Plato's Republic books 8-9
26/03/2007
Glaucon’s challenge 2 360e-62a
The Republic of Plato
Socrates claims that the just life is the happiest.
He rejects the view that justice is only valuable
for its consequences in preventing people from
harming each other.
Glaucon asks him to show that someone who is
just, but suffers all the penalties of being
considered unjust, will be happier than a person
who is completely successful in benefiting from
total injustice, while remaining undiscovered and
with an honourable reputation.
Books 8 and 9
Why the just life is the happiest life
Janet D. Sisson
Monday 26th March, 2007
Humanities 200, University of Calgary
Plato’s Republic
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Choosing What Is Best
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Socrates’ reply, books 2-5, 8-9
The notion of justice is developed in the
Republic through the choices of Socrates and
his companions. The just life is worth choosing.
Socrates first develops an account of what
justice is. In the just person and in the just city,
there will be 3 ‘parts’ which can stand in different
relations: in the just state, ‘reason rules’. Honour
or desire govern less good cities or characters.
– In his work, Plato introduces ways we can together
choose to view the world. We develop concepts that
advance what we consider best, on reflection, for
humans in societies. These concepts have
implications for how we live our own lives.
– In book 8, he develops an analysis of the various
types of constitutions and characters which arise in
cities and persons that are less than just.
– In book 9, he compares these types to support his
claim that the just character will have the best life.
The souls of the just make them the most mentally
healthy of human beings.
The introduction of the tripartite city and soul
(psychē) in the Republic gives the background
for the definition of justice, and so for answering
the question ‘Is the life of justice the best life?’
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2-3. Constructing an Ideal State
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3-5 City and Soul (Psychē)
In his development of the best city, Plato creates
a way of describing the virtues in terms of
relations among parts of the city.
A properly founded city will display the virtues.
Socrates suggests that the company should first
investigate what justice is in a city (polis), as both
people and cities are just.
His method is ask them to construct an (imaginary) ideal
city, so that they will be able to "see its justice coming to
be, and its injustice coming to be as well". 369a
The participants are thus able to articulate their
understanding of the concept of justice.
The analytic construction of the imaginary city allows
Plato to develop a theory of human psychology and
gives a basis for the later classification and comparison
of types of constitution and human characters.
– Wisdom and courage arise from the guardian (wise)
and the auxiliary (spirited) classes.
– Self-discipline exists when the city is ‘master of itself’.
The excessive desires of the ‘many’ are controlled by the
wise moderation of the minority. There is agreement between
Government and subjects on who rules.
– Justice arises when ‘each does its own’.
The just soul will display a similar structure.
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Plato's Republic books 8-9
26/03/2007
The Parts of the City
Justice as ‘each does its own’.
This definition is highly abstract.
– Who are ‘each’?
– How can we interpret ‘does its own’?
GUARDIANS
THE REST
In the city, ‘each’ refers to the various
kinds of talented citizens, the wise, the
spirited and the workers.
The city will function well when each do
their own jobs, the ones they are suited to.
This specialization will make the city just.
AUXILIARIES
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‘Each does its own’ in the soul
The just psychē (441d-444e)
The structure which gives rise to justice should
now be applied to the soul. For this, Plato must
find a corresponding structure.
– A good person (like a good city) will display the
virtues of wisdom, courage, self-discipline and justice.
– If they find justice in the soul is something different,
they must revise the definition of justice. 434e
To discover structure in the psychē Plato creates
the first analytical psychology.
He argues that the psychē must have distinct
aspects: reason, spirit (thumos) and desire.
The argument for this depends on convincing us
that we can have conflicting motivations.
Wisdom and courage arise from reason (ruling
part) and spirit (thumos, energetic part).
Self-discipline: the psychē is ‘master of itself’.
– All simple desires are willingly subject to the wise
moderation of the other parts of the psychē. There is
agreement between the parts on which is in control.
Justice arises when ‘each does its own’.
– It follows that justice is a kind of health of the soul. As
healthy living produces health, so just acts produce
justice in the psychē, so we should act justly.
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The Parts of the Psychē
REASON
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The best state–and others 8
Once Plato has determined the structure of the
best state and soul, he portrays the other types
developing from these by a decline in the
character of the various parts.
– He describes the various characters that a person
and a society may have, using the tripartite analysis.
The declining constitutional stages are called
timarchy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny.
DESIRE
THUMOS
– Their rulers are progressively greedier for power and
wealth and less interested in the welfare of their
subjects or of society as a whole.
– The individuals are progressively more dominated by
the sensuous and desiring part of their psychē.
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Plato's Republic books 8-9
26/03/2007
Types of societies
The decline: freedom and tyranny
Aristocracy: rule by the best (philosophers)
Timocracy: rule by those who value
honour (timē)
Oligarchy: rule by the rich few (oligoi), who
try to further their desires rationally.
Democracy: rule by the common people
(demos), who are free to pursue desires.
Tyranny: rule by a person (a tyrant) in his
own interest, without any wider concern.
As oligarchs accumulate wealth, the rift between rich and
poor grows and this promotes disunity in the city.
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– 555b “isn’t the change from an oligarchy to a democracy due in
some way or other to the insatiable desire for the good set
before it—the need to become rich as possible?"
The poorer classes band together and drive out the rich.
They establish democracy, which allows all the greatest
freedom. Self-discipline is no longer required for power.
But tensions remain. Eventually a demagogue seizes
power exclusively for himself. He has established a
dictatorship through the favour of the people, but now
tyrannises over them. He has no friends and employs
criminals as guards.
Plato's procedure
Psychological types
Aristocrat: the just and good philosopher:
ruled by reason.
Timocratic character: the Spartan warrior,
ruled by honour, who despises serfs.
Oligarchic: a businessman, obsessed by
money and ruled by his desire for wealth.
Democratic: pursues all desires equally.
Tyrannic: pursues his nastiest fantasies,
as he is ruled by erôs (excessive lust).
– Socrates presents the different characters in order to answer the
challenge posed earlier. He is to give reasons that demonstrate
whether a life devoted to the pursuit of power or a life of
goodness is better.
Plato has created a set of political concepts which he
then used in setting up the final description of different
types of cities and characters.
He has defined an abstract political vocabulary which he
now uses to generate an imaginary process of decline
from one variety of state to another.
The structure and decline allow him to develop a parallel
analytical psychology to explain differences of character.
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The conclusion 588b-592b
Other arguments
Plato has constructed a theoretical model of the
mind, and he uses this to analyse the character
of the different types of individuals.
From this psychological model he argues that, in
the life of the person Thrasymachus admires,
the bestial parts of human nature are dominant;
the psychē displays mental conflict rather than
unity in the self.
People ruled by desire are enslaved to their
worst part. Such a person has the least freedom,
since they cannot rightly estimate and choose
what is best for them, but live in continual fear.
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Plato adds 2 other arguments.
The good person has experience of all types of
pleasure. He has the best judgement. Since he
prefers the pleasures of reason, they are best.
2. The pleasures of reason are more real than
any other pleasures. The pleasures of the
senses are mere relief from pain. The
pleasures of honour may be accompanied by
envy and violence. One needs to be guided by
reason to feel other pleasures at their best.
1.
–
The tyrant who gains total power is 729 (3*3*3)2
times unhappier than the good person!
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