Download Plato and the Republic

Plato and the Republic
Plato was born into a wealthy
Athenian family around 429 BC.
So, he grew up during the
Peloponnesian War (431 – 404 BC).
Around the age of 20, Plato joined
the circle of Socrates.
Socrates did not conduct his
philosophical inquiries through
writing...
... but through engaging in
dialogues with prominent
Athenians, often in public
places.
We can imagine Plato watching
on and sometimes participating
in these conversations.
In 404, when Athens was finally
forced to surrender, a Spartan
sponsored tyranny, known as
the Rule of Thirty, was installed
in Athens.
The tyranny was extremely
vicious and lasted less than a
year.
Plato’s uncle and cousin were
key players in the Rule of Thirty.
It may have been his family’s
involvement in this unhappy
period that led Plato to finally
shun politics and pursue the
philosophical life.
In 399, Socrates was tried and
sentenced to death (by drinking
hemlock) for impiety and for corrupting
the youth.
After this, Plato spent around a decade
travelling the Mediterranean.
Around 388 BC, Plato returned to
Athens and established a school called
the Academy.
Plato wrote 20 books before his
death in 347.
Almost all his books take the
form of dialogues led by
Socrates (who, remember, did
not write anything himself).
To what extent Plato is faithfully
representing Socrates...
... and to what extent he is using
Socrates as a character through
which he advances his own
views,
... is difficult to discern and a
matter of debate.
It is believed to vary from book
to book and over periods of
Plato’s writing.
Plato’s Republic was written
about 375 BC.
The title is a poor Latin
translation (res publica > things
+ public = public affairs) of the
Greek word politaea which
meant ‘ideal state’ (Phelan:
2005, 148).
In the Republic, Plato envisages
a utopia or perfect society.
The central element of this
society is that it is ruled by
philosophers.
He takes a dim view of
democracy in which the unwise
and untutored are accorded as
much power as those who are
steeped in knowledge and who
deliberate in a rational fashion.
Plato advances numerous
arguments for his ideal state but
one is important to bear in
mind.
Plato thinks ruling is a
specialised skill no less than,
say, making shoes or building a
ship.
Therefore, he thinks it no more
sensible to have unskilled nonspecialists ruling than making
ships or shoes.
The results in all cases will be
similarly shoddy.
It is somewhat surprising that
Athens’ most famous thinker,
Plato, is so negative about
Athens’ most famous invention,
democracy.
The goal of this lesson is to
understand Plato’s critique of
democracy in theory. In
subsequent lessons, we will look
at some historical examples that
might explain Plato’s views.