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Plato’s The Republic Books 6 through 10
In books 6 through 10 of Plato’s Republic, we see many different discussions on
the subject of justice, philosophy, and goodness. The philosopher Socrates has
now defined what a philosopher is. His next task is to show that a philosopher
is best qualified to be the ruler of a state. A good ruler must surely know
what Justice and Goodness are, for he must administer Justice and always act
for the good of the community. But a philosopher, as we have seen, has knowledge
of the Forms, so from this point of view at least, he is best qualified to be a
ruler. A good ruler must have a good character as well as a good mind; he must
always be truthful, high-minded, and disciplined, and never mean, petty, or
cowardly. A philosopher will satisfy these requirements too, Socrates argues.
Since the philosopher loves truth, he will always be honest and forthright.
Socrates is being much too idealistic here. The idea that a philosopher should
be the ruler of a state is just an idle dream. Politicians should be practical
and experienced. However philosophers have wisdom and goodness. Next Socrates
is asked, “What is Goodness?” Socrates tries to answer this question in the
form of an analogy. The Analogy of the Sun, as this is called, can be
represented in a diagram:
Sight Knowledge
The Sun Goodness
Is the source of is the source of
Light, Truth,
And so makes objects and so makes the Forms
Visible, and allows the intelligible, and allows
Eye to see. The mind to know.
This analogy does not tell us what Goodness is; it only gives us some idea of
the relation in which Goodness stands to other intelligible or knowable things.
He also tells about the Allegory of the Cave, which contains a number of
important and interesting messages. For one thing, it illustrates Plato’s
belief that all knowledge is connected in the knowledge of Goodness itself.
The study of the five branches of mathematics, can serve only as an
introduction to the real intellectual training that the future philosopher-rulers
must receive. Plato considers mathematics to be the first stage in the
intellectual education of the philosopher-ruler. If they have mastered
mathematics, then they will have begun to think in abstract terms. However, we
do not want them to be mathematicians, but rather philosophers. They must
therefore learn to understand the nature of Reality- that is, they must grasp
the Forms. To be able to do this, says Socrates, they must learn to argue
logically. The science of logical argument is called “Dialetic.” We must,
therefore, teach them Dialectic. Philosophers must learn the whole knowledge of
Goodness and argue in Dialectic.
In Book VII, Socrates now outlines the entire program of study for the future
philosopher-rulers. First, he emphasizes once again the necessity of selecting
only those
with good characters and with the appropriate intellectual gifts. The trainees
must be honest, brave, hardworking, and quick to learn.
The entire life of those who are to become rulers is divided into six stages,
as follows:
1.) Childhood: The young people should receive training in literature, music,
and elementary mathematics. However the learning should not enforced. Children
will also learn about warfare, and taken to watch battles.
2.) Army Training: The best from stage 1 will now be selected for intensive
physical and military training. It will last two to three years and they will
have no time to study.
3.) Young Adulthood: At age 20, the best from stage 2 are selected. They will
take the advanced course in mathematics. The rest will presumably remain
soldiers, and thus they will form the second class of the state, the auxiliary
class. The math course will last ten years. They will see the connections
between the various branches of mathematics.
4.) Manhood: When the students are thirty, yet a further selection is made and
they will now study Dialectic for a period of about five years.
5.) Philosophy: At the age of thirty-five, the trainees will have become
philosophers. They must now receive the necessary practical experience for
ruling. They will
accept junior positions in military and political life. This period of
practical training will last fifteen years.
6.) Philosopher-Ruler: At the age of fifty, the philosopher-rulers will at last
be fully formed. They will spend a large part of the rest of their lives in
contemplation and philosophy, but they must also take their turn in public and
political life, and do their duty in ruling and guiding the state. For now they
will know Goodness itself, and thus they will know what is best for the
community.
At this point, Socrates has discovered the nature of Justice, both in the state
and in the
individual man, and he had begun to answer the question “Why is it better for a
man to lead a just life than it is for him to lead an unjust life?” The Myth of
Er tells us that even after death justice is rewarded and injustice punished.
Plato’s view is that a man who chooses to be unjust is a matter of ignorance. A
man guided by reason would realize that living an unjust life causes him
unhappiness and suffering. Socrates than says that there are four main types of
unjust societies. These are Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy, and Tyranny. This
is the order of their degrees of injustice; timocracy is closest to the just
state, and tyranny is the most unjust and diseased of all.