When was The Republic written by Plato?
Republic (Plato)
The Republic (, Politeia; Latin: Res Publica) is a Socratic dialogue, written by Plato around 380 BC, concerning justice (), the order and character of the just city-state, and the just man. It is Plato's best-known work, and has proven to be one of the world's most influential works of philosophy and political theory, both intellectually and historically.
The Islands of Wisdom
The satire of utopias also reproduces the society described in Plato's "The Republic".
Republic (Plato)
At the beginning of Book II, Plato's two brothers challenge Socrates to define justice in the man, and unlike the rather short and simple definitions offered in Book I, their views of justice are presented in two independent speeches. Glaucon's speech reprises Thrasymachus' idea of justice; it starts with the legend of Gyges, who discovered a ring that gave him the power to become invisible. Glaucon uses this story to argue that no man would be just if he had the opportunity of doing injustice with impunity. With the power to become invisible, Gyges is able to seduce the queen, murder the king, and take over the kingdom. Glaucon argues that the just as well as the unjust man would do the same if they had the power to get away with injustice exempt from punishment. The only reason that men are just and praise justice is out of fear of being punished for injustice. The law is a product of compromise between individuals who agree not to do injustice to others if others will not do injustice to them. Glaucon says that if people had the power to do injustice without fear of punishment, they would not enter into such an agreement. Glaucon uses this argument to challenge Socrates to defend the position that the unjust life is better than the just life. Adeimantus adds to Glaucon's speech the charge that men are only just for the results that justice brings one fortune, honor, reputation. Adeimantus challenges Socrates to prove that being just is worth something in and of itself, not only as a means to an end.
Mimesis
Both Plato and Aristotle saw in mimesis the representation of nature, including human nature, as reflected in the dramas of the period. Plato wrote about mimesis in both "Ion" and "The Republic" (Books II, III, and X). In "Ion", he states that poetry is the art of divine madness, or inspiration. Because the poet is subject to this divine madness, instead of possessing "art" or "knowledge" – "techne" – of the subject (532c), the poet does not speak truth (as characterized by Plato's account of the Forms). As Plato has it, truth is only the concern of the philosopher. As culture in those days did not consist in the solitary reading of books, but in the listening to performances, the recitals of orators (and poets), or the acting out by classical actors of tragedy, Plato maintained in his critique that theatre was not sufficient in conveying the truth (540c). He was concerned that actors or orators were thus able to persuade an audience by rhetoric rather than by telling the truth (535b).
Polis
Books II–IV of "The Republic" are concerned with Plato addressing the makeup of an ideal "polis". In "The Republic", Socrates is concerned with the two underlying principles of any society: mutual needs and differences in aptitude. Starting from these two principles, Socrates deals with the economic structure of an ideal "polis". According to Plato, there are five main economic classes of any "polis": producers, merchants, sailors/shipowners, retail traders, and wage earners. Along with the two principles and five economic classes, there are four virtues. The four virtues of a "just city" include, wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. With all of these principles, classes, and virtues, it was believed that a "just city" ("polis") would exist.
History of political science
The antecedents of Western politics can be traced back to the Socratic political philosophers, and Aristotle ("The Father of Political Science") (384–322 BC). These authors, in such works as "The Republic" and "Laws" by Plato, and "The Politics" and "Nicomachean Ethics" by Aristotle, analyzed political systems philosophically, going beyond earlier Greek poetic and historical reflections which can be found in the works of epic poets like Homer and Hesiod, historians like Herodotus and Thucydides, and dramatists such as Sophocles, Aristophanes, and Euripides.
Republic (Plato)
Democracy
William De Los Santos
De Los Santos has written the screenplay for a film of the life of Plato entitled "The Man of The Republic" which is currently in development with producer Chris Hanley and his Muse Productions.
Republic (Plato)
Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, wrote his own imitation of Plato's "Republic", c. 300 BC. "Zeno's Republic" advocates a form of anarchism in which all of the citizens are philosophers, and advocates a more radical form of sexual communism than that proposed by Plato.
Republic (Plato)
In the first book, two definitions of justice are proposed but deemed inadequate. Returning debts owed, and helping friends while harming enemies, are commonsense definitions of justice that, Socrates shows, are inadequate in exceptional situations, and thus lack the rigidity demanded of a definition. Yet he does not completely reject them, for each expresses a commonsense notion of justice that Socrates will incorporate into his discussion of the just regime in books II through V.
Meaning of life
Plato, a pupil of Socrates, was one of the earliest, most influential philosophers. His reputation comes from his idealism of believing in the existence of universals. His Theory of Forms proposes that universals do not physically exist, like objects, but as heavenly forms. In the dialogue of "The Republic", the character of Socrates describes the Form of the Good. His theory on justice in the soul relates to the idea of happiness relevant to the question of the meaning of life.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Several 19th century examples of the association with Plato can be found, often dropping "ipsos". John Stuart Mill quotes it thus in "Considerations on Representative Government" (1861), though without reference to Plato. Plato's "Republic" though was hardly ever referenced by classical Latin authors like Juvenal, and it has been noted that it simply disappeared from literary awareness for a thousand years except for traces in the writings of Cicero and St. Augustine. In the "Republic", a putatively perfect society is described by Socrates, the main character in this Socratic dialogue.
Atlantis
Atlantis (, "island of Atlas") is a fictional island mentioned within an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works "Timaeus" and "Critias", where it represents the antagonist naval power that besieges "Ancient Athens", the pseudo-historic embodiment of Plato's ideal state in "The Republic". In the story, Athens repels the Atlantean attack unlike any other nation of the known world, supposedly giving testament to the superiority of Plato's concept of a state. The story concludes with Atlantis falling out of favor with the deities and submerging into the Atlantic Ocean.
Onasander
Onasander or Onosander ( "Onesandros" or Ὀνόσανδρος "Onosandros"; fl. 1st century AD) was a Greek philosopher. He was the author of a commentary on the "Republic" of Plato, which is lost, but we still possess his "Strategikos" (Στρατηγικός), a short but comprehensive work on the duties of a general. It is dedicated to Quintus Veranius Nepos, consul in AD 49, and legate of Britain. It was the chief authority for the military writings of the emperors Maurice and Leo VI, and Maurice of Saxony, who consulted it in a French translation and expressed a high opinion of it.
Laws (dialogue)
The Laws (Greek: Νόμοι, "Nómoi"; Latin: "De Legibus") is Plato's last and longest dialogue. The conversation depicted in the work's twelve books begins with the question of who is given the credit for establishing a civilization's laws. Its musings on the ethics of government and law have established it as a classic of political philosophy alongside Plato's more widely read "Republic".
A History of Political Theory
Part I : The Theory of the City-State
1. The City-State
2. Political Thought Before Plato
3. Plato, The Republic
4. Plato, The Statesman and The Laws
5. Aristotle, Political Ideals
6. Aristotle, Political Actualities
7. The Twilight of the City-State
Plato
The oldest surviving complete manuscript for many of the dialogues is the Clarke Plato (Codex Oxoniensis Clarkianus 39, or Codex Boleianus MS E.D. Clarke 39), which was written in Constantinople in 895 and acquired by Oxford University in 1809. The Clarke is given the siglum "B" in modern editions. "B" contains the first six tetralogies and is described internally as being written by "John the Calligrapher" on behalf of Arethas of Caesarea. It appears to have undergone corrections by Arethas himself. For the last two tetralogies and the apocrypha, the oldest surviving complete manuscript is Codex Parisinus graecus 1807, designated "A", which was written nearly contemporaneously to "B", circa 900 AD. "A" must be a copy of the edition edited by the patriarch, Photios, teacher of Arethas."A" probably had an initial volume containing the first 7 tetralogies which is now lost, but of which a copy was made, Codex Venetus append. class. 4, 1, which has the siglum "T". The oldest manuscript for the seventh tetralogy is Codex Vindobonensis 54. suppl. phil. Gr. 7, with siglum "W", with a supposed date in the twelfth century. In total there are fifty-one such Byzantine manuscripts known, while others may yet be found.
Plato
The Oxford Classical Texts offers the current standard complete Greek text of Plato's complete works. In five volumes edited by John Burnet, its first edition was published 1900-1907, and it is still available from the publisher, having last been printed in 1993. The second edition is still in progress with only the first volume, printed in 1995, and the "Republic", printed in 2003, available. The "Cambridge Greek and Latin Texts" and "Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries" series includes Greek editions of the "Protagoras", "Symposium", "Phaedrus", "Alcibiades", and "Clitophon", with English philological, literary, and, to an extent, philosophical commentary. One distinguished edition of the Greek text is E. R. Dodds' of the "Gorgias", which includes extensive English commentary.
Pythagoras
According to R. M. Hare, Plato's "Republic" may be partially based on the "tightly organised community of like-minded thinkers" established by Pythagoras at Croton. Additionally, Plato may have borrowed from Pythagoras the idea that mathematics and abstract thought are a secure basis for philosophy, science, and morality. Plato and Pythagoras shared a "mystical approach to the soul and its place in the material world" and it is probable that both were influenced by Orphism. The historian of philosophy Frederick Copleston states that Plato probably borrowed his tripartite theory of the soul from the Pythagoreans. Bertrand Russell, in his "A History of Western Philosophy", contends that the influence of Pythagoras on Plato and others was so great that he should be considered the most influential philosopher of all time. He concludes that "I do not know of any other man who has been as influential as he was in the school of thought."
Teaching method
In his literary work "The Republic", Plato described a system of instruction that he felt would lead to an ideal state. In his dialogues, Plato described the Socratic method, a form of inquiry and debate intended to stimulate critical thinking and illuminate ideas.
Republic (Plato)
Leo Strauss identified a four-part structure to the "Republic", perceiving the dialogues as a drama enacted by particular characters, each with a particular perspective and level of intellect:
Republic (Plato)
One of Plato's recurring techniques in the "Republic" is to refine the concept of justice with reference to various examples of greater or lesser injustice. However, in "The Concept of Injustice", Eric Heinze challenges the assumption that 'justice' and 'injustice' form a mutually exclusive pair. Heinze argues that such an assumption traces not from strict deductive logic, but from the arbitrary etymology of the word 'injustice'. Heinze critiques what he calls 'classical' Western justice theory for having perpetuated that logical error, which first appears in Plato's "Republic", but manifests throughout traditional political philosophy, in thinkers otherwise as different as Aristotle, Aquinas, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel and Marx.
Mimesis
In Book II of "The Republic", Plato describes Socrates' dialogue with his pupils. Socrates warns we should not seriously regard poetry as being capable of attaining the truth and that we who listen to poetry should be on our guard against its seductions, since the poet has no place in our idea of God.
Plato
Whereas those classified as "early dialogues" often conclude in aporia, the so-called "middle dialogues" provide more clearly stated positive teachings that are often ascribed to Plato such as the theory of Forms. These dialogues include "Cratylus", "Phaedo", "Phaedrus", "Republic", "Symposium", "Parmenides", and "Theaetetus". Proponents of dividing the dialogues into periods often consider the "Parmenides" and "Theaetetus" to come late in this period and be transitional to the next, as they seem to treat the theory of Forms critically ("Parmenides") or only indirectly ("Theaetetus"). Ritter's stylometric analysis places "Phaedrus" as probably after "Theaetetus" and "Parmenides", although it does not relate to the theory of Forms in the same way. The first book of the "Republic" is often thought to have been written significantly earlier than the rest of the work, although possibly having undergone revisions when the later books were attached to it.
Socratic dialogue
Generally, the works which are most often assigned to Plato's early years are all considered to be Socratic dialogues (written from 399 to 387). Many of his Middle dialogues (written from 387 to 361, after the establishment of his Academy), and later dialogues (written in the period between 361 and his death in 347) incorporate Socrates' character and are often included here as well. However, this interpretation of the corpus is not universally accepted. The time that Plato began to write his works and the date of composition of his last work are not known and what adds to the complexity is that even the ancient sources do not know the order of the works or the dialogues.
Socratic dialogue remained a popular format for expressing arguments and drawing literary portraits of those who espouse them. Some of these dialogues employ Socrates as a character, but many employ the philosophical style similar to Plato while substituting a different character to lead the discussion.
Republic (Plato)
The city portrayed in the "Republic" struck some critics as harsh, rigid, and unfree; indeed, as totalitarian. Karl Popper gave a voice to that view in his 1945 book "The Open Society and Its Enemies", where he singled out Plato's state as a dystopia. Popper divorced Plato's ideas from those of Socrates, claiming that the former in his later years expressed none of the humanitarian and democratic tendencies of his teacher. In particular, Popper accuses Plato of betraying Socrates. Gilbert Ryle, reviewing Popper's text just two years after its publication and agreeing with him, wrote that Plato "was Socrates' Judas." Popper thought Plato's envisioned state totalitarian as it advocated a government composed only of a distinct hereditary ruling class, with the working class—who Popper argues Plato regards as "human cattle"—given no role in decision making. He argues that Plato has no interest in what are commonly regarded as the problems of justice—the resolving of disputes between individuals—because Plato has redefined justice as "keeping one's place".
Republic (Plato)
In his "A History of Western Philosophy" (1945), Bertrand Russell identifies three parts to the "Republic":
Republic (Plato)
In the dialogue, Socrates discusses with various Athenians and foreigners about the meaning of justice and whether the just man is happier than the unjust man. They consider the natures of existing regimes and then propose a series of different, hypothetical cities in comparison, culminating in Kallipolis (Καλλίπολις), a city-state ruled by a philosopher king. They also discuss the theory of forms, the immortality of the soul, and the role of the philosopher and of poetry in society. The dialog's setting seems to be during the Peloponnesian War.
Atlantis
The "Timaeus" begins with an introduction, followed by an account of the creations and structure of the universe and ancient civilizations. In the introduction, Socrates muses about the perfect society, described in Plato's "Republic" (c. 380 BC), and wonders if he and his guests might recollect a story which exemplifies such a society. Critias mentions a tale he considered to be historical, that would make the perfect example, and he then follows by describing Atlantis as is recorded in the "Critias". In his account, ancient Athens seems to represent the "perfect society" and Atlantis its opponent, representing the very antithesis of the "perfect" traits described in the "Republic".
Timaeus (dialogue)
The dialogue takes place the day after Socrates described his ideal state. In Plato's works such a discussion occurs in the Republic. Socrates feels that his description of the ideal state wasn't sufficient for the purposes of entertainment and that "I would be glad to hear some account of it engaging in transactions with other states" (19b).
History of the social sciences
Plato's "Republic" is an influential treatise on political philosophy and the just life.
Republic (Plato)
Many critics, both ancient and modern (like Julia Annas), have suggested that the dialogue's political discussion actually serves as an analogy for the individual soul, in which there are also many different "members" that can either conflict or else be integrated and orchestrated under a just and productive "government." Among other things, this analogical reading would solve the problem of certain implausible statements Plato makes concerning an ideal political republic. In a definitive treatment of the subject, Blössner (2007) presents and argues for the case that the "Republic" is best understood as an analysis of the workings and moral improvement of the individual soul with remarkable thoroughness and clarity. This view, of course, does not preclude a legitimate reading of the "Republic" as a political treatise (the work could operate at both levels). It merely implies that it deserves more attention as a work on psychology and moral philosophy than it has sometimes received.
Platonic realism
Plato expounded his own articulation of realism regarding the existence of universals in his dialogue "The Republic" and elsewhere, notably in the "Phaedo", the "Phaedrus", the "Meno" and the "Parmenides".
Republic (Plato)
The English title of Plato's dialogue is derived from Cicero's "De re publica", written some three centuries later. Cicero's dialogue imitates Plato's style and treats many of the same topics, and Cicero's main character Scipio Africanus expresses his esteem for Plato and Socrates.
Eudaimonia
What we know of Socrates' philosophy is almost entirely derived from Plato's writings. Scholars typically divide Plato's works into three periods: the early, middle, and late periods. They tend to agree also that Plato's earliest works quite faithfully represent the teachings of Socrates and that Plato's own views, which go beyond those of Socrates, appear for the first time in the middle works such as the "Phaedo" and the "Republic." This division will be employed here in dividing up the positions of Socrates and Plato on eudaimonia.
Republic (Plato)
The above-mentioned views have in common that they view the "Republic" as a theoretical work, not as a set of guidelines for good governance. However, Popper insists that the Republic, "was meant by its author not so much as a theoretical treatise, but as a topical political manifesto" and Bertrand Russell argues that at least in "intent", and all in all not so far from what was possible in ancient Greek city-states, the form of government portrayed in the "Republic" was meant as a practical one by Plato.
Plato
Although Socrates influenced Plato directly as related in the dialogues, the influence of Pythagoras upon Plato also appears to have significant discussion in the philosophical literature. Pythagoras, or in a broader sense, the Pythagoreans, allegedly exercised an important influence on the work of Plato. According to R.M. Hare, this influence consists of three points: (1) The platonic Republic might be related to the idea of "a tightly organized community of like-minded thinkers", like the one established by Pythagoras in Croton. (2) There is evidence that Plato possibly took from Pythagoras the idea that mathematics and, generally speaking, abstract thinking is a secure basis for philosophical thinking as well as "for substantial theses in science and morals". (3) Plato and Pythagoras shared a "mystical approach to the soul and its place in the material world". It is probable that both were influenced by Orphism.
Meritocracy
Both Plato and Aristotle advocated meritocracy, Plato in his "The Republic", arguing that the wisest should rule, and hence the rulers should be philosopher kings.
Political fiction
Plato's "Republic", a Socratic dialogue written around 380 BC, has been one of the world's most influential works of philosophy and political theory, both intellectually and historically. The "Republic" is concerned with justice (), the order and character of the just city-state, and the just man. Other influential politically-themed works include Thomas More's "Utopia" (1516), Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" (1726), Voltaire's "Candide" (1759), and Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (1852).
Nous
Just exactly how Plato believed that the "nous" of people lets them come to understand things in any way that improves upon sense perception and the kind of thinking which animals have, is a subject of long running discussion and debate. On the one hand, in the "Republic" Plato's Socrates, in the Analogy of the sun and Allegory of the Cave describes people as being able to perceive more clearly because of something from outside themselves, something like when the sun shines, helping eyesight. The source of this illumination for the intellect is referred to as the Form of the Good. On the other hand, in the "Meno" for example, Plato's Socrates explains the theory of "anamnesis" whereby people are born with ideas already in their soul, which they somehow remember from previous lives. Both theories were to become highly influential.
Republic (Plato)
While visiting the Piraeus with Glaucon, Polemarchus asks Socrates to join him for a celebration. Socrates then asks Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus their definitions of justice. Cephalus defines justice as giving what is owed. Polemarchus says justice is "the art which gives good to friends and evil to enemies." Thrasymachus proclaims "justice is nothing else than the interest of the stronger." Socrates overturns their definitions and says that it is to your advantage to be just and disadvantage to be unjust. The first book ends in aporia concerning its essence.
Ancient economic thought
Aristotle's "Politics" (ca. 350 BCE) was mainly concerned to analyze different forms of a state (monarchy, aristocracy, constitutional government, tyranny, oligarchy, democracy) as a critique of Plato's advocacy of a ruling class of philosopher-kings. In particular for economists, Plato had drawn a blueprint of society on the basis of common ownership of resources. Aristotle viewed this model as an oligarchical anathema. In "Politics", Book II, Part V, he argued that:
Plato
Some 250 known manuscripts of Plato survive. The texts of Plato as received today apparently represent the complete written philosophical work of Plato and are generally good by the standards of textual criticism. No modern edition of Plato in the original Greek represents a single source, but rather it is reconstructed from multiple sources which are compared with each other. These sources are medieval manuscripts written on vellum (mainly from 9th to 13th century AD Byzantium), papyri (mainly from late antiquity in Egypt), and from the independent "testimonia" of other authors who quote various segments of the works (which come from a variety of sources). The text as presented is usually not much different from what appears in the Byzantine manuscripts, and papyri and testimonia just confirm the manuscript tradition. In some editions however the readings in the papyri or testimonia are favoured in some places by the editing critic of the text. Reviewing editions of papyri for the "Republic" in 1987, Slings suggests that the use of papyri is hampered due to some poor editing practices.
Republic (Plato)
Several Oxyrhynchus Papyri fragments were found to contain parts of the Republic, and from other works such as Phaedo, or the dialogue Gorgias, written around 200-300 CE. Fragments of a different version of Plato's Republic were discovered in 1945, part of the Nag Hammadi library, written ca. 350 CE. These findings highlight the influence of Plato during those times in Egypt.
Ancient Greece
Some of the well-known philosophers of ancient Greece were Plato and Socrates, among others. They have aided in information about ancient Greek society through writings such as "The Republic", by Plato.
Might makes right
In the first chapter of Plato's "The Republic", Thrasymachus claims that "justice is nothing else than the interest of the stronger", which Socrates then disputes.
Socratic problem
A fragment of Plato's Republic (588b-589b) was found in Codex VI, of the Nag Hammadi discoveries of 1945.
Servius Tullius
The oldest surviving source for the overall political developments of the Roman kingdom and Republic is Cicero's "De republica" ("On the State"), written in 44 BC. The main literary sources for Servius' life and achievements are the Roman historian Livy (59 BC – AD 17), whose Ab urbe condita was generally accepted by the Romans as the standard, most authoritative account; Livy's near contemporary Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and Plutarch (c. 46 – 120 AD); their own sources included works by Quintus Fabius Pictor, Diocles of Peparethus, Quintus Ennius and Cato the Elder. Livy's sources probably included at least some official state records, he excluded what seemed implausible or contradictory traditions, and arranged his material within an overarching chronology. Dionysius and Plutarch offer various alternatives not found in Livy, and Livy's own pupil, the etruscologist, historian and emperor Claudius, offered yet another, based on Etruscan tradition.
Kenneth M. Sayre
The unifying theme of "Plato’s Literary Garden" (1995) is that Plato wrote his dialogues to engage his readers in philosophic conversations similar to those he shared with Socrates. The book develops this theme with discussions of various early and middle dialogues, including the "Meno", the "Phaedo", the "Phaedrus", the "Symposium", and the "Republic".
Republic (Plato)
The "Republic" contains Plato's "Allegory of the cave" with which he explains his concept of The Forms as an answer to the problem of universals.
Plato
Socrates describes these "philosopher kings" as "those who love the sight of truth" ("Republic" 475c) and supports the idea with the analogy of a captain and his ship or a doctor and his medicine. According to him, sailing and health are not things that everyone is qualified to practice by nature. A large part of the "Republic" then addresses how the educational system should be set up to produce these philosopher kings.
Kalos kagathos
Plato, in his work "Republic", used the term (the neutral form) in his attempts to define ideals. However, his protagonist in the dialogue, Socrates, stated that he did not fully comprehend the nature of this .
Myth of Er
The Myth of Er is a legend that concludes Plato's "Republic" (10.614–10.621). The story includes an account of the cosmos and the afterlife that greatly influenced religious, philosophical, and scientific thought for many centuries.
Criticism of democracy
Plato's "Republic" presents a critical view of democracy through the narration of Socrates: "Democracy, which is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequaled alike." In his work, Plato lists 5 forms of government from best to worst. Assuming that "the Republic" was intended to be a serious critique of the political thought in Athens, Plato argues that only Kallipolis, an aristocracy led by the unwilling philosopher-kings (the wisest men), is a just form of government.
Thumos
Plato's "Phaedrus" and his later work "The Republic" discuss "thumos" as one of the three constituent parts of the human psyche. In the "Phaedrus", Plato depicts "logos" as a charioteer driving the two horses "eros" and "thumos" (erotic love and spiritedness are to be guided by logos). In the "Republic" (Book IV) soul becomes divided into (See Plato's tripartite theory of soul):.
Platonic epistemology
In his best-known dialogue, "The Republic", Plato drew an analogy between human sensation and the shadows that pass along the wall of a cave - an allegory known as Plato's allegory of the cave.
Plato's political philosophy
Plato's political philosophy has been the subject of much criticism. In Plato's "Republic," Socrates is highly critical of democracy and proposes an aristocracy ruled by philosopher-kings. Plato's political philosophy has thus often been considered totalitarian.
Politeia
"Politeia" is the original title of the book by Plato now commonly known in English as "The Republic". Cicero translated "politeia" as "res publica" (see also: "De re publica"), from which the modern word republic comes. Note that the meanings the ancient Romans attached to "res publica" were also multiple and only partially overlapping with the Greek "politeia", and further that few of the multiple meanings of "politeia" or "res publica" are much of an equivalent to "republic" as it is understood in modern political science.
Theory of forms
Plato often invokes, particularly in his dialogues "Phaedo", "Republic" and "Phaedrus", poetic language to illustrate the mode in which the Forms are said to exist. Near the end of the "Phaedo", for example, Plato describes the world of Forms as a pristine region of the physical universe located above the surface of the Earth ("Phd." 109a-111c). In the "Phaedrus" the Forms are in a "place beyond heaven" ("huperouranios topos") ("Phdr." 247c ff); and in the "Republic" the sensible world is contrasted with the intelligible realm ("noēton topon") in the famous Allegory of the Cave.
Republic (Plato)
Some of Plato's proposals have led theorists like Leo Strauss and Allan Bloom to ask readers to consider the possibility that Socrates was creating not a blueprint for a real city, but a learning exercise for the young men in the dialogue. There are many points in the construction of the "Just City in Speech" that seem contradictory, which raise the possibility Socrates is employing irony to make the men in the dialogue question for themselves the ultimate value of the proposals. In turn, Plato has immortalized this 'learning exercise' in the "Republic".
Plato
The Allegory of the Cave (often said by scholars to represent Plato's own epistemology and metaphysics) is intimately connected to his political ideology (often said to also be Plato's own), that only people who have climbed out of the cave and cast their eyes on a vision of goodness are fit to rule. Socrates claims that the enlightened men of society must be forced from their divine contemplations and be compelled to run the city according to their lofty insights. Thus is born the idea of the "philosopher-king", the wise person who accepts the power thrust upon him by the people who are wise enough to choose a good master. This is the main thesis of Socrates in the "Republic", that the most wisdom the masses can muster is the wise choice of a ruler.
Apology (Plato)
The "Apology of Socrates", by the philosopher Plato (429–347 BC), was one of many explanatory "apologia" about Socrates's legal defence against accusations of corruption and impiety; most "apologia" were published in the decade after the Trial of Socrates (399 BC). As such, Plato's "Apology of Socrates" is an early philosophic defence of Socrates, presented in the form of a Socratic dialogue. Although Aristotle later classified it as a genre of fiction, it is still a useful historical source about Socrates (469–399 BC) the philosopher.
Clitophon (dialogue)
Many think that "Clitophon" is a fragment or draft written by Plato. Grube believes "Clitophon" to have been a draft of Plato as a reflection of his dissatisfaction with his earlier methods, a tone seen in the middle period of Plato's works, but was abandoned as is attested to in its lack of revision. Bury believed that, if indeed it was written by Plato, "Clitophon" would be a fragmentary preface of "Republic", a stance held by Shorey and Grote. However, Slings makes note that no ancient author ever indicated that "Clitophon" was incomplete or unfinished. In "Parallel Lives", Plutarch, fully aware of "Clitophon", mentions that Plato's life ended before finishing his work (32.2), namely "Critias", not "Clitophon"; this indicates that "Clitophon" was finished in the opinion of ancient authors.
Analogy of the sun
The analogy of the sun (or simile of the sun or metaphor of the sun) is found in the sixth book of "The Republic" (507b–509c), written by the Greek philosopher Plato as a dialogue between Glaucon (Plato's elder brother) and Socrates (narrated by the latter). Upon being urged by Glaucon to define goodness, a cautious Socrates professes himself incapable of doing so. Instead he draws an analogy and offers to talk about "the child of goodness" (). Socrates reveals this "child of goodness" to be the sun, proposing that just as the sun illuminates, bestowing the ability to see and be seen by the eye, with its light so the idea of goodness illumines the intelligible with truth. While the analogy sets forth both epistemological and ontological theories, it is debated whether these are most authentic to the teaching of Socrates or its later interpretations by Plato. The sun is a metaphor for the nature of reality and knowledge concerning it.
Republic (Plato)
The "Republic" is generally placed in the "middle period" of Plato's dialogues—that is, it is believed to be written after the "early period" dialogues but before the "late period" dialogues. However, the distinction of this group from the early dialogues is not as clear as the distinction of the late dialogues from all the others. Nonetheless, Ritter, Arnim, and Baron—with their separate methodologies—all agreed that the "Republic" was well distinguished, along with "Parmenides", "Phaedrus" and "Theaetetus".
Division of labour
In Plato's "Republic", the origin of the state lies in the natural inequality of humanity, which is embodied in the division of labour.
Republic (Plato)
Islamic philosophers were much more interested in Aristotle than Plato, but not having access to Aristotle's "Politics", Ibn Rushd (Averroes) produced instead a commentary on
Plato's "Republic". He advances an authoritarian ideal, following Plato's paternalistic model. Absolute monarchy, led by a philosopher-king, creates a justly ordered society. This requires extensive use of coercion, although persuasion is preferred and is possible if the young are properly raised. Rhetoric, not logic, is the appropriate road to truth for the common man. Demonstrative knowledge via philosophy and logic requires special study. Rhetoric aids religion in reaching the masses.
Protofeminism
Plato, according to Elaine Hoffman Baruch, "[argued] for the total political and sexual equality of women, advocating that they be members of his highest class, ... those who rule and fight". Book five of Plato's "The Republic" discusses the role of women:
Are dogs divided into hes and shes, or do they both share equally in hunting and in keeping watch and in the other duties of dogs? Or do we entrust to the males the entire and exclusive care of the flocks, while we leave the females at home, under the idea that the bearing and suckling their puppies is labour enough for them?
"The Republic" states that women in Plato's ideal state should work alongside men, receive equal education, and share equally in all aspects of the state. The sole exception involved women working in capacities which required less physical strength.
Philosophy of education
Plato's educational philosophy was grounded in a vision of an ideal "Republic" wherein the individual was best served by being subordinated to a just society due to a shift in emphasis that departed from his predecessors. The mind and body were to be considered separate entities. In the dialogues of Phaedo, written in his "middle period" (360 B.C.E.) Plato expressed his distinctive views about the nature of knowledge, reality, and the soul:When the soul and body are united, then nature orders the soul to rule and govern, and the body to obey and serve. Now which of these two functions is akin to the divine? and which to the mortal? Does not the divine appear…to be that which naturally orders and rules, and the mortal to be that which is subject and servant?On this premise, Plato advocated removing children from their mothers' care and raising them as wards of the state, with great care being taken to differentiate children suitable to the various castes, the highest receiving the most education, so that they could act as guardians of the city and care for the less able. Education would be holistic, including facts, skills, physical discipline, and music and art, which he considered the highest form of endeavor.
Niccolò Machiavelli
The "Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livy", published in 1531, written 1517, often referred to simply as the "Discourses" or "Discorsi", is nominally a discussion regarding the classical history of early Ancient Rome although it strays very far from this subject matter and also uses contemporary political examples to illustrate points. Machiavelli presents it as a series of lessons on how a republic "should" be started and structured. It is a larger work than "The Prince", and while it more openly explains the advantages of republics, it also contains many similar themes. Commentators disagree about how much the two works agree with each other, frequently referring to leaders of democracies as "princes". It includes early versions of the concept of checks and balances and asserts the superiority of a republic over a principality. It became one of the central texts of republicanism, and has often been argued to be a superior work to "The Prince".
Republic (Plato)
Socrates says that there is no better topic to debate. In response to the two views of injustice and justice presented by Glaucon and Adeimantus, he claims incompetence, but feels it would be impious to leave justice in such doubt. Thus the "Republic" sets out to define justice. Given the difficulty of this task as proven in Book I, Socrates in Book II leads his interlocutors into a discussion of justice in the city, which Socrates suggests may help them see justice not only in the person, but on a larger scale, "first in cities searching for what it is; then thusly we could examine also in some individual, examining the likeness of the bigger in the idea of the littler" (368e–369a).
The Reason of State
The Reason of State (Italian: Della Ragion di Stato) is a work of political philosophy by Italian Jesuit Giovanni Botero. Reason of state denotes a way of thinking about government that emerges at the end of the fifteenth century and remains prevalent until the eighteenth century. It refers to the right of rulers to act in ways that go counter to the dictates of both natural and positive law with the aim of acquiring, preserving, and augmenting the dominion of the state. It was first published in Venice in 1589, and is most notable for criticizing methods of statecraft associated with Niccolò Machiavelli and presenting economics as an aspect of politics.
Cultural influence of Plato's Republic
The form of government described in the "Republic" has been adapted in several modern dystopic novels and stories. The separation of people by professional class, assignment of profession and purpose by the state, and the absence of traditional family units, replaced by state-organized breeding, was included by authors in descriptions of totalitarian dystopic governments. Government which bears resemblance to Plato's "Republic" is found in Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" and Lois Lowry's "The Giver".
Antitheatricality
Around 380 B.C. Plato became the first to challenge theater in the ancient world. Although his views expressed in "The Republic" were radical, they were aimed primarily at the concept of theater (and other mimetic arts). He did not encourage hostility towards the artists or their performances. For Plato, theater was philosophically undesirable, it was simply a lie. It was bad for society because it engaged the sympathies of the audience and so might make people less thoughtful. Furthermore,the representation of ignoble actions on the stage could lead the actors and the audience to behave badly themselves.
Republic (Plato)
Timocracy
Theages
Reference to Theages is made in Plato's "Republic": “there are some who are restrained by our friend Theages' bridle; for everything in the life of Theages conspired to divert him from philosophy”.
Clitophon (dialogue)
Discussed previously, Grube thought "Clitophon" was not necessarily a finished work, but one associated with "Republic". Thrasyllus of Mendes, Tiberius' astrologer, arranged "Clitophon" within the Platonic corpus including "Republic", "Timaeus", and "Critias". Grube thought it to be the criticism of "Republic" I and the rest of the "Republic" was a response to "Clitophon". Annas defends this stance with her belief that the remainder of "Republic", being mostly a monologue by Socrates, to be the response to the silence of Socrates. Also, with the views of justice in "Republic" I, "Clitophon" is a natural reaction to "Republic" I, with Clitophon seeking out Thrasymachus. With Clitophon and Socrates at odds within "Republic" without any explanation, Orwin indicated that "Clitophon" might be the missing confrontation between Socrates and Clitophon. However, there are difficulties when attempting to understand "Clitophon" in relation to "Republic", for it is unclear where "Clitophon" should be placed. It is possible that "Clitophon" was written after "Republic" and "Clitophon" only draws definitions from "Republic". But regardless of when it was written, it can still be read as an introduction to Republic, and only completed by it.
Analogy of the divided line
The analogy of the divided line () is presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in the "Republic" (509d–511e). It is written as a dialogue between Glaucon and Socrates, in which the latter further elaborates upon the immediately preceding Analogy of the Sun at the former's request. Socrates asks Glaucon to not only envision this unequally bisected line but to imagine further bisecting each of the two segments. Socrates explains that the four resulting segments represent four separate 'affections' (παθήματα) of the psyche. The lower two sections are said to represent the visible while the higher two are said to represent the intelligible. These affections are described in succession as corresponding to increasing levels of reality and truth from conjecture (εἰκασία) to belief () to thought (διάνοια) and finally to understanding (). Furthermore, this analogy not only elaborates a theory of the psyche but also presents metaphysical and epistemological views.
Roman Republic
Early Roman literature was influenced heavily by Greek authors. From the mid-Republic, Roman authors followed Greek models, to produce free-verse and verse-form plays and other in Latin; for example, Livius Andronicus wrote tragedies and comedies. The earliest Latin works to have survived intact are the comedies of Plautus, written during the mid-Republic. Works of well-known, popular playwrights were sometimes commissioned for performance at religious festivals; many of these were Satyr plays, based on Greek models and Greek myths. Lucretius, in his "On the Nature of Things" explicated the tenets of Epicurean philosophy. Towards the end of the Republic, Virgil's epic poem, the "Aeneid", built on Homer's ancient Greek epic, the "Iliad", to make the Trojan prince Aeneas an ancestor of the Roman people.
Gyges of Lydia
In the second book of Plato's philosophical work "The Republic", Glaucon recounts the story of the Ring of Gyges to Socrates, using it to illustrate a point about human nature. Some scholars have suggested that Plato's story was based on a now-lost older version of the myth, while others argue that Plato invented it himself, using elements from Herodotus's story of Gyges. It told of a man named Gyges who lived in Lydia, an area in modern Turkey. He was a shepherd for the king of that land. One day, there was an earthquake while Gyges was out in the fields, and he noticed that a new cave had opened up in a rock face. When he went in to see what was there, he noticed a gold ring on the finger of a former giant king who had been buried in the cave, in an iron horse with a window in its side. He took the ring away with him and soon discovered that it allowed the wearer to become invisible. The next time he went to the palace to give the king a report about his sheep, he put the ring on, seduced the queen, killed the king, and took control of the palace.
Robert Craigie Cross
"Plato's Republic" was his premier philosophical work. It rendered its study "accessible and illuminating." it became a standard text for students.
False pleasure
Plato devoted much attention to the belief that "no pleasure save that of the wise is quite true and pure - all others are shadows only" - both in The Republic and in his late dialogue Philebus.
Teleological argument
Plato's teleological perspective is also built upon the analysis of "a priori" order and structure in the world that he had already presented in "The Republic". The story does not propose creation "ex nihilo"; rather, the demiurge made order from the chaos of the cosmos, imitating the eternal Forms.
Statesman (dialogue)
The Statesman (, "Politikós"; Latin: "Politicus"), also known by its Latin title, Politicus, is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato. The text depicts a conversation among Socrates, the mathematician Theodorus, another person named Socrates (referred to as "Socrates the Younger"), and an unnamed philosopher from Elea referred to as "the Stranger" (, "xénos"). It is ostensibly an attempt to arrive at a definition of "statesman," as opposed to "sophist" or "philosopher" and is presented as following the action of the "Sophist".
Ancient economic thought
Plato promoted the exercise of temperance in respect to the pursuit of material wealth such that by strengthening moderation a person there-by preserves the order of their psyche. In "The Republic" he gives an account of the manner by which a state is to be formed with the skills (techne) of individuals supporting economic sustainability. With respect to the identification of skill Plato's writing in "the Republic" also deals with the specialization of skills as the concept of division of labour (Wagner 2007).
De re publica
De re publica (On the Commonwealth; see below) is a dialogue on Roman politics by Cicero, written in six books between 54 and 51 BC. The work does not survive in a complete state, and large parts are missing. The surviving sections derive from excerpts preserved in later works and from an incomplete palimpsest uncovered in 1819. Cicero uses the work to explain Roman constitutional theory. Written in imitation of Plato’s "Republic", it takes the form of a Socratic dialogue in which Scipio Aemilianus takes the role of a wise old man.
Plato's number
Plato’s number is a number enigmatically referred to by Plato in his dialogue the "Republic" (8.546b). The text is notoriously difficult to understand and its corresponding translations do not allow an unambiguous interpretation. There is no real agreement either about the meaning or the value of the number. It also has been called the "geometrical number" or the "nuptial number" (the "number of the bride"). The passage in which Plato introduced the number has been discussed ever since it was written, with no consensus in the debate. As for the number's actual value, 216 is the most frequently proposed value for it, but 3,600 or 12,960,000 are also commonly considered.
Philosophy of happiness
Plato (c. 428 c. 347 BCE), using Socrates (c. 470 399 BCE) as the main character in his philosophical dialogues, outlined the requirements for happiness in "The Republic".
Republic
The term "republic" originated from the writers of the Renaissance as a descriptive term for states that were not monarchies. These writers, such as Machiavelli, also wrote important prescriptive works describing how such governments should function. These ideas of how a government and society should be structured is the basis for an ideology known as classical republicanism or civic humanism. This ideology is based on the Roman Republic and the city states of Ancient Greece and focuses on ideals such as civic virtue, rule of law and mixed government.
Republic
Aristotle's "Politics" discusses various forms of government. One form Aristotle named "politeia", which consisted of a mixture of the other forms. He argued that this was one of the ideal forms of government. Polybius expanded on many of these ideas, again focusing on the idea of mixed government. The most important Roman work in this tradition is Cicero's "De re publica".
Republic (Zeno)
The Republic () was a work written by Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoic philosophy at the beginning of the 3rd century BC. Although it has not survived, it was his most famous work, and various quotes and paraphrases were preserved by later writers. The purpose of the work was to outline the ideal society based on Stoic principles, where virtuous men and women would live a life of simple asceticism in an equal society.
Republic (Plato)
In part II, the "Embodiment of the Idea", is preceded by the establishment of the economic and social orders of a "polis" (part I), followed by an analysis (part III) of the decline the order must traverse. The three parts compose the main body of the dialogues, with their discussions of the "paradigm", its embodiment, its genesis, and its decline.
Ancient Greek philosophy
The political doctrine ascribed to Plato is derived from the "Republic", the "Laws", and the "Statesman". The first of these contains the suggestion that there will not be justice in cities unless they are ruled by philosopher kings; those responsible for enforcing the laws are compelled to hold their women, children, and property in common; and the individual is taught to pursue the common good through noble lies; the "Republic" says that such a city is likely impossible, however, generally assuming that philosophers would refuse to rule and the people would refuse to compel them to do so.
Republic (Plato)
"Res publica" is not an exact translation of Plato's Greek title "politeia". Rather, "politeia" is a general term for the actual and potential forms of government for a "Polis" or city-state, and Plato attempts to survey all possible forms of the state. Cicero's discussion is more parochial, focusing on the improvement of the participants' own state, the Roman Republic in its final stages.
Anytus
Anytus in Plato's 'Republic'
Utopia
Chronologically, the first recorded Utopian proposal is Plato's "Republic". Part conversation, part fictional depiction and part policy proposal, "Republic" would categorize citizens into a rigid class structure of "golden," "silver," "bronze" and "iron" socioeconomic classes. The golden citizens are trained in a rigorous 50-year-long educational program to be benign oligarchs, the "philosopher-kings." Plato stressed this structure many times in statements, and in his published works, such as the "Republic". The wisdom of these rulers will supposedly eliminate poverty and deprivation through fairly distributed resources, though the details on how to do this are unclear. The educational program for the rulers is the central notion of the proposal. It has few laws, no lawyers and rarely sends its citizens to war but hires mercenaries from among its war-prone neighbors. These mercenaries were deliberately sent into dangerous situations in the hope that the more warlike populations of all surrounding countries will be weeded out, leaving peaceful peoples.
Plato
The aristocratic state, and the man whose nature corresponds to it, are the objects of Plato's analyses throughout much of the "Republic", as opposed to the other four types of states/men, who are discussed later in his work. In Book VIII, Socrates states in order the other four imperfect societies with a description of the state's structure and individual character. In timocracy the ruling class is made up primarily of those with a warrior-like character. Oligarchy is made up of a society in which wealth is the criterion of merit and the wealthy are in control. In democracy, the state bears resemblance to ancient Athens with traits such as equality of political opportunity and freedom for the individual to do as he likes. Democracy then degenerates into tyranny from the conflict of rich and poor. It is characterized by an undisciplined society existing in chaos, where the tyrant rises as popular champion leading to the formation of his private army and the growth of oppression.
Courage
In one of his later writings, "The Republic", Plato gives more concrete ideas of what he believes courage to be. Civic courage is described as a sort of perseverance – "preservation of the belief that has been inculcated by the law through education about what things and sorts of things are to be feared". Ideas of courage being perseverance also are seen in "Laches". Plato further explains this perseverance as being able to persevere through all emotions, like suffering, pleasure, and fear.
Philosophy of history
Since Plato's "Republic", civic education and instruction has had a central role in politics and the constitution of a common identity. History has thus sometimes become the target of propaganda, for example in historical revisionist attempts. Plato's insistence on the importance of education was relayed by Rousseau's "" (1762), a necessary counterpart of "The Social Contract" (also 1762). Public education has been seen by republican regimes and the Enlightenment as a prerequisite of the masses' progressive emancipation, as conceived by Kant in "Was Ist Aufklärung?" (What Is Enlightenment?, 1784).
Republicanism
In its classical meaning, a republic was any stable well-governed political community. Both Plato and Aristotle identified three forms of government: democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy. First Plato and Aristotle, and then Polybius and Cicero, held that the ideal republic is a mixture of these three forms of government. The writers of the Renaissance embraced this notion.
Republic (Plato)
Leo Strauss's approach developed out of a belief that Plato wrote esoterically. The basic acceptance of the exoteric-esoteric distinction revolves around whether Plato really wanted to see the "Just City in Speech" of Books V-VI come to pass, or whether it is just an allegory. Strauss never regarded this as the crucial issue of the dialogue. He argued against Karl Popper's literal view, citing Cicero's opinion that the "Republic's" true nature was to bring to light the nature of political things. In fact, Strauss undermines the justice found in the "Just City in Speech" by implying the city is not natural, it is a man-made conceit that abstracts away from the erotic needs of the body. The city founded in the "Republic" "is rendered possible by the abstraction from eros".