Plato's Republic

Cephalus' definition of justice

keeping of promises and repaying of debts

Socrates objection to Cephalus' justice

return a weapon to a crazy person

Polemarchus' definition of justice

benefitting friends and harming enemies; returning good for good, bad for bad.

Socrates' objections to Polemarchus' justice

1. definition makes justice a useless craft

2. we can be wrong about who are our friends and enemies

3. justice can't require harming of anyone

Thrasymachus' definition of justice

advantage of the stronger

Socrates' objection to Thrasymachus' justice

1. If a ruler is wrong, do we (1) do what is the advantage of the ruler or (2) do what the ruler thinks is the advantage of the ruler

T argues that rulers can't bee wrong

2. No craft can have self-interest at its end b/c all crafts benefit patient, not practitioner

T responds with sheep story

organic conception of the state

-conservative political philosophy

-individual to the state is like an organism to an organ

-individuals have specific functions to perform

ethical relativism

goodness is not real; we make up standards of good/bad, right/wrong. view held by Thrasymachus

Glaucon's division of goods

1. things we desire for their own sake (joy)

2. things we desire for their consequences (exercise)

3. things we desire for both sakes (knowledge, health)

-wants S to prove that justice belongs to (3)

ethical egoism

everyone ought to be selfish all the time

psychological egoism

everyone as a matter of fact is selfish all the time

Adeimantus' views

-no one praises justice for its own sake, only for the rewards it allows you to reap in life

-agrees with T, justice is sacrifice for others and injustice is refusal to sacrifice self-image for others

natural stratification of talents and inclinations

-make people who are good at things do those things

-if you make it impossible to pursue talent they will do crazy things to sruvive

Socrates definition of justice

a matter of getting people into positions suited to natural talents

-justice is a matter of degree, not an on/off switch

-central definition of social justice throughout republic

Socrates' 2 types of justice

1. justice belonging to city or state

2. justice belonging to an individual

The Healthy City

-craftsmen, farmers, doctors --> the producing class

-governed only by necessary desires

-Glaucon calls it the "City of Pigs"

-could never been fully just

The Luxurious City

-luxuries in demand

-wealth -> war -> warrior class created ("guardians")

-education of guardians extremely important

-armies necessary to establish colonies

Permissible stories to be told

-gods are wholly good

-gods cannot be represented as liars

Socrate's view of education

-sees education as character formation

-not for job prep

Socrate's view of art

-intellectual concern

bad images of gods/heroes

-moral concern

tales of gods who lie, deceive, change forms

good happening to bad, bad to good

tales of evil in Hades

-both concerns

weeping, lamenting, laughing

How does art work?

(1) it makes us stupid, then we are intellectually helpless and overcome by emotion it (2) pours immoral messages into our souls

-"suspension of rational disbelief"

-renders us "braindead"

catharsis

-cleansing, purgation, purification, clarification

1. catharsis as venting

go see violent film, get anger out then

2. Aristotle's theory of virtue

job of the artists to force us to feel emotions in a

clarified state

-defends art as an essential part of moral education, not moral degradation

physical training of guardians

-training for war over training for athletics

-important to balance training with music/poetry

-too much training -> savage

-too much music/poetry -> soft

The classes of the republic

-guardians: political leaders, gold

-auxiliaries: regular armies, silver

-private sector: other citizens, iron and bronze

legislative power of guardians

-have control over innovations in music, poetry, physical training

-"a change in musical styles will cause a change in the law"

-no control of elder-child relations, appearances

myth of the metals

-all citizens born out of the earth

-each citizen has metal mixed into soul

-no mixing of metals

4 virtues found in city

-wisdom (guardians)

-courage (auxiliaries)

-moderation (spread around city, agreement over who should rule)

-justice (spread around city, all do jobs to which everyone is suited)

Plato's Moral Psychology

3 parts of the soul

1. reason (part that wonders why, wants truth)

2. spirit (wants honor)

3. appetite (wants everything else)

3 kinds of people

1. person of reason (guardians)

2. person of spirit (auxiliaries)

3. person of appetite (producers)

lifestyle of guardians

-girls and boys trained together

-in division of parts of soul, men and women are the same

-intercourse permitted during festivals

-everyone considered family

-complete childcare, breeding rules

philosopher-king

-whole system only possible if run by a philosopher

-because they have knowledge they are the best to run the city

-have to know they are virtuous, they are because they seek truth above all else

definition of philosopher

-diff from pseudo-intellectuals, "lovers of sight and sound

-only philosophers can have knowledge

Evidence of "only philosophers can have knowledge"

divides existence into 3 classes

1. what is completely

-completely knowable

-forms only

2. what is in no way

-object of ignorance

3. what both is and is not

-object of opinion/belief

-only philosophers can have knowledge because only they have access to forms

Forms

eternal, universal, unchanging ideas

ship analogy

-current crop of philosophers not raised in right way

-ship owner incapable of running ship

-sailors fight over captain spot, use trickery and force

-sailors have no idea sailings is a craft and that they need knowledge to sail

-person w/ potential to be a real captain deemed useless

Form of Good

-most important subject for philosopher-king

-undefinable

-"what is the offspring of good and most like it"

-good is source of intelligibility

-good gives capacity for knowledge

-good is responsible for the existence of forms, for the "coming to be" in the intelligible realm

Divided Line

-knowledge = intelligible world (being)

-opinion = sensory world (becoming)

The Cave

-relationship to the divided line

-the "turning of the soul", Plato's theory of education

-prisoner = imagination

-prisoner freed and sees statues = belief

-prisoner dragged outside = thought

-prisoner understands everything = understanding

curriculum of the philosopher

-until 18: play

- 18-20: physical training

- 20-30: math

- 30-35: dialectic

- 35-50: public admin

aristocracy

-greek: rule by the best

-rulers: philosopher kings

-state goal: justice

-dominant element of the soul: reason

-concept of freedom: self-restraint, self-control, autonomy, freedom from tyranny of spirit and appetites

-concept of moderation: rule of reason over spirit and the appetites

-causes of injustice: none

why the ideal state collapses

-nature: the "platonic number"

-nurture: the failure of the educational system

timocracy

-rulers: auxiliaries

-state goal: military strength

-dominant element of the soul: spirit

-concept of freedom: freedom from control by others (guardians)

-concept of moderation: suppression of emerging appetite for money, subordination of appetite under spirit, sense of honor and duty

-causes of injustice: conscription, redirection of talents to supply army

oligarchy

-rulers: the rich

-state goal: wealth

-dominant element of the soul: appetite for $

-concept of freedom: freedom from honor, duty, and shame of desiring money

-concept of moderation: puritanical suppression of all appetites that get in the way of capital accumulation

-causes of injustice: impoverishment, slavery, crime, division of city in 2

democracy

-the "supermarket of constitutions"

-rulers: the masses

-state goal: "freedom", liberty

-dominant element of the soul: all "normal appetites"

-concept of freedom: freedom from reason, honor, duty, guilt, stinginess of the oligarch

-concept of moderation: suppression of "lust" (brutal and forbidden pleasures)

-causes of injustice: massive poverty/crime, chaotic shuffling of people into unqualified positions, ppl at war with themselves

tyranny

-rulers: dictator

-state goal: advantage of the strongest

-dominant element of the soul: lust, "erotic desire"

-concept of freedom: complete lack of restraint

-concept of moderation: none

-causes of injustice: constant war, heavy taxation, brutal suppression of protest, dictators paranoia