Short Answer Exam Review: Plato, Republic, Books 1-5

1. What is happening in Athens on the day Socrates and his friends meet? (327a–328a)

a festival and procession honoring the Thracian goddess Bendis.

2. According to Cephalus, what is the good of having wealth in old age? (330d–331e)

The good of having wealth in his old age allows for him to avoid cheating, lying, and owing debts to others. He doesn’t fear death because he repays for what he owes.

3. What definition of justice do Socrates and his friends borrow from Simonides? (331e)

Giving each person what is owed or what is due to them

4. How does Thrasymachus define justice? (338c)

Justice is the advantage of teh stronger

5. How does Thrasymachus illustrate this with the example of a shepherd? (343b–d)

The shepherd appears to care for the sheep but his goal is to raise them for benefit. Similarly rulers claim to care for the city but they are there for his own advantage.

6. What does Socrates say actually defines the role of a shepherd? (345c–e)

A true shepherd practices the art of shepherding, he is concerned with the good of the sheep rather than the rewards.

Every true craft or art benefits the served.

7. How does this explain the way that Socrates understands rulership? (346e–347a)

genuine ruling is an art that benefits the ruled

8. What does the figure in Glaucon’s story find and what does he do with it? (359d–360b)

The shepherd finds a ring that makes him invisible. He seduces the queen, kills the king, and takes control of the kingdom.

9. What is this image meant to illustrate about us? (360d–e)

People are only just because they fear punishment

10. What does Glaucon argue is the fate of the perfectly just man, and why? (361c–362a)

the perfectly just man would be treated unjust because he would refuse to appear just through reputation or rewards.

He would be tortured, imprisoned, and killed while the unjust man who appears just would receive honor, wealth and power

11. What does Adeimantus say is the problem with how the poets talk about justice? (363a–e)

poets praise justice through the rewards. The gods can be persuaded or bribed through sacrifices, allowing unjust people to escape punishment

12. Why does Socrates think they should envision a city in speech? (368d–369a)

a city is larger than the individual. By watching justice and injustice in a city, they can examine how the same qualities within the soul

13. According to Socrates, why do people decide to found a city? (369b–d)

no individual is self-sufficient, others need many things from others.

14. Why does the city require that each person practice one art? (370a–c)

people have different natural abilities, so each person specializes in an art best suited for them

15. What happens to make war a real possibility for the city? (373b–e)

The city grows beyond the basic needs and seeks luxuries and additional resources. Competition between neighboring cities causes conflict and war

16. Why does this require a dedicated class of warriors, or guardians? (374a–e)

The city needs people who specialize in defending the city and fighting others for the city.

17. Why do these guardians need to be educated in a way that they love wisdom? (376b–d)

so they can distinguish between true friends and enemies based on knowledge rather than mere appearance

18. Name one lie that Socrates says the city should not tell about the gods. (379a–383c)

the gods cause evil, harm, and lie to people

19. Why does Socrates think the guardians should not be taught the arts of imitation, like poetry? (394e)

doesn’t follow the one man one art. Imitation is itself a craft, a person can’t successfully imitate many different roles while excelling in their own craft.

20. What is the central task of the guardians and what does this task require of them? (385c–d)

their central task is to protect and preserve the city. They require courage and the ability to correct beliefs about what should and shouldn’t be feared under pressure or suffering.

21. What does Socrates say they need to do with the poets? (398a–b)

supervise and restrict poets. Only to promote virtue and properly educates teh guardians

22. What is the benefit for the guardians of studying gymnastic and music? (412a)

it harmonizes the two primary elements of the guardian’s soul: spiritedness and philosophical.

Provides the correct balance of tension and relaxation

23. Why do the guardians need to be educated into love? (412c–e)

a person cares most intensely for what they love, and they love what they believe shares the exact same interests as themselves.

24. What does this have to do with the “noble lie” that Socrates tells? (414d–415c)

the noble lie talks about how all citizens are born from the earth and from different metals (gold, silver, bronze)

Unification with citizens to identify with the city.

25. What does Socrates tell us about the life of the guardians at the end of Book 3? (416d–417a)

Guardians can’t own private wealth and property. They live communally and receive what they need in order to focus on protecting the city

26. Why does Socrates say that it does not matter whether the guardians themselves are happy? (420b–421c)

the purpose of the ideal city isn’t to make one group happy. Each class must receive what is appropriate for its function so that the whole city can flourish

27. How do excessive wealth and excessive poverty undermine the work of the city? (421d–422e)

Wealth produces luxury, laziness, and carelessness which declines craftsman ship. Poverty prevents people from the necessary things to perform their art.

28. What is the last step needed to secure the founding of the ideal city? (427b–c)

to defer to the Apollo of Delphi for all laws regarding religion, temples, and religious customs

29. What is it about the city that guarantees that it is wise and courageous? (428d–429e)

The city is wise because of the knowledge possessed by its Rulers for the benefit of the whole. It is courages because its guardian class preserves the correct belief about what should be feared.

30. What makes the city moderate or temperate? (431e–432b)

the harmony and agreement among all citizens regarding who should rule and who should be ruled

31. What do Socrates and his friends discover is the principle of justice they have been seeking all along? (433a–c)

each person or class must perform its own proper function and not interfere with the work of others

32. What does justice in the person have to do with the relationship between reason, spiritedness, and passions? (441e–442c, 443d–e)

justice in an individual occurs when reason, spiritedness, and the passions are in perfect harmony, with each part performing its own natural role without interfering with the others

33. Why does Glaucon think this discussion proves that the just man is happier than the unjust? (445a–b)

justice produces inner health and harmony, the just person is happier without external desires.

34. Why does Socrates think women should also be guardians? (455e)

natural talents and capacities are distributed similarly across both sexes. Women can have the same natural ability as a man

35. How does he explain why it is good for the guardians to have all things in common, including family life? (462b–e, 464a–c)

it elevates unity and eliminates primary causes of internal conflict and factions

36. What does that have to do with the happiness of the guardians? (465c–466a)

the communal lifestyle allows for a common purpose and avoid conflicts between private property and wealth

37. What argument does Socrates give for saying that it does not matter whether this city is possible or not? (472a–d)

they were seeking an ideal pattern of absolute justice, not a practical blueprint for construction

could still serve as a model or pattern against which real cities and individuals can be judged

38. What is the one condition Socrates says is necessary if this city were actually to be realized? (473d–e)

Philosopher King

39. What qualities define a philosopher, according to Socrates? (474c, 476a, 479e–480a)

a lover of wisdom

the ability to see the forms (eternal)

a focus on knowledge