Abstract for Plato’s Republic
The Republic is the authority on theories of
education. Like Thomas More’s Utopia, and
Henry David Thoreau’s Walden it is also an attempt to define a utopian
society. Furthermore, it is one of the great political tracts. Of course, Plato always was the mouthpiece for Socrates so in the Republic we hear their conjoined opinions and it is sometimes difficult to tease out the individual opinions held by each separately.
Socrates voices his opinion that
education is lifelong pursuit, and Plato believes the proper end for of education is to improve and perfect sons in virtue and excellence. While he thinks the various disciplines to be important, compared to the business of being a good citizen with appropriate "manly" virtues, he gives them a secondary place. The primary thrust of the Republic is to define the most appropriate, the most orderly, and most felicitous society for man. Since this necessarily entails discovering the optimal civic society because of the social nature of our species, the focus particularly is upon the education of a philosopher-king and those of the guardian class. Within its pages is the nugget about the "philosophical dog" which is a concept that could be applied to modern situations quite well. It is noted that the good soldier is a little bit like a good dog who approves of those he knows simply because he knows them, regardless of their merit. Because the dog bases his actions upon what (or who) he knows instead of how he feels, he is by definition, a philosopher. Echoes of this exist in common sentiments that may mislead the unwary: "My country, right or wrong" and "I was just doing my job."
The Republic begins in the house of Cephalus to whom Socrates puts the question "I should like to ask you who have arrived at that time which the poets call the ‘threshold of old age’ –is life harder toward the end, or what report do you give of it?" There ensues an interesting discussion in which old age is compared to being released from the grasp of a mad and furious master because the drive of passions is blunted.
Enter Thrasymachus and a discussion of the importance of justice in all relationships. It was a constant of Socrates that he sought to improve the morals of every student he came into contact with. Thrasymachus initially believes that injustice is more gainful than justice, if you can get away with it (shades of Machiavelli!). With Socrates’ help, eventually it becomes clear to his student that justice is best served when meted out to all men equally.
Perhaps the most forceful lesson of the Republic is that only those who do not wish to rule are fit to rule. Only the man who wishes to live "on the isle of the blessed," one who seeks neither money nor honor because he sees that they are ‘dross,’ is properly motivated to place the needs of the society above his personal advancement.
Plato, "Laches." Trans. W.C. Hembold. The Dialogues of Plato. Bantam Classics, 1986