Reference no: EM133606059

Study Questions for Plato's Republic (Part Two)

1. In Book VII, Plato introduces his allegory of the cave to elaborate his theory of Forms. This is one of the most famous and influential moments in the history of philosophy, and so it necessitates a closer look. Basically, what Plato proposes is that there is a difference between appearance and the "thing itself," which he calls a Form. Everything existing in the world is an appearance and a copy or "likeness" of its Form. The chair that we see "participates" in the thing itself-or an abstract ideal of Chair-ness-but by definition, the things we see cannot encompass the entirety of the Form. Plato is therefore sketching a system that hinges conceptually on an idea of the "beyond": what is in the system (appearance) depends on the existence of what is outside the system (Forms).

For Plato, the most important Form is the Good, which he theorizes as the origin and object of knowledge (182). What this means is that insofar as it makes use of reason-the human being within the human being, or the best part of man-the effort to gain knowledge originates in goodness; and insofar as the goal of that effort is clarified understanding, or a bringing to light-its object is also goodness.

Through the allegory of the cave, Plato analogizes the effort to see clearly to a liberating upward journey with four stages-what are the four stages and what is the prisoner/freed man looking at in each? Note that at every stage, there are elements of compulsion and the journeyer suffers pain-why do you suppose Plato is so insistent on this? What do you make of the point that if the journeyer were to return to the prison cave, he would be killed by his fellows? (189). Does that make the journey not worth it?

2. In the allegory of the line in Book VI (183-85), Plato presents a four-part division of faculties of mind that corresponds to the four-stage journey out of the cave. Explain that correspondence. Later, he labels the highest two faculties of mind "intellect" and the lesser two "opinion" and states that whereas the object of opinion is becoming, the object of intellect is being (204-6). Explain.

3. Plato makes the journey to see the Good a necessity for those who would rule in his ideal city, the philosopher-kings (191)-explain his logic. You will note that ideas of compulsion recur-why is this important?

4. In Book VIII, Plato theorizes five forms of government; in order, from best to worst, they are: aristocracy (rule of the best) > timocracy (rule by those who love honor) > oligarchy (rule of the few) > democracy (rule of the people) and tyranny (effective slavery to one man). Each lesser form of government devolves from the immediate higher form because of misplaced appetite, or taking lesser goods for the Good. What is the good in question in the case of democracy and what is wrong with that good, from Plato's point of view? Do you think he has a point? When democracy deteriorates, is tyranny the inevitable result?

5. In Book X of the Republic, Plato famously bans poetry from his ideal city. (Note that the book understands "poetry" in the broadest sense: any art form, as opposed to rhymed or unrhymed verse). On what basis is poetry suspect?-list three reasons. What kind of art is allowed in the ideal city-why? Plato thinks his views on poetry are consistent with aristocracy, which is his preferred form of government-what do you think?