Plato Discusses the Good Life in The Republic - Essay Example

14089 14089 Assignment 226085 May 11 2008 Plato The guardians in perspective In the Republic Plato discusses the goodlife, in reaching harmony through pure reason and justice. The centre in his social settings are to find a real republic in way that everybody could live the perfect life for him. In this book Plato explains how to create this Republic in using the dialogues of his mentor Socrates. With his book Plato also explains how to draw an analogy of the operation that a society is as a whole society and the life of an individual in that very same society. Book IV Plato explains through Socrates the guardians the ruling class as we know them. From that perspective and this angle this essay is going to discuss this theory. 1. Who are the Guardians 2. Myth of the Metals Who are the Guardians As we can read in the book The Republic Plato sees them as the ruling class. He explains it as: " And the higher the duties of the guardian, I said, the more time, and skill, and art, and application will be needed by him" Further in the book he explains more of the skills, should he be brave Or fight well Slowly Plato comes to what the guardian must be in describing it as follows:" And is he likely to be brave who has no spirit, whether horse or dog 14089 2 or any other animal Have you never observed how invincible and unconquerable is spirit and how the presence of it makes the soul of any creature to be absolutely fearless and indomitable" "I have." "Then now we have a clear notion of the bodily qualities which are required in the guardian." Of course having the bodily qualities Plato also searches for the spiritual guardian. A great spirit and a gentle personality. Plato decides that this is impossible: "and yet the combination of them appears to be impossible; and hence we must infer that to be a good guardian is impossible." A search then follows in finding the combination needed to become a worthy guardian. What is needed to make guardian a guardian, without the whole knowledge of the past, the religion, the quarrels. Clear is that Plato tries to build a new ruling class based on education, philosophy and the possession of the appropriate skills. Future guardians should be totally different from the presumed guardians to be an offspring of those who presently held the similar positions of honor and class (pg. 120-12). As the most valuable, the Gold class they should act as Gold class. Is Plato not expecting to much In doing so he suggest a test for the guardians in where those who succeed: " And he who at every age, as boy and youth and in mature life, has come out of the trial victorious and pure, shall be appointed a ruler and guardian of the State; he shall be honored in life and death, and shall receive sepulture and other memorials of honor, the greatest that we have to give. But him who fails, we must reject. I am inclined to think that this is the sort of way in which our rulers and guardians should be chosen and appointed. I speak generally, and not with any pretension to exactness." He continues in the book: "And perhaps the word guardian' in the fullest sense ought to be applied to this 14089 3 higher class only who preserve us against foreign enemies and maintain peace among our citizens at home, that the one may not have the will, or the others the power, to harm us. The young men whom we before called guardians may be more properly designated auxiliaries and supporters of the principles of the rulers." Important in the book is Book VII where Plato describes the analogy of the Cave related to his metaphor of the sun and the analogy of the divided line. Significant are the these two passages from Book VII in where we read what happens to the prisoner in freedom after being caved and not experiencing the outside world. Not being exposed blinds them and makes the world small. They forget the outside world and this is how Plato explains it: " And now look again, and see what will naturally follow it the prisoners are released and disabused of their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive some one saying to him, that what he saw before was an illusion, but that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision, what will be his reply And you may further imagine that his instructor is pointing to the objects as they pass and requiring him to name them, -- will he not be perplexed Will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now shown to him " The sunlight is the last he sees and in time he realizes this is the reason for the seasoning and courses of the years. It presides of all this and is fact the reason that we see, it brings us to his first statement in Book VII and also 14089 4 includes the last part of Book VII, enlightenment: " And now, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened: Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets." No need to explain further. The myth of metal The myth of metal explained by Plato obtains the social classes that Plato uses. Iron and bronze where the common people, the farmers who were strong. Silver were those the auxiliary or military class, of course the guardians were the Golden class. In fact Plato encourages the people to accept the position they have in the society, at the bottom, middle or higher, and that they are to be governed. In his days you can understand this not so very democratic point of view of Plato, it was the way of how societies were build and constructed. In order to thrive and have to succeed the city all classes needed to work together. Thus to receive the needs for the society to develop significant social qualities or virtues. In order to the guardians to rule and govern the cities they should obtain the virtue of wisdom. We see above, Plato explains how to form the ruler class, the guardians. The virtue of wisdom, needed in the eyes of Plato, is the ability to comprehend the reality to make the best judgement. Plato explains the important roll guardian. 14089 5 Plato's Republic brings true justice and harmony to the world, even in our days we can understand the virtues, placed in the ideal organization of an ideal city. Even today we can learn from it, if we consider to place it in his ideal city. References Plato, 360 BC, The Republic, translated by Benjamin Jowett Read More