Platos Republic Educates Readers to Become Enlightened Philosophers - Article Example

The Republic educates guardians to believe in a specified set of ethical values, which Plato suggests, to reach the ultimate truth or the Form of Good (Para. 2). In this context, I object to Plato’s argument since constricting people to learn specified ethical values will not only narrow their thinking to certain concepts but also limit their investigation and formulation of new ideas.  For instance, holding Plato’s concept that the “city” is just will require the guardians and his followers to maintain the current system at the expense of developing new principles or implementing changes in the society (Para. 2).

However, the concept of sun, fire, cave, and the four stages of the mind offers the readers opportunities to access their thoughts and identify their current stages. The sun symbolizes an intelligent realm, and once its existence is acknowledged, then people can seek the paths to their upper states of mind (Para. 3).  The requirements to pass each stage are preset and definite. I feel that this educates readers to learn and think like the guardians, something that bars them from investigating Plato’s ideas with their different theories and experiences. Therefore, Republic education primarily teaches readers to become enlightened philosophers. Read More