Philosophy and Responsibility
Plato, The Republic
Outline/Guide,
Book 1
Begin with the exasperated Thrasymachus (T), who interrupts the on-going conversation.
(p.13, 336b).
1. What does T. demand of Socrates?
2. What is the point of Socrates’ (S) search-for-gold analogy?
3. What does irony mean, when T. accuses S of being ironic?
T. is finally persuaded to give his own definition of justice (p.15, 338c).
4. What is T’s first definition of justice?
5. T. adds a bit to the definition (p.16, 339a). What is added?
6. S. finds fault with T’s definition. (339a – 340c).
T. remedies the flaw. (340c – 341c). How?
S. begins probing T’s definition. (p.19, 341c).
7. An analogy: The art of medicine seeks the well-being of the patient;
piloting a ship seeks the well-being of the sailors. Whose well-being
does ruling seek?
8. T. rejects S’s analogy (p.21, 343a) and offers his own. Rulers are
like shepherds or cowherds; those being ruled are like sheep or cows.
The just man never wins. (343d-344d) “…the just is the advantage
of the stronger, and the unjust is what is profitable and advantageous
for oneself.” (p.22) (Any contradiction here?)
S. tries to correct T’s thinking with a new line of questioning. (p.22, 344d).
9. Each art is different and provides a unique benefit. (346a)
“…no art or kind of rule provides for its own benefit…” (p.24, 346e)
…but he asks for wages…”
But it is not the wages that persuades men to be rulers (p.25):
What is most persuasive? (347c)
10. Glaucon ( one of Plato’s brothers) begins to agree with S, though he
had initially agreed with T.
S. picks up on T’s claim that the life of the unjust man is better than that of the
just man. (348b)
11. T. is still maintaining that injustice is more profitable than justice.
Justice is merely “high-minded innocence” and injustice is “good counsel.”
(348c-d).
12. S. tries again (349b). Consider the activity of “getting the better of
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someone. “(e.g. trying to be superior to someone else).
The just man tries to get the better of whom? The unjust man tries to get
the better of whom?
Consider the musician and the doctor (p.28). These intelligent men will
try to get the better of whom? (350b).
So, then, how are the just man and the unjust man different? (p.29,350c)
T. blushes. (350d). He is not convinced but does not resist and argue anymore.
S. continues with another related question: whether injustice is “more powerful
and mightier than justice.” (351a).
13. Imagine an unjust city. Can unjust enterprises accomplish anything?
14. What of injustice within a man? What will happen?
15. On p.31 S. provides a summary of what has been accomplished in
the dialogue to this point.
16. The Greek word for virtue (arête) means excellence. Every thing
has its own excellence. (e.g. horse, eyes, ears, pruning knife). Each one’s task is
done well with its own virtue (excellence).
17. What is the work of a human soul? (p.33, 353d)
18. What is the virtue of a soul, i.e. the quality that helps the soul perform
its work?
19. What is required for happiness and living well?
S. again claims to be ignorant. Why? Why does he accuse himself of gluttony?
Book II
A.
Glaucon (G) and Adeimantus (A) mount a challenge to S. (357a – 367e)
1. Things can be good in themselves, or they can be good only in their
consequences. Or, they can be good only because one gets wages for one’s
performance or work. Where is justice? What is justice, in itself?
(“…all alone by itself when it is in the soul…”) (357b)
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2. G. proposes that justice is not good in itself but only as a compromise.
The Myth of Gyges: a thought experiment about consequences.
(359b-360d)
3. Compare the life of the perfectly unjust man with that of the perfectly just man.
Which life is better? (360e-362c)
4. A. adds to G’s challenge. (362d-367e)
Poets praise the consequences of justice but not justice itself.
Not even the gods will punish injustice. Why not?
B.
S. tries again to persuade G. and A. (368a –383c)
5. S. proposes a new approach. In order to examine what the justice of a
man is, he will examine the justice of a whole city. Why does he think
that this approach will be easier?
Why are cities (city-states, in Greece) formed in the first place?
Why does specialization of labor develop? .
6. G. complains that there are no luxuries in this hypothetical city, and S.
expands the city to include luxuries. (372c – 373c).
Why is war now envisioned? (373d – 374a)
Since waging war is also an art, what special group of people is needed?
7. What qualities must the guardians have? (374e – 376c)
8. How should the guardians be educated? (376d – 377d)
What should be stressed? What should be banned? (377d-382c)
9. What does S. mean by “the true lie”? (382a)
Book IV
A. Begin on page 111 (433a). Specialization or division of labor is essential in this city.
Find S’s explanation. (Hint: 433a)
The first, tentative definition of justice appears here too. Please locate it.
What is injustice, then? See 434b-c.
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B. The most important analogy of this dialogue appears at this point: S. claims that the
structure of the city is similar to the structure of a human soul. (434d – 444e)
The city has three classes. Because each class has its unique kind of excellence
or virtue, the city has three virtues. List these.
If a human soul is like the city, then the soul has three parts also. List these.
C. S. provides a helpful summary on page 123. (443d-e). Notice the word ‘harmony’: it’s
important.
When is a man unjust? (p.124).
Be prepared to explain Socrates’ definition of justice.
Book VI
A.
Begin on page 187, at 507a (“We’ll be as careful as we possibly can…”). Here,
Socrates incorporates what is called the Doctrine of Forms, or Doctrine of Ideas.
Very briefly put, Platonic Forms or Ideas are the perfection of every entity and
quality that humans experience: perfect justice or Justice itself; perfect courage or
Courage itself; perfect tree-ness or Treeness itself, etc.
Look for this line in 507b: “…there is a fair itself, a good itself, and so on for all
the things that we then set down as many.”
Locate other lines that refer to these perfect entities.
B.
Analyze his analogy between the sun, by which we see and by which life is possible,
and perfect good or Goodness itself. (507d- 508c).
C. The famous Divided Line comes next (509d-511e). Look at the translator’s diagram
on page 464. This is crucial to understanding what Platonic virtue is. The translator
offers his commentary/interpretation of this section at the back of the book; see
especially, bottom of page 402 to middle of page 406. Extract from all this what virtue
means.
Book VII
Your task here is to analyze and understand the Allegory of the Cave. Look for
artists’ rendering of Plato’s Cave on Google Images.
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