Plato's Republic

Plato's quote "The unexamined life is not worth living" emphasizes the importance of self-reflection and understanding one's reality. Drawing from his Allegory of the Cave, Plato suggests that...

The main themes of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" in the Republic are that humanity cannot comprehend the true nature of reality through mere observation and perception and that philosophical...

Learning experiences that "turn your soul toward reality," as in Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," are those that reveal deeper truths or new perspectives. Examples include traveling abroad, which...

Plato's ideal society, as outlined in his Republic, is primarily composed of two classes. The guardians are responsible for protecting the state, and are divided into two sub-classes: the rulers...

In Plato's Republic, Plato's view on government is that a successful government is contingent on having the ruler with the best mind. Thus, it is also dependent upon its ruler's love for wisdom above...

Plato banishes poets from his ideal society in The Republic because he believes they can corrupt the minds of citizens by promoting false ideals and emotions. The consequence of this banishment is...

In The Matrix, the basic premise is that, in the future, what humans think is reality is actually a simulated reality in cyberspace. This reality has been created by sentient machines and is used...

The "Ring of Gyges" story is a sort of thought experiment. It occurs in the context of a discussion about justice in which Thrasymachus has just argued that, essentially, justice is whatever is in...

The allegory of the cave is probably the most famous of all the passages in the Republic. It is used to show the difference between the world of senses and the world of forms. Forms are immutable...

In Plato's Republic, the conflict between Socrates' and Thrasymachus' notions of justice centers on their definitions and implications. Socrates views justice as a virtue essential for the harmony of...

Plato wrote the Republic around 380 BCE to discuss the philosophy behind justice, education, the ideal city, and the ideal citizen. The main character is Socrates, and he provides guidance on two...

Specifically, I do not think that the drones are any individuals in particular.  Instead, they are part of the personality of a certain type of individual.  The drones are the part of a...

Socrates sees Homer and Hesiod as competition for the philosopher-king in the Republic because they offer a rival version of truth in their poetry. In particular, they present a picture of the gods...

Plato argues that there are three distinct parts of the soul based on his belief that human behaviour is only rational if it is controlled by the rational part of the soul.

A common theme between the two is the exploration of perception versus reality. "The Cave" explores what people inside a cave see when their only glimpse of the outside world is of shadows things...

Plato views poetry as a form of imitation that perpetuates unreality. In The Republic, he argues that poetry can mislead and corrupt by presenting illusions rather than truth, distancing people from...

In book 1 of the Republic, Polemarchus argues that a just man should help his friends and harm his enemies.

The "Republic" is a dialogue, written by Plato in the 4th century B.C.E., that explores the nature of justice, and the person fit to rule. It begins with an allegory: Socrates is arguing with a...

Plato's purpose in writing The Republic is to create a better world, a divine world. In Book VII, Plato concentrates on enlightenment (education) through a parable commonly referred to the...

In The Republic, Plato lays out the ideal society, which is based on justice.

As stated above this could be a thesis topic, but to build on what was said above, Plato did not see a huge difference between individuals and the state, polis.  If the state was healthy,...

Thanks for pointing out my mistake, ac12. Although the theory of recollection is present in the Meno, it becomes more explicit in the Republic and Phaedo.

Plato argues for the distinctiveness of the spirited part of the soul by suggesting it is separate from the rational and appetitive parts. He posits that the spirited part is responsible for emotions...

In Plato's ideal city-state, society is rigidly hierarchical. The ruling class rule, the auxiliaries defend the state, and the ordinary citizens take orders. In order to maintain their grip on...

While the exact year is unknown, Plato wrote The Republic somtime in the first half of the fourth century BC, probably around two decades after the death of Socrates (whose dialogues are the...

Well, "hate" may be too strong of a word, but he certainly wasn't a fan. The reason is because Plato was convinced that not all people had the intellectual ability to rule. It is an elitist...

Plato, thankfully, did not poison himself; Socrates did. This is described in Plato's dialogue Phaedo. Socrates was a historical figure, whose writings do not survive, and he was famously the...

The image of the ship in Plato’s Republic is a metaphor that is meant to show what is wrong with democracy.  Socrates is portrayed in this work as being in favor of rule by a philosopher king...

1. Thrasymachus believes that individual capacities define justice and injustice. 2. There is a fundamental difference between the strong and weak, where the strong is superior to the weak. 3. Those...

Similarities between the class system in Plato's Republic and the Indian caste system include a social hierarchy in which people are organized into groups of descending power. In both systems, a...

To get a better answer, it would be good if you could tell us which aspect of the ideal state you want addressed.  The part I have the strongest feelings about is the idea that the ideal state...

This is a great question. In a sense, the whole work is about justice. From this point of view, I will mention a few of the most important places where Plato speaks of justice. In books 2-4, Plato...

The first would be that the happiness of the community lies in skills- specific education,  each social class would focus on what they do well. By concentrating on the area they excel in,...

The definitions of justice initially advanced in book 1 of the Republic fail because they are actually examples rather than definitions.

Plato prefers the aristocracy of the philosopher-kings to democracy because he believes democracy allows people to do whatever they want, whether it is in their best interests or not.

Book VII is concerned with the nature of the soul and how we can understand it. The view that people are essentially body is false, as it fails to account for many psychological phenomena; however, a...

Plato banished poets from the Republic because he believed that poetry was a form of imitation, and that, as such, it led society further from the truth and rationality.

"Everything is said to have its function and its virtue- which allows it to perform its function. The function of the soul is regulate life. And its peculiar virtue is justice. So the soul of the...

Aristotle countered Plato's argument against art, by arguing that it was precisely because art imitated reality, that it had a valuable role to play in society.

Not really.  He says many things such as poetry cripples the intellect and it is memorized dribble solely for the purpose of preaching and teaching others.  Remember, though, that Plato...

In Plato's philosophy, music and justice are intricately connected as both are essential for creating a harmonious society. Plato believed that music has the power to influence the soul and...

1) In The Republic, Plato, through Socrates, argues that social justice is rooted in "doing one’s own." He suggests that social justice is maintained when individuals see "justice [as]...

Aristotle did not really clearly favor any one form over another. If you consider the 3 available types, monarchy, oligarchy and polity, he probably favored the last type. That is the polity which...

Within the Allegory of the Cave itself, Plato holds that the people in the cave are bounded in place "with their necks and legs fettered, able to see only in front of them." Within the allegory...

This is a very interesting question! The answer will depend upon whether you agree with Socrates' definition of justice in the first four books. Then, you will have to decide whether he adequately...

One's initial impression of Socratic method in Plato's Republic may be that it is a useful way of bringing us closer to the truth while at the same leaving the question open. Through his questioning...

Socrates has a whole program for justice that involves social and individual instructions.  For Socrates, justice will thrive if the entire society is run efficiently with the goals of justice...

The socialization process that illuminates truth in education as an absolute and transcendent quality makes Socrates's position different than Thrasymachus. Socrates operates in the realm of the...

This is a good question. Plato's commitment to reason or philosophy is the main point of the Republic. We can see this in three ways.  First, if you look at Plato's ideal state, the...

The benefits of allegories is that it makes difficult concepts easier to understand. For example, Plato's allegory of the cave is really getting at a very difficult philosophical concept, as he is...