TYRANT.....................................................................................................................10
TYPES OF SOCIETIES..........................................................................................................10




DYEING OF THE WOOL ANALOGY
 Selection and education of guardians likened to dyeing of wool

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,  Those who dye wool aim to make sure color completely absorbed and cannot be
washed out
 Ideal is to find white wool and prepare it so that it takes and holds color (Guardians)
 Via musical and gymnastic training
 “Absorb” lawful belief
 Effective detergents such as pleasure, pain, fear, appetite don’t wash it out
 Guardians must be of good character so laws make clear and lasting imprint
 Just state produces just people
 Just state provides effective education so state runs smoothly in union of three
classes
 Additionally, Plato places a great deal of belief in the role of nature and nurture;
suppose we are not born with predispositions, rather a tabula rasa, and classes only
product of their environment


THE FOUR VIRTUES
 Laborers: appetite -> temperance
 Auxiliary: spirit -> courage
 Guardians: reason -> wisdom
 Harmony between groups: justice
 Temperance: must resign themselves to staying in their place, performing their
duties (applies to all classes, leads to harmony of groups, appetitive and spirited part
must be in harmony with the rational part, leads to prosperity of city)
 Wisdom: knowledge for what is best for all parts as well as the whole; philosopher-
king only; love of learning
 Courage; auxiliary/warriors; to know what to fear; leads to honor and victory


JUSTICE
 Justice is “the having or doing of one’s own and what belongs to oneself”
 I.e. a carpenter must perform carpentry
 For instance, a thief is unjust because he wants what is not his own
 A murderer acts unjustly because he has deprived his victim of what rightfully
belongs to him
 Macro/Micro analogy; the state is the soul writ large
 Appetite, Spirit, Reason -> Workers, Auxiliary, Philosophers
 Four cardinal virtues: Wisdom, courage, temperance, justice
 Justice: the power of each part doing its own, not overthrowing rational part, leads
to pleasure and fulfillment
 “No citizen should have what belongs to another or deprive of what is his own”
 Injustice is meddling of the three classes with each other’s’ jobs
 Since justice comes from within the agent exercising his will, only need minimum
laws (justice comes from within)
 All laws are to ensure education of youth
 PURPLE EYES ANALOGY: If the most beautiful color is purple, we cannot paint entire
statues of people purple, as it is not representative
 Not everything must be beautiful, they should be functional and appropriate

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,  Plato’s explanation for why not everyone may be a guardian
 Individuals totally identified with community
 How can the individual be protected from the tyranny of the community?
 What about the sanctity of human life? The thoughts that the individual possesses?


MICRO/MACRO ANALOGY
 Parallel between just state and just individual
 The state is the soul writ large
 Justice in the state is justice in individual
 Psychological conflict points to divided soul
 Each part of soul must not interfere with the others if Just
 Possible conflicts between the rational, “spirited,” and appetitive parts of the soul
 Corresponds to guardians, auxiliaries, producing classes
 City's ontological status regards a construction of the soul, not of an actual
metropolis
 Man’s purpose would be pre-assigned; one job that suits person, homogeneity
 What if workers desire to understand what upper class understands?
 Would workers accept all guardians’ decisions?
 What if the individual is talented at more than one thing? Is it possible to learn to be
good in another field?
 Is it true that “the real concern with justice is not with external actions but with
oneself?”
 Even a person strongly ruled by reason may commit a crime
 Not everyone would have a harmonious self


TRIPARTITE SOUL
 Reason, spirit, appetite
 Most ruled by appetite -> workers
 Some ruled by spirit -> auxiliaries
 Few ruled by reason -> guardians
 Reason: faculty for logical reasoning, deliberate action, foresight
 Appetite: instinctive desire, base emotions, lust, anger
 i.e. Thirst is an unqualified desire to drink
 Unqualified Desire: unthinking impulse
 Unthinking aspect is what qualifies it as appetitive
 Key attribute of appetite is impulsivity
 Guardians/Philosophers have desires, how can we be sure they won’t be corrupted?
 Would the philosopher actually be wise? Someone not wise but virtuous would be a
better ruler


WOMEN
 Sex/gender not a basis for deciding where social duties lie because it does not
determine the qualities and natural abilities of a person
 Women may be worthy of being guardians or philosopher-rulers

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