IB Philosophy Revision Guide: THE
REPUBLIC by Plato
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seferis
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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
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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
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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; philosopherking only; love of learning
Courage; auxiliary/warriors; to know what to fear; leads to honor and victory
JUSTICE
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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
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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
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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
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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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“There is therefore no administrative occupation which is peculiar to women as
women or man as man; natural capacities are similarly distributed in each sex, and it
is natural for women to take part in all occupations as well as men, though in all
women will be the weaker partners”
Priority of state is to ensure that each citizen has occupation that is best for them,
which allows for harmony and justice
Women should be given same mental and physical education, have equal
opportunities
Allows individual to flourish and become better citizens so society gets best value
from both genders
Dispute over last part of quote – women not as capable as men? Perhaps referring to
biological strength? No explanation of why.
Progressive for his time, perhaps he is merely responding to quell the skepticism
Feminist or sexist?
MATING FESTIVALS
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Everything in ideal state should be controlled by the rulers
“Sin” for mating to be unregulated
A system of eugenic breeding
Ruler sets up “mating lottery” once a year
Lottery secretly rigged, selective breeding
Guardians and auxiliary partnered up to have intercourse by ruler
Ruler selects superior strains to breed citizens advantageous to society
They all think it’s randomly chosen
A noble lie
Producing class may have intercourse whenever they choose
FAMILY
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Abolished notion of family
“Women bear children for the state”
Society as whole priority, loyalty and interests should not be split amongst family
Unifies society to achieve justice, enhances individual happiness
Guardians not allowed to marry and have their own families because leads to
conflict of interest and subjectivity
BODY ANALOGY
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Society a cohesive unified group
Only achieved when every single member of society shares the feeling of other
members
If one member of society suffers familial death and grieves, then all of society should
grieve
If soldiers win a glorious battle, all of society share the joy
How human body works as one cohesive unit despite being composed of many
organs and parts
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If we cut a finger, our whole ‘body and soul’ feel that pain which only occurred in
that one part of body
When we eat something delicious, our whole body feels the pleasure of taste
Body microcosm of Plato’s idealized societal structure; one big family, with shared
feelings in collective
ENEMIES AND JUSTICE
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Fundamental difference between Greeks and non-Greeks
Greeks are ultimately one people that have been divided by unfortunate political
circumstance
Barbarians outsiders, not subject to same treatment as native Greeks
It is “just” to have a drawn-out, bloody, malicious war, to fight and kill and enslave as
many people as possible when fighting Barbarians
Also acceptable to raze settlements and destroy infrastructure
Just treatment for Greeks:
o No slavery
o Captured settlements cannot be destroyed
o Intra-Greek wars are temporary conflicts between people greater than
Barbarians
o It is just to take only one year’s harvest rather than to burn crops to the
ground
QUALITIES OF A RULER
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Able to access intelligible realm through abstract reasoning, view the ultimate Form
of Good
Desire to learn
Good memory (if one sought to learn but could not retain any knowledge, he would
grow embittered, and this can lead to lapses in reason)
Breadth for vision and grace in order to recognize and perceive the reality of forms
as well as their physical reflections
Desire truth, be averse to untruth
Entire life a quest for truth
Courageous, must not fear death
Forms allow for understanding of time and reality beyond what is currently
transpiring, hence philosopher has more cohesive view of universe
Taught mathematics and dialectic to cultivate strong reasoning skills
Self-control to preside over appetite and spirit
Greatest pleasure found in faculty of reason, not physical pleasure
Pleasures that drive those ruled by appetite or spirit seem unappealing to them as
entire life a quest to discern truth from level of Forms
Reluctant ruler: does not want to govern state, but does out of sense of duty to state
– he always rules for state rather than personal gain
Discipline
Above a certain age; someone mature will be less influenced by external factors and
understand the importance of truth
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o People more advanced in life will be less inclined to question for
entertainment
o Little reflection in younger ones who get caught in cycle of disproving one
another instead of looking for truth
Any “honors” that are part of a society would lose value in ideal state, philosopherruler looks down on things that are not of “paramount” importance to finding truth
and administering justice
Educational system not designed for critical thinking; too narrow
People must be allowed to question and learn if they are to reach a genuine
understanding of the truth, rather than holding doctrines as meaningless dogmas
(J.S. Mill, paraphrased)
Acquisition of knowledge too linear? We don’t learn best this way
Alternate WOKs? Is rationality the only method we should use?
Children overprotected from reality of world. Literature censored, no diverse
perspectives.
Noble lies: propaganda and untruth
What about the virtue of honesty? Don’t philosophers despise untruth?
REAL STATE VS IDEALISTIC STATE
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“The society we have described can never grow into a reality or see the light of day”
“There will be no end to the troubles of the state… or of humanity itself until
philosophers become kings in this world”
State can be an ideal that is worked towards instead of actualized
State will always be in disarray until philosopher creates order
Philosopher only category of person driven by faculty of reason
Is his idea of a just person achievable?
Does Plato have an unreasonable view of human nature?
Current society not able to produce adequate philosopher ruler, people subject to
negative societal influence
Impossible for man to be free of all influence
SIGHT-LOVERS
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Sight-lovers concerned with phenomenal
Do not focus on the intelligible
Physical sights perceptible via utilization of senses enough to captivate sight-lovers
and compose their entire perception of reality
Do not possess capability to discern that all physical manifestations of ideas are
merely reflections of Forms
i.e. A sight-lover appreciates a painting because it is beautiful, but is unable to
conceptualize or define beauty within itself as they cannot perceive its Form
Sight-lovers not philosophical because they do not love knowledge – philosophers
love knowledge like a wife or child
They do not focus on acquisition of knowledge and perception of Forms as their
purpose
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SHIP ANALOGY
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A defense of philosophy
Navigator is counterpart to philosopher
Having spent years mastering art of navigation, he is ignored by crew members
onboard
Crew members are politicians (and by extension, the public)
Crew members never tried learning navigation, regard it a useless skill
Supposedly everyone had equal say in matters of state so everyone always fighting
Dismissed philosophy’s advice and warnings
Philosopher ignored, looked down upon, society controlled by whichever politician
can best manipulate publicc
Nobody can use reason to navigate, justice fails to be delivered
CRITICISM OF SOPHISTRY
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Sophistry emphasized self-expression through rhetoric and other skills
Sophistry only touch superficial surface of what education ought to be about
Only teaches “how to do well in society,” very little about what is truly just
Like learning how to deal with large, dangerous animal (metaphor for society);
figuring out how it reacts to stimuli and manipulating it
The whims of animal is justice, say Sophists
What is valued isn’t justice, but conformity with societal norms
In such a society, it is impossible to produce a “philosopher”
Difficult to transition from what we have now to a philosophical city-state
THE GOOD & THE SUN
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Understanding rests firmly in the Forms
Knowledge and Goodness
The Good is what illuminates the intelligible realm, as our sun illuminates our own
phenomenal realm
Soul can only have reason and knowledge when it is illuminated by the Good
Anti-dotal soul has “lacking goodness” or “mingled with darkness,” Good does not
shine upon it directly
Goodness most fundamental value with which truth and knowledge is created
Awareness of Forms allows us to see truth in objects and create true knowledge
Ontological relationship of knowledge: “The Good” -> Truth -> Understanding ->
Belief -> Opinion
Is the Good the cause of reality or is reality the cause of the Good?
THE CAVE
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Prisoners chained in cave their entire lives, see 2D shadows of people walking behind
them
One day, one is freed, sees the fire which illuminates the shadows
Goes up, sees 3D objects and sun, realizes their reality was illusion
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When he comes down to free other prisoners, they refuse to, thinking that his eyes
are damaged because they are not used to the dark anymore
People not taking the philosopher-kings seriously because they haven’t seen Forms
Prisoners look down upon higher pursuits, think shadows clearer than fire, fire
metaphor for sun
Much like how the prisoner stares in awe at sunlight, students are drawn to the
“true Good” if they underwent Plato’s education
Dialectic would pull mind out of the world of opinions and ignorance, like from Cave
to Forms
Most knowledge is built on shaky assumptions; most activities concerned with
human desires, making or growing things, taking care of things, etc.…
Most men without the use of dialectic live in world of shadows
Their supposed “reason” would just be opinion
MYTH OF THE METALS
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Gold-blooded: guardians
Silver-blooded: auxiliaries
Bronze-blooded: laboring class
Mate with your own class of blood
You can be promoted or demoted based on your blood class
People with promise in the lower class will be promoted and allowed to further their
talent
Does this mean that the lottery mating system is flawed? How would a ‘silver’ person
be found amongst workers?
If governments degenerate from autocracy, there must be flawed guardians
responsible for downward movement
THE GOOD
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Source of the intelligibility of objects of knowledge
Responsible for object’s being and reality?
Good omnipotent
What is it exactly? Its physical manifestations can be described and it can be
analogized… but what is it?
Does it have one absolute universal meaning? Is it not always defined by the same
criteria?
The Form of Good is not in our world of experience and seems to be an object of
detached rather than practical knowledge. How can such knowledge help in solving
real-life moral dilemmas?
The is-ought fallacy; what IS does not equal what OUGHT to be
“Oughtness” is Goodness
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METAPHYSICS
THE DIVIDED LINE
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If we are in a state of true belief rather than of knowledge, can we not get by
without the Forms?
Is mathematics really the best explanation/preparation for ethical or political
decision-making? Is not sharing the lives of ordinary people better preparation?
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THE TYRANT
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Ruled by lawless desires: draws him to ghastly, shameless, criminal things
i.e. to sleep with one’s mother or to commit a foul murder
Son of democratic man
Erotic love catalyst
Lives for feasts, revelries, luxuries, lovers
Spends all his money, borrows, resorts to deceit and force
No friends, cannot trust anyone
Danger of being killed as act of revenge
Cannot leave his house in fear of his enemies
No life could be more wretched than the tyrannical life except political tyrant
Tyrant lives in terror
The aristocrat the most happy man
TYPES OF SOCIETIES
ARISTOCRACY
Forces That
Lead To This
Society
Just
philosopherruler
Description
Type of
Characters
Macro-micro,
state in
harmony with
individual,
justice
TIMOCRACY
Miscalculation
of governing
class, inferior
next generation
OLIGARCHY
Political power
restricted to
rich after laws
allow for
wealth and
property
ownership
Those with four
virtues of
temperance,
courage,
wisdom, and
justice
State leaders
Hedonistic;
pursue own
primarily good
interests; high- nature; tempted
spirited, simple- by flourishing
minded leaders intellect,
suited for war;
virtues; powervalue power;
craving;
material wealth contemptuous
towards earning
money, saving;
obedient,
respectful,
aggressive
Poor cannot
Craves money;
influence public fulfils urgent
life; instability
needs; public
& class
goods, they are
divisions; poor
“generous”
performance in when need be;
military
temperance,
campaigns
moderance, no
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Causes of
Further
Degeneration
Miscalculation
of governing
class, inferior
next generation
Property
ownership;
ability to spend
and make
money; money
prized over
virtue; laws
allow for
materialistic
lust
Poor but
virtuous
unheard;
revolutionary
spirit of poor;
poor military
performance
out of fear of
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waste of money
DEMOCRACY
Poor revolt, kill/
expunge rich;
establish
democracy
Freedom as
supreme good
but we are
slaves to it;
lower class
expands; poor
are winners
Unnecessary
desires;
instinct/survival
; interesting in
material things;
no order or
priority, no
virtue
TYRANNY
Taken over by
longing for
security
Public
champion
seizes power,
becomes
tyrant; people
hate him but
cannot remove
him from
power
Lawless desires,
no moderance,
base pleasures,
selfimprisonment:
fear of revenge
for all injustice
weaponizing
poor
People are free
to do/live how
they choose,
can even
choose to break
law or establish
corrupt law for
self-benefit;
similar to
anarchy
Misery;
constantly
satisfied desires
no longer
satisfying
UNNECESSARY DESIRES: desires we can teach ourselves to resist, such as the desire for
riches
NECESSARY DESIRES: desires that we have out of instinct or desires that we have to survive
(alternatively known as unqualified desires)
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